UNLV’s Creative Curriculum Includes Far-Out Lesson Plans

Columnist Joe Gergen of Newsday recently covered a round-table discussion at Fordham University titled, “The Growing Impact of Professional Sports on Higher Education.”

Moderator Timothy Healy, former president of Georgetown University, told the story of the Nevada Las Vegas basketball team’s 19-day, nine-game trip to the South Pacific in 1987. The team took along a professor, who taught a course called Contemporary Issues in Social Welfare. Each player got six credits for the course, which soon became known as Palm Trees 101.

Said Healy: “Don’t blame Tark the Shark (UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian). Behind that Palm Trees course is a department, a faculty, a dean, a president. That’s a public university and there’s a governor and a legislature. That’s a mess that can be cleaned up as easily as swabbing the deck.”

Add Gergen: Afterward, the columnist asked NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, one of the panelists, what would happen if only students went to college and were student-athletes.

Said Tagliabue: “The quality of college ball would decline. College games wouldn’t be as attractive to television. They wouldn’t get that money. It wouldn’t affect the quality of the NFL.”

Gergen suggested that the NFL and the NBA would then expand their minor league development, and the colleges would stop being the minor leagues.

Said Tagliabue “I’m not sure it would work . . . but it might be worth doing.”

Gergen wrote: “Don’t worry. Won’t happen. It’s too modest a proposal. It’s too simple, like swabbing the deck.”

Trivia time: Name the five former Lakers who were NBA rookies of the year with other teams.

Commanded, so to speak: How is New York Giant running back Ottis Anderson enjoying his Super Bowl XXV most-valuable-player status?

David Davidson, who covers sports business for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, recently reported that the marketing company handling Anderson has booked him for 15 autograph sessions, at $15,000 each.

Tom DeSantis, who handles Anderson’s business for the company, said: “Before the Super Bowl, he might have commanded $1,500 per show.”

With tips: Caddies on the PGA Tour are often paid a percentage of a player’s earnings.

Mark Calcavecchia was asked about his arrangement with his wife, Sheryl, who occasionally caddies for him.

Said Calcavecchia: “She’s the only one I know of who gets 100%.”

Trivia answer: Wilt Chamberlain, with Philadelphia in 1959-60; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with Milwaukee in 1969-70; Bob McAdoo, with Buffalo in 1972-73; Keith (later Jamaal) Wilkes, with Golden State in 1974-75; Adrian Dantley, with Buffalo in 1976-77.

Quotebook: Boston Celtic Coach Chris Ford, on his constant standing during NBA games: “I apologize to all the fans whose view I obstruct. But not to the media.”