How mad is Cal's Madness idea?

UK officials had the same idea when Pitino took over in 1989

By Jerry Tipton / Herald-Leader Staff Writer

New Kentucky coach John Calipari set no precedents last week when he proposed that Big Blue Madness be moved to Commonwealth Stadium.

"That discussion has been had," Brooks Downing said last week. "In 1989."

Downing, who later became UK basketball's sports information director, was an intern in the athletic department that momentous year.

Chris Cameron, then UK's sports information director, noted an interesting parallel. The arrival of a new coach, then Rick Pitino and now Calipari, spurred athletic administrators to consider moving Madness to the football stadium.

"That was an exciting time with Rick on board," said Cameron, now an athletic media administrator at Boston College. "At that point, everybody thought the sky was the limit."

Ironically, the sky was the limiting factor. UK athletic officials feared the weather. It could be too cold or wet or both in mid-October to stage an outdoor basketball event. The players would be put at risk, a factor Calipari cited last week. Also the floor could be damaged.

"The over-riding factor was weather," Cameron said. "We had to be pragmatic. It was just too big a risk."

Cameron recalled the fun in thinking about such an event. As with many things during that heady time, Pitino inspired the fun.

"When I look back on that year, I actually am grateful to Rick," Cameron said. "He pushed us out of our comfort zone. He made us think outside the box. Rick fostered that mentality of thinking big. Nothing was off the table."

Well, almost nothing. After the administrators got serious about a Madness at Commonwealth Stadium, Downing recalled Pitino recoiling at the suggestion.

"Are you crazy?" he said (as Downing recalled). "What if somebody slips and falls? Are you crazy?"

Larry Ivy, then the No. 2 man in UK's athletic department, recalled two other issues: possible damage to the football field and the fact that the field has a crown. "You'd have to make sure the (basketball) floor was level," he said.

In throwing out the idea of an outdoor Madness, Calipari acknowledged potential problems, most notably the possibility of temperatures in the 30s.

UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart noted how Calipari's comments gave the idea "legs." But the concept of Commonwealth Stadium playing host to Madness remains problematic, at best.

"It's a wonderful idea," Barnhart said before adding, "There are a lot of logistical issues."

He noted how UK needed to show respect for Rich Brooks' football team, which is coming off three straight seasons capped by bowl victories.

By NCAA rule, Madness can be held on Oct. 16 this year. The football team is at Auburn on Oct. 17. Then there are home games the following three Saturdays: against Louisiana-Monroe, Mississippi State and Eastern Kentucky.

UK president Lee Todd applauded Calipari's "big idea" mentality. And, Todd added, Calipari's arrival — like Pitino's 20 years ago — inspires big ideas.

"I'm worried about how we're going to satisfy the appetite for Big Blue Madness if we don't have a football stadium full of people," Todd said. "Because everybody is going to want to go."

Summertime blues

During his news conference on Wednesday, UK Coach John Calipari renewed his call for the end of summer recruiting. He suggested that recruiting be confined to the time when prospects are in high school.

"I'd like to be like a father," he said. "Be at home."

Instead, college coaches must be at July camps watching prospects play in glorified pickup games. In some cases, the coaches already have evaluated the prospects.

"I end up being a cardboard cutout," Calipari said. "They tell me what gym to go to, and I end up doing a presidential wave. (The prospect) sees me. I see him. He sees me watching him as I see him watching me."

Calipari acknowledged that programs with small recruiting budgets like the summer camps because they can watch a lot of prospects in one trip. But the UK coach suggested such schools — and he repeatedly cited Morehead State as an example — would benefit if the NCAA abolished summer recruiting. Their prospects would not be as exposed to coaches from the big conferences.