Friday September 26, 2003 www.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com Q~Jbe 3titgu ~U iPORTS 7A Can we have this dance? Amaker & Co. are cutting 'Footloose' Nineteen years ago, the movie "Footloose" was released. In the classic film, Kevin Bacon plays a rebellious city kid who moves into an uptight country community. The minister of the community, played by John Lithgow, heads a movement that has banned dancing from the town. Bacon, though, refuses to put up with the rules, demanding that the teenagers of the town be allowed to dance. As Bacon continues to rebel, the other kids rally behind him, challenging Lithgow's authority. At the end of ther movie, Lithgow finally relents, allowing the community the priv- ilege of a long-awaited dance. "How in the world is this rele- CHRIS vant?" you may be asking. "Just talk BURIE about basketball you schmuck." Settle down, I'm getting there. Goin' to work Michigan's basketball team has reenacted "Footloose." Think about it ... coach Tommy Amaker arrives in Ann Arbor, a town fed up with basketball. Shortly after his arrival, the ruling comes down - the Wolverines are not allowed to dance. "Not fair," cries Amaker. "Past mistakes shouldn't keep my kids from dancing." So Amaker rallies his team, gets the support of the fans and the community, and the Wolverines keep on playing. They play through a 17-13 year, sending the message to the NCAA that things are different in Ann Arbor now. It's a program of good kids, clean kids - kids that want to dance. And then, at the last moment, with the first practice of the year clearly in sight, the NCAA changes its mind. "Okay," the committee says. "Dance." Well, Tommy, go ahead and kick off your Sunday shoes. The black cloud that has been hanging over the Michigan program for what seems like an eternity has finally lifted. With the Infractions Appeals Committee's decision to lift Michigan's postseason ban for this season, the Wolverines again have something to play for. Not just pride or Big Ten respectability, but the ultimate goal: To hear your team's name called off on Selection Sunday. The last time that happened was 1998. The last time it happened without a player who was paid by booster Ed Martin was when Michigan lost to Arkansas in the 1994 Elite Eight. Remember that game? Led by Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose, Michigan looked like it was heading back to the Final Four until a crazy game of chicken involving two tractors ... wait, I might be confusing the team with the movie. Keep in mind that this wasn't supposed to happen. The NCAA never does this. If there's an organization in America that doesn't loosen its stance, it's the NCAA. But this is the day that Amaker has been building toward since he was put in charge of saving the Michigan program in 2001. Everything - the recruiting, the rededication to the fans and the improvement of the team - has been leading up to this. The Wolverines never stopped, like Bacon dancing in empty barns and in fields, knowing that, eventually, the Martin scan- dal would be in the background. And now, here it is. No, the torn-down banners won't hang from the Crisler Arena rafters again. The Wolverines will still have to deal with probation and paying money back to the NCAA. Big deal. It's got to be hard for the Wolverines to pay attention to that with the music blaring in the background. Time to cut loose, Blue. Footloose. You're allowed to dance again. - Chris Burke has no idea if this column makes sense, but he can still be reached at chrisbur@umich.edu. Sophomore Daniel Horton was one of five Wolverines who attended the Maize Rage meeting at Cliff Keen Arena. Fans express shock and jOy at first Maize Rage meeting New precedent sets up NCAA fallout ohn Lithgow's character in "Footloose" and the NCAA are weak. Simply put. They buckled under pressure, and now the floodgates are open. Don't get me wrong, I was all for Kevin Bacon busting it loose, and to see the innocent of the Michigan scandal - Tommy Amaker and his players - reprieved of all that they did- n't do was refreshing. But, let's face facts, the NCAA hurt itself by allowing Michigan to get the chance to be in the postseason this year. The NCAA Division I Infractions KYLE Appeals Committee used the seven fac- tors that it had for the Mississippi deci- O'NEILL sion in 1995 that banned the school The Daily Janitor from televised games to decide what should be done for Michigan. The first factor was "the nature, number and seriousness of the violation(s)." It doesn't get much bigger according to the NCAA. "In total, this is one of the three or four most egregious viola- tions of NCAA bylaws in the history of the association," NCAA Infractions Committee Chair Thomas Yeager said at the time. Then there's this statistic: of 215 major infractions cases since 1985, there have been 27 instances where the punishment was for two years or more. Not to state the obvious, but if this situation was "one of the three or four most egregious violations" ever, then shouldn't it be punished as such? Factor two was "the conduct and motives of the involved indi- viduals." Given that this was a simple violation of the NCAA rule to accept illegal gifts, there is not much debate as for where the Infractions Appeals Committee could have stood on this matter. For your record, that puts Michigan down 2-0 at this point. The University does gain one back on "the corrective actions taken by the University" (factor three). President Mary Sue Cole- man, Athletic Director Bill Martin and Amaker were nothing but compliant on what was handed down and also had taken action with their own self-imposed penalties. Factor four - which hurt Michigan originally - looks at "a comparison of the penalty or penalties imposed in other cases with similar characteristics." Originally, the NCAA Infractions Com- mittee compared Michigan to the 2002 decision on the Alabama football team. The appeals committee felt otherwise and gave another point to Michigan, even though it is essentially the same case. It was just never proven that any of the four Michigan bas- ketball players convicted received money before coming to the University. Which was the reason the comparison between the two was dropped - something that would be debatable had Ed Martin ever given his full testimony. Factors five through seven addressed the cooperation of the University, the impact on the innocent and the "NCAA policies regarding fairness." To continue with the point system that I have invented to go with these factors, that would give Michigan points for five and six and a meaningless loss off factor seven. Here's my question: Why should Michigan's theoretical 4-3 win be the deciding factor? Yes, this isn't Alabama. These players did- n't get money in high school, like the convicted Crimson Tide players did. So what? If this was one of the worst violations ever, then it should be punished as so. Not only to punish Michigan, but also to have a reference point in case another school comes in with similar violations. The NCAA, using its seven-factor system, has left itself wide open for interpretations in any case down the road. No infringement is exactly the same as another, and while it is fine to use comparisons to help with decisions, each situation needs its own individual look. This decision has set a new standard that the NCAA will have to follow when dealing with breaches of set rules that are not amongst the worst in NCAA history. Like I said, I'm happy to see those who didn't break the rules not get punished. I just hope the NCAA is ready for the fallout of letting Michigan essentially decide its own punishment and walk away with the wounds ofjust one lost season. By Dan Rosen Daily Sports Writer Freshman Kyle Brown sifted through a newspaper in class yesterday morning, but he didn't notice the front page until he walked out into the hall. When he and his roommate, freshman James McKenzie, finally saw the news that the Michigan basketball team was again eligible for the postseason, Brown began "freaking out." "I called my brother; I called my friend," Brown said. "I was like, 'I've got to talk to someone,' because I was so excited." Last night, Brown and about 100 other Michigan basketball fans gathered at the Maize Rage mass meeting at Cliff Keen Arena. Before yesterday, none of them seemed to know this news was coming.- "You appeal, but you don't really expect anything to come of it," Michigan graduate student Paul Gromek said. "I was just resigned to the fact that there wasn't really going to be any postseason this year." Many heard rumors about the appeal Wednesday night, but were afraid to get their hopes up. Senior Peter Lund, the group's leader, got an email from a buddy about it, but was "skeptical." It wasn't until he saw the headlines the next day that he let the idea sink in. Lund said that he expects more people to come out to basketball games now. The Maize Rage hopes to build a team of around 1,000 to cheer on the Wolver- ines this season. It would be the largest group of stu- dents the Ragers have ever had. "I think being tournament-worthy (last year), in terms of our team's record, and not being able to go was a frustrating experience," said Lund, also known as Superfan IV "It really makes you appreciate it, now that we are eligible." "We were going to cheer them on 100 percent, regardless, but it does give you a little more reward to look for in the end." Five Wolverines - captains Bernard Robinson and J.C. Mathis, sophomores Daniel Horton and Chris Hunter and redshirt freshman Amadou Ba - made an appearance at the meeting to show their appreciation to the Maize Rage. And if the players do go dancing in March, many of the fans at the meeting last night pledged to join them. "There is reason to believe this team can go to the national championship," Lund told the crowd. "We haven't had that for four or five years." THE DECISION The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee decided to reverse the ruling on this year's postseason ban. The appeal was granted after determining the "excessive- ness" of a second-year ban, - Though NCAA Bylaw 19.5.2.1 does not mandate the specific length of post-season bans, muki year bans have been imposed in. 29A-percent of the cases. -The factors which have lead to multi-year bans in the past include "repeat violator status lack of institutional control, or aca demic fraud." None of these stipulations are evident in this case -The committee concluded that Michigan did not receive a stag- gering competitive advantage" because the student-athletes involved would have played for the school even if they hadn't received loans. Before, Michigan had been likened to AlabamaT which in 2002, had players found guilty of receiving gifts before and during their tenure at Alabama. - The committee recognized the institution's "cooperai on"in itn rifying the athletes involved and loan amounts. 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