12 - The Michigan Daily Summer Weekly - Wednesday, August 12,1992 FULL COURT PRESS Nix the split. season tix plan by Adam Miller Daily Basketball Writer Everyone likes banana splits. Accounting majors enjoy split transactions. Gymnasts love to do the splits. But there should be very few fans of the Athletic Department's split-season package plan for Michigan men's basketball student tickets. Anticipating a ticket rush the size the University has never seen before, the split-season proposal was devised to allow up tof6,200 students to purchase ticket packages. The plan was delineated in the "Michigan Basketball News" that accompanied student season football ticket deliveries. Here's how it works. Ticket applications will once again be taken at Crisler Arena, this time on Sunday, Oct. 11 from noon until 3 p.m. Tickets cost $78.00, and do not include the home games during winter break against Central Michigan (Dec. 21) or Eastern Michigan (Jan. 2) or the game against Minnesota, which falls during mid-winter break (Feb. 20). Once again, the passes are not for specific seats, and students must arrive at Crisler 90minutes early to get the bestseats. Same as last year. Aslong asno more than 3,100 students apply. But if 3,200 students apply, the new split-season plan comes into effect. The 3,000 students who have pur- chased tickets the most consecutive years receive full- season tickets. The other 200 receive one of two split plans. Both plans contain an assortment of games from throughout the season. Ah, but you'd hate to be one of the splitees. A Plan- A student gets to see the game against Michigan State on March7, but misses the games against Ohio State Jan. 26 and IndianaJan.12.For Plan-B'ers, it's just the opposite. Since the plans necessarily have no games in com- mon, there are other, similar"omissions"fromeach plan. Plan-A sees Illinois, Plan-B sees Iowa. And so on. Should we get to 4,500 applicants, more students receive splits (2,800) than not (1,700). At 6,200, every- one gets a split ticket. This seems silly, definitely contro- versial come October, and probably unnecessary. This whole mess makes you long for the old straight seniority system, or even hockey's system: first come, fist serve. And I say that firmly, cohesively, and with great conviction. No split decision here. SPORTING VIEWS Bring NBA stars back to Atlanta by Greg Richardson Daily Sports Writer As an Olympics filled with controversy ends, we can now look forward to a less controversial Olympics in Atlanta four years from now. For the rest of the world, the fact that the United States sent some of its best NBA players was practically a godsend. Players like Michael, Magic and Larry represent figures of divine likeness that captivated tie people of Barcelona and the rest of the world. Beyond a mere all-star team, the Dream Team distinguished itself by featuring two of the game's pioneers, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Another showcase was Jordan, who is not only the best player ever, but the most popular athlete in tie world. IHe angered many people with his position about wearing Reebok at the medal ceremony. And everyone remembers the Isiah Thomas controversy, where experts figured that Jorda's anger kept Isiah off the team. Despite these incidents, Miichael, along with other all-stars, deserved to participate in these Olympics fornsmay reasons, the foremost being that these guys are dse best. Isn't that what the Olympics are all about? The Dream Team should not have to apologize to anyone because it destroyed its opponents by an average of over 40 points. The rest of the world asked for it. The majority of other nations voted for NBA stars to participate in these Olympics, while USA Basketball voted against it. While there are many quality arguments for using colle- gians instead of pros, the pendulum tilts to the pros playing again in 1996. To start off, the players were moved by the experience. Granted, some of them were there to make a buck, but so are most other Olympic athletes. Furthermore, if the tournament is not that exciting, that's too bad for the other countries.It's not often they get to see these players dunking awayand the fact is the 1956 team led by Bill Russell obliterated there opponents by the same margins. It is a fact that the rest of the world has elevated its game in hoops. The same Croatian team that lost to the U.S. by 32 may very wellhavebeaten ateam of collegians. After all, the United States did not win the gold in 1988, and international compe- tition has only gotten better. In 1996 the world will not be as in awe of the NBA, and there is a good chance a team like Croatia could be wearing the gold in 1996 unless we send our pros. The collegians are not good enough to guarantee a win anymore. We should send our best, because of what the Olympic motto states: citius, altius, fortius. The rest of the world was captivatedby the NBA players. That is what the Olympic spirit is all about. I Under the new basketball studentseason ticket plan, some studentsmay be forced to have a split-season ticket which allows them to attend half the games. RECEPTIONISTS THE MICHIGAN UNION SCHEDULING OFFICE IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 1992. GREET CLIENTS -FILE TYPE TUESDAY 8AM -5PM THURSDAY 8AM- 2:30PM FRIDAY 8AM -OAM APPLY AT 1400 MICHIGAN UNION. MICHIGAN UNION GRADUATION Continued from page 11 the programs and made sure there was a support system here." Assistant Athletic Director for Aca- demic Services Phil Hughes, who runs the Academic Support Program, feels one of the important parts of the pro- gram is to help student-athletes with ' ine management. "Themainideaistogive back time," he said. "We have to keep the kids organized and work with problem solv- ing andgive tutorialsupport. They need more time tobe successful. The athletes give time to the University on the field and we give it back through these sup- port programs." The AthleticDepartmentgivesback time through its many programs, in- cluding itsnightly two-hourstudy tables, tutoring, counseling and the Mentor Program which pairs each athlete with faculty and staff volunteers on a one- on-one basis. The NCAA has tried to increase the ratesbypassingProposition48in 1986, which requires athletes to score an 18 on the ACT or a700 on the SAT as well as have a 2.0 grade point in 11 core courses.In January, the NCAAchanged the requirements to a 2.5 grade point in 13 corecourseswhileloweringthemini- mum ACT score to 17. Higher test scores can offset a lower grade point. While Hughes has not seen conclu- 'In general, Michigan coaches look for three things in prospective student-athletes - solid students, solid athletes and solid kids. They want all three. That's what I like so much about Michigan coaches - one-of-three or two- of-three is not enough.' - Phil Hughes Assistant Athletic Director sive evidence supporting the success of Prop 48, he does feel the Michigan coaches do a good job recruiting dedi- cated student-athletes. "In general, Michigan coaches look for three things in prospective student- athletes-solid students, solid athletes and solid kids. They want all three. That's whatIlikesomuchaboutMichi- gan coaches -one-of-three or two-of- three is not enough." The study also broke down the rates by gender, race and different sports. Women graduated at a rate about 20 points higher than men, while whites had a rate 15 points higher than their Black counterparts. The regular rate of baseball is 31 percent, however baseball is hindered because many players leave school af- ter theirjutnior years to play profession- ally. These students do count in the refined rate. Here is the refined rate for selected sports - football, 76 percent; men's basketball, 75; baseball, 71; women's basketball, 50;andeveryother women's team had a 100 percent rate. While Hughes is pleased with these rates, he feels too much emphasis is sometimes placed on them. "Degreesareonething,butitdoesn't end there," he said. "What are the em- ployment statistics? Are the kids able to securejobs. That'snimportant too.We're not a vo-tech school. We don't guaran- tee jobs, but we want to give the kids an opportunity." While there is no job placement program specifically for athletes, Hughes works with Career Planning and Placement to help the athletes find interviews and jobs.