Blocked Shot: NCAA Pulls Hooters' Ad From Final Four Program

NCAA Pulls Hooters Ad From Final Four Program

ATHLETE ADS: In Richmond, Paul Woody wrote under the header, "Commercials Add Up To Money For Everyone Except Athletes." Noting a Univ. of Virginia football ad featuring narration by WR Kevin Ogletree and RB Cedric Peerman, Woody wrote when a school uses a "star athlete to promote ticket sales, the money goes to the athletic department." The money also "can go to the coach, if he has a clause in his contract regarding attendance." While coaches "can sell just about anything," a system "should be put in place that permits college athletes to use their fame and public profile for their own benefit." Woody: "Failing that, athletic departments and conferences should be prohibited from using athletes to sell their products. Coaches should be prohibited from endorsing any products except those where the proceeds, in the NCAA's words, 'go directly to the member institution, member conference or the charitable, educational or nonprofit agency" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 4/6).

SOARING SALES: In San Antonio, William Pack reported NCAA merchandise sales over the weekend in the city "could top $2[M]." Stephen Haase, who ran the Team Store trailer by the Alamo, said, "They'll sell out by Saturday night." Meanwhile, five teams of law enforcement officers and Collegiate Licensing Co. officials "fanned out across San Antonio on Friday looking for counterfeit NCAA merchandise" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/5).

CASHING IN: In Charlotte, Kathryn Thier reported Davidson College, which advanced to the tournament's Elite Eight, has seen a "262[%] increase in Web site traffic," and there are "worries there won't be enough freshman housing next year. The Davidson bookstore, which usually sells "about $1,700" worth of merchandise a day, sold "about $40,000 a day during the week of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight appearances" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/5).

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