Eyes of Texas Are on Big Eight

As expected, the Big Eight invited Southwest Conference heavyweights Texas and Texas A&M; to join the league in 1996-97. SWC little brothers Texas Tech and Baylor, who would have screamed bloody murder had they been left out of the mix, also received invitations.

Now the fun part: What to do?

With no College Football Assn. television contract after the ’95 season, the SWC is a footnote waiting to happen. Even if the proposed merger falls through--and trust us, it won’t--the SWC is doomed. Texas and Texas A&M; are going to leave; it’s simply a matter of where they’ll go. Today it’s the Big Eight. A year from now, it could be the Pacific 10, the Southeastern Conference or the Big Ten.

Whatever happens, Rice, Texas Christian, Southern Methodist and Houston aren’t coming along for the ride. The four SWC members already have been told they aren’t part of the new world order. In fact, the whole merger was arranged without SWC Commissioner Steve Hatchell and the assorted SWC athletic directors.

A possible new partner for the pink-slipped four: the Western Athletic Conference.

Meanwhile, Texas and Texas A&M; are stuck. For now.

According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the presidents of the two schools met with Texas Gov. Ann Richards earlier this week and were told in no uncertain terms that any merger deal would have to include Baylor and Texas Tech. Such is Texas politics.

In a perfect world, Texas would love to join the Pac-10 and Texas A&M; would opt for the SEC. Instead, the Longhorns and the Aggies are headed toward the Big Eight, which sure beats the sorry SWC.

Nothing is written in stone. If Baylor, which soon could have all sorts of NCAA investigation problems, and Texas Tech eventually drop out of the Big Eight alliance, the Longhorns and the Aggies would be free to bolt in a Texas two-step.

For the moment, the Big Eight breathes easier. That’s because Colorado probably will stay put (sorry, Pac-10), as will Missouri (the Tigers have made lots of noise about joining the Big Ten).

The downside for the Big Eight? Having to take Baylor and Texas Tech. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to tonight’s exciting Texas Tech-Iowa State matchup . . .

In short, we have seen the future. It is the dawning of super-conferences.

Get used to it.

CAREER DAY

Manchester, Ind., is so small that the closest thing to graffiti is when some lovestruck high schooler carves his sweetheart’s name on a tree trunk.

But this is where former Indiana star Steve Alford chose to begin his coaching career, a gamble that could soon see him move from the obscurity of Division III, where athletic scholarships are unheard of, to the bright lights of Division I.

Alford, forever a legend in the state, became Manchester College’s coach eight games into the 1991-92 season. The team was 0-8 then, and finished 4-24.

Last season, Manchester (enrollment 1,000) finished 20-8, setting a school record for most victories. This year, Alford’s team is 21-3 and regular-season conference champions for the first time in the college’s history. One of the three losses was an 11-point defeat by Division I member Ball State, currently tied for second place in the Mid-American Conference. The other loss came on a buzzer beater.

Athletic directors and search committees notice this sort of thing. If they don’t, they might want to start.

“It’s hard not to sit around and think about (a Division I) job,” Alford said. “I have no idea what timetable there is. I do know the institution here has been very good to me.”

And vice versa.

Alford, whose brief NBA career lasted several uneventful seasons, could have gone the conventional route: Take a Division I assistant’s job and hope. Instead, he took a chance on Manchester. And Manchester took a chance on him.

The results?

“I know I’m in a position now that I don’t have to jump at the first Division I opportunity,” he said.

Alford has yet to hear from his former coach, Bob Knight, this season. Then again, Alford has a better record.

In fact, the last time the two talked, Knight wanted to know if Alford would be interested in appearing in the movie, “Blue Chips.” Alford, contrary to what he did during his playing career, decided to pass.

A filming footnote: Rather than accept a fee for his work in the movie, Knight asked Paramount to donate money to the Indiana University library fund. If you combine the Paramount check and money raised at a reception before last week’s Bloomington premiere, the total was about $85,000. Also, director William Friedkin, who attended the premiere, endowed a basketball scholarship at the school. It will be called, “The Red Auerbach-Pete Newell Basketball Scholarship.” Cost: about $150,000.

WAR OF WORDS

Is everyone taking cheap shots at UCLA, or does it just seem that way?

Arizona’s recent rout of the Bruins didn’t go unnoticed on the East Coast. Said Temple’s John Chaney: “You would figure looking at all that talent, you wouldn’t say they would win, but you’d figure it would be closer than 20.”

And this from North Carolina’s Dean Smith, who still seemed in shock over Notre Dame’s Feb. 6 victory over the Bruins: “What (the Irish) did to UCLA wasn’t even close.”

Arizona Coach Lute Olson, one of the foremost experts on postseason choke collars, hasn’t wasted much time planting the psychological seeds. After the lopsided victory over the Bruins, Olson popped off about teams feeling pressure . . . blah, blah, blah.

Olson would know. The Wildcats couldn’t make it past the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1993 or ‘92, losing to underdogs Santa Clara and East Tennessee State, respectively. At least, the Bruins advanced to the final eight in ’92 and reached the second round last season.

THE REST

Members of the NCAA tournament selection committee are keeping a close watch on the weekly RPI ratings, which measure, among other things, strength of schedule and quality of victories and losses. The latest top-10 RPI rankings: Missouri, Purdue, Michigan, Arizona, Temple, Louisville, North Carolina, Duke, Arkansas and Kansas. The latest conference rankings: Big 10, Atlantic Coast, Big Eight, Metro, Big East, Atlantic 10, Great Midwest, Southeastern, Pacific 10 and Western Athletic. Said Duke Athletic Director Tom Butters, who begins his sixth and final year as chairman of the selection committee: “Parity is the word. It was the word last year. It is this year. I suspect it is for years to come.” . . . After serving a one-game suspension for threatening Massachusetts Coach John Calipari, an apologetic John Chaney faces UMass tonight at Temple’s McGonigle Hall, which is nothing more than an oversized high school gym, capacity 3,900. “It certainly was a tough week in a sense of watching my team go out and play a basketball game,” Chaney said. “It was the first time in my career I was without a team.” . . . Federal mediators continue to play calendar tag with the NCAA and the Black Coaches Assn. According to a U.S. Justice Department official, both sides are having a difficult time finding a date that fits everyone’s schedule. Nor does it help that Colorado President Judith Albino, the chairperson of the powerful Presidents Commission, is fighting to keep her job back on the Boulder campus.

Barring some wondrous late-season rush, Georgia will be an NCAA tournament no-show. But if nothing else, Bulldog Coach Hugh Durham has solved the mystery of why free-throw percentages are down this season. “Everybody slaps skin,” he said. “Rather than concentrating on making (free throws), you have to think about high fives.” Then again, you could do what Kentucky did in its recent victory over Vanderbilt: Cheat. Twice in the second half, the Wildcats switched players at the foul line and got away with it. Walter McCarty (51.2% on free throws) sneaked in for Andre Riddick (31.8%), and Gimel Martinez (80.5%) replaced Jared Prickett (54.9%). McCarty and Martinez made three of the four attempts. . . . Khary Stanley, a 6-foot-11 sophomore center from Lynwood, has left Drake and returned home to attend to unspecified “family problems.” Drake Coach Rudy Washington told Stanley his scholarship would be available next season if he chooses to return to school.

Despite a soft nonconference schedule specifically designed for lots of victories and an NCAA bid, Florida State (12-11) has been reduced to one hope. “Right now, our shot’s got to be the (ACC) tournament,” Seminole Coach Pat Kennedy said. An automatic bid goes to the conference tournament winner. According to Kennedy, who studies these sorts of things, four marquee programs have been wrecked by injuries, graduation or early departures: Florida State (25-10 last season), Utah (12-12 this season, 24-7 in 1992-93), Seton Hall (13-10/28-7) and Iowa (10-11/23-9). . . . Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino isn’t kidding when he says the four best backcourts in the country include Arizona (Khalid Reeves, Damon Stoudamire), Arkansas (Corey Beck, Clint McDaniel), Florida ( Dan Cross, Craig Brown) and a Bay Area twosome (Hint: It isn’t Cal’s Jason Kidd and whoever). The answer: San Francisco’s Orlando Smart and Gerald Walker.

Alford, who in years past has been critical of Indiana guard Damon Bailey’s inability to take full advantage of the Hoosiers’ motion offense, has a revised view: “He’s definitely stepped things up. With (Calbert) Cheaney and (Greg) Graham gone, he sees his role being increased. He’s had a very good career.” Bailey averaged 10.1 points a game last season, 21.6 points this season. He’ll probably finish his career as the fifth-leading scorer in Hoosier history, no small feat. . . . North Carolina’s Smith was full of opinions this week. His choice for No. 1: Duke. “The more I see of them, they might be the best team,” he said. His choice for American League rookie of the year: Michael Jordan. “Don’t ever say he can’t do something,” Smith said. He later added, “I would never sell Michael short if he says this is his goal. He loves to do things that people say he can’t.”

The Top 10

As selected by Gene Wojciechowski

Team Record 1. Arkansas 20-2 2. Michigan 19-4 3. Missouri 21-2 4. Duke 20-3 5. North Carolina 22-5 6. Connecticut 22-3 7. Temple 19-4 8. Indiana 16-5 9. Kentucky 21-5 10. Arizona 21-4

Waiting list: Purdue (22-4), Louisville (21-4), UCLA (18-3), Massachusetts (21-5), Kansas (21-6).