NEW YORK---In a press conference at Madison Square Garden today, various constituents of men’s intercollegiate basketball announced a formation of the College Basketball Partnership (CBP) designed to address the challenges and opportunities that face the sport.

A panel of individuals from men’s college basketball that included coaches, administrators and the NCAA discussed the role of the partnership in helping shape the future of the game. Led by NCAA President Myles Brand, the panel included Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski; Dave Gavitt, chairman emeritus of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame; Jim Delany, Big Ten Conference commissioner; Kelvin Sampson, University of Oklahoma head coach; University of Iowa director of athletics Bob Bowlsby; and Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University head coach.

In addition to representatives from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the NCAA staff, the CBP also includes members of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee, NCAA media partners and former coaches or administrators. (A complete roster is below.)

Brand noted that the group of more than two dozen individuals has had two meetings – June in New York City, and October in Chicago. The group currently has addressed only the men’s game because of the issues involved, but noted that there may be a parallel effort in the future for women’s basketball.

“The idea is to have these individuals come together as a planning group,” Brand said. “I was struck by the enthusiasm of the individuals who are participating in the partnership. Those representatives who are here today do so because of their love for the game and their desire to preserve its future.”

The NCAA president noted that “while the news today is about the formation of this advocacy partnership, the focus for the partnership is the college game.” He called college basketball an extraordinary asset for all of intercollegiate athletics in terms of a primary example of the uniquely American experiment in which athletics participation is a value-added component of higher education.

“Certainly, there are issues that must be addressed,” he said. “We don’t have our heads in the sand and we are not Pollyannas. But college basketball is our game and we are very proud of what it has been and what it can become.”

According to others on the panel, the College Basketball Partnership will use its broad composition to make recommendations and unify efforts to strengthen the game. It will use the NCAA governance structure to make changes where necessary.

The next meeting of the CBP is scheduled for April in St. Louis, the site of the 2005 Men’s Final Four.

• David Berst, vice-president for Division I
• Myles Brand, president
• Tom Jernstedt, executive vice-president
• Greg Shaheen, vice-president of Division I Men’s Basketball and Championship Strategies

As the group is informal, participants will be added as the group’s work continues.

-30-