City Is Expected to Retain Basketball Schedule

The City Section Interscholastic Athletics Committee is expected to recommend at its April 27 meeting that the controversial boys’ and girls’ basketball schedules be kept in place for at least one more season.

City Commissioner Hal Harkness said that the IAC will make its recommendation based on the results of a recent poll of City winter-sports coaches, players and administrators.

The 1991-92 basketball schedule drew criticism from coaches and players because much of the season was held while City schools were on an eight-week semester break: Attendance was sparse because school was not in session; players who were bused to school were forced to surrender much of their vacation time to attend games and practices, and regular-season night games were virtually eliminated because school administrators did not wish to remain on campus into the evening.

Harkness said the majority of the respondents preferred to maintain the existing schedule rather than move the season back several weeks.

However, a two-week “dead period” in which all contact between coaches and players was prohibited likely will be eliminated by IAC, Harkness said. In the poll, coaches were overwhelmingly critical of the two-week break that fell in January.

If the IAC votes as expected, the wrestling season also will remain in its current winter time frame. Boys’ and girls’ soccer, however, might be moved back several weeks so that the regular season ends before the semester break begins in mid-December. In 1991-92, soccer was held concurrently with basketball.

The soccer schedule, if moved, could create hardship at schools where soccer and football teams use the same practice or game facilities because the season would overlap with football.