St. Petersburg City Council members were told yesterday
that NCAA rules "won't permit the city to put its name on a
new basketball scoreboard that will be installed" at
Tropicana Field for the college basketball tournament in
March, a scoreboard the "city has to pay for," according to
Carlos Moncada of the TAMPA TRIBUNE. In addition, the NCAA
will not allow the city's name to appear on street banners
the NCAA will design to be hung throughout the Tampa area.
That decision "didn't sit well with some council members,
who still are upset that national media reports persist in
locating the domed stadium in 'Tampa' or 'Tampa Bay,' as
they did during the opening day" of MLB in March. St.
Petersburg Marketing Dir Anita Treiser said that the city
might be able to use separate banners with the city's name
in conjunction with NCAA street banners that will carry the
NCAA-designated Final Four logo (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 8/19).
WHAT'S IN A NAME? The new name of the conference formed
by the eight schools leaving the WAC "apparently will not be
tied to a corporation." There had been talk the new league
would seek a title sponsor which would pay a fee to attach
its name to the eight-team conference. Univ. of UT AD Chris
Hill said the new conference will "go with a more
conventional name" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 8/19).
