THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 B3
Stadiums
Continued from B1
In the ultimate oversight,
there is only one Power Five
football stadium that carries
the name of a Black player
— Iowa State’s Jack Trice Sta-
dium.
On the basketball side,
Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel
Veterans Memorial Coliseum
is the lone Power Five confer-
ence arena named for an Af-
rican American, honoring a
heroic medic who earned the
Medal of Honor during the
Vietnam War.
Trice’s tragic story — the
school’s first Black athlete, he
died of injuries sustained in
a 1923 game against Minne-
sota — was largely forgotten
until students began push-
ing for him to be recognized
in the 1970s and early ‘80s,
according to Steve Jones, a
longtime Iowa State employee
who wrote the children’s book,
“Football’s Fallen Hero: The
Jack Trice Story.”
Finally, in 1997, the school
agreed to rename what was
then known as Cyclone Sta-
dium after Trice.
It was a worthy tribute.
“He was trying to open
doors for other African Amer-
icans,” said Jones, who is now
retired from the university.
“The Jack Trice story reso-
nates more today than it ever
has.”
Joel, who died in 1984, was
honored by his hometown of
Winston-Salem, North Car-
olina, five years later when it
opened a new arena for Wake
Forest. The name stuck even
after the school took control
of the arena a few years ago.
“There was no question that
Lawrence Joel’s name would
stay as part of the arena,”
Wake Forest athletic director
John Currie said. “He’s a big
part of how Wake Forest and
Winston-Salem are tied to-
gether.”
Currie hopes more recogni-
tion will come to Black Amer-
icans.
“Most college campuses
were built a long time ago, so
the names on them were from
a long time ago,” he said. “We
have opportunities to make
how we’ve honored people
more inclusive of the heritage
of our universities.”
Texas took a step in that
direction last summer, hop-
ing to address the concerns of
Black athletes by renaming the
field at Royal-Texas Memorial
Stadium for Heisman Trophy
winners Earl Campbell and
Ricky Williams.
But that was merely a tepid
start.
Recognizing that certain
financial and logistical issues
might need to be resolved,
Ryan Brennecke/Bulletin file photo
Runners make their way through the course while competing in the
Oxford Classic cross-country race in Bend’s Drake Park in 2019.
Adrian Kraus/AP file
Syracuse and Louisville play in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York, in 2018. The 49,000-seat stadium,
which serves as home of Syracuse’s football and basketball programs, opened in 1980 with a name tied to
a large donation made by the heating and air conditioning conglomerate.
here are some other changes
that would do justice to the
history of Black athletes.
Sanford Stadium
Known for its famed hedges
that encircle the playing field,
the 92,000-seat home of the
Georgia Bulldogs carries the
name of Steadman Vincent
Sanford, a university president
in the 1930s and driving force
behind the development of
the school’s athletic program
in the Jim Crow era. (In ad-
dition, the field was named
in honor of longtime former
coach Vince Dooley in 2019).
Herschel Walker Stadium
would be a much more wor-
thy title in today’s times. He
was unquestionably the great-
est football player in school
history, leading the school to
its only consensus national
championship in 1980 and
winning the Heisman Trophy
in 1982. While a bit of a polar-
izing figure these days because
of his political views, there is
no doubt that Walker’s athletic
accomplishments are worthy
of this ultimate honor.
And hey, while they’re at
it, Georgia officials should
also change the name of their
basketball arena, Stegeman
Coliseum, which recognizes
a white basketball coach from
a century ago. Basketball Hall
of Famers Dominique Wilkins
and Teresa Edwards, who
both starred in the 10,000-
seat facility during their col-
lege careers, are deserving of
Wilkins-Edwards Coliseum.
Pauley Pavilion
One of college basketball’s
most storied venues, the home
of the UCLA Bruins opened
in 1965 after a major donation
from University of Califor-
nia regent Edwin W. Pauley.
While he could continue to
be honored in some way, the
13,800-seat arena should be
named after the greatest in a
long line of stellar players who
have led the school to a record
11 national titles — Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar Pavilion.
During his three years on
the varsity team, Abdul-Jabbar
earned All-America honors
each year while leading the
Bruins to an 88-2 record and
three national championships.
His continuing work to ad-
vance social justice only adds
to his legacy, not to mention
his brilliant comedic turn as
co-pilot Roger Murdock in
the film “Airplane!”
Jordan-Hare Stadium
Auburn’s 87,000-seat sta-
dium is named for storied
coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan
and Cliff Hare, a member of
Auburn’s first football team
as well as an early president
of the Southern Conference,
the SEC’s predecessor. In to-
day’s times, it should carry the
name of the greatest player in
school history.
Bo knows it should be Bo
Jackson Stadium. Or, at the
very least, Jackson-Jordan Sta-
dium.
Frank Erwin Center
While Texas should go a
step further by adding the
names of Campbell and Wil-
liams to its entire football sta-
dium, a more pressing case
can be made for changing the
name of the school’s current
basketball arena, the Erwin
Center. Its namesake was the
powerful chairman of the
school’s board of regents in
the 1960s, when he used his
influence to stifle anti-Viet-
Hockey
Continued from B1
Though fans can’t attend,
the game will be broadcast in
the U.S. and Canada. The two
teams will also play Saturday
in New Jersey.
The games represents a
continuation of the players’
objective to raise the visibility
of women’s hockey some 13
months after U.S. and Cana-
dian national team members
participated in the NHL’s All-
Star weekend festivities. And
they represent an opportunity
to regain the momentum in
the PWHPA’s bid to establish
a professional league in North
America.
“We had a tremendous
amount of success with the
NHL in the year prior. I don’t
think those opportunities are
going to go away,” Knight said.
“Obviously, I wanted every-
thing to happen yesterday,
right? We all wanted a league
years ago. But things are com-
ing along, which is great.”
The NHL continues to be
on board, with the Chicago
Blackhawks hosting a tour
stop the following weekend,
and the Toronto Maple Leafs
pledging support even though
they can’t host an event be-
cause of health regulations.
Just as important, the
PWHPA’s list of corporate
partners has grown despite
the pandemic, with Secret
Deodorant committing $1
million to become the tour’s
prime sponsor, and the Mark
Messier Foundation recently
pledging to match donations
up to $100,000.
The association already had
Michael Dwyer/AP file
Canada’s Meaghan Mikkelson (12) and Marie-Philip Poulin (29) de-
fend against United States’ Hilary Knight (21) during a rivalry series
game in Hartford, Connecticut in 2019. Knight hits the ice for the first
time at Madison Square Garden on Sunday for the opening stop of
the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association Dream Gap
Tour’s second season.
the backing from other cor-
porate sponsors to establish
five hubs — two in the U.S.
and three in Canada — where
players have free access to
practice and training facilities.
Led by the world’s top fe-
male players, the PWHPA
was founded in May 2019 fol-
lowing the economic demise
of the Canadian Women’s
Hockey League.
Rather than join forces
with the privately funded
U.S.-based National Women’s
Hockey League, the players
emphasized a need to start
over in forming one league
— ideally backed by the NHL
— in which players can earn
a sustainable wage and enjoy
health benefits.
The game at MSG comes
on the heels of the NWHL’s
failed bid to complete a two-
week season and playoffs at
Lake Placid, New York. Play
was canceled after two of the
six teams were unable to con-
tinue, and players tested pos-
itive for COVID-19. Though
the NWHL hasn’t ruled out
resuming competition next
month, it was a lost oppor-
tunity to increase the league’s
visibility because NBC Sports
Network was scheduled to
broadcast the semifinals and
championship game.
Negative publicity also
overshadowed the start of the
tournament, when a debate
arose over whether the media
site Barstool.com should be
considered a potential league
partner.
The NWHL said it would
not sell a franchise “to any-
body who is not fully support-
ive of this league’s values.”
nam War protesters and re-
move professors he viewed as
unpatriotic.
Former Texas basketball
stars T.J. Ford and Kevin Du-
rant are far more deserving
of recognition. The Erwin
Center should be changed to
the Ford Center, while Du-
rant’s name can be added to
the new 10,000-seat arena the
school plans to open before
the 2022-23 season. It’s going
to be called the Moody Cen-
ter, recognizing a foundation
that made a huge donation.
Surely the folks at Moody
would be good calling it the
Moody-Durant Center.
Carrier Dome
The 49,000-seat stadium,
which serves as home of Syr-
acuse’s football and basketball
programs, opened in 1980
with a name tied to a large
donation made by the heat-
ing and air conditioning con-
glomerate. While the field
now carries the name of Ernie
Davis, college football’s first
Black Heisman Trophy win-
ner, the entire facility should
be renamed the Jim Brown
Dome.
Brown was one of college
and pro football’s greatest
stars, as well as a towering
figure among athletes who
fought for civil rights in the
1960s (a role that is fictionally
portrayed in the movie “One
Night in Miami,” a leading
Oscar contender).
That’s just a few possibili-
ties.
Obviously, many other Af-
rican American athletes merit
similar honors by the schools
they represented so well.
They deserve to be remem-
bered all year — not just a
month.
The woes re-emphasized
the PWHPA’s objective for the
sport to start fresh.
“It hopefully reminds peo-
ple why we’re doing what we’re
doing,” PWHPA executive
Jayna Hefford said.
“It’s not us against them. It’s
about the infrastructure and
resources,” she added. “It takes
a huge investment. And that’s
what we’re standing for. We’ve
got to be able to put women’s
professional hockey on a plat-
form to succeed.”
Hefford said there is added
urgency to take advantage
of the boost women’s hockey
will get from competing
at the 2022 Beijing Winter
Games.
“I don’t know when a league
starts, but if you’re looking
at the fall of 2022, something
needs to exist,” she said. “We’re
in a place where we’re trying
to figure out what that is and
what it looks like.”
The New York Rangers
were among the first to part-
ner with the PWHPA this
season.
“I think every step forward
is an advancement that’s im-
portant,” said Rangers pres-
ident John Davidson, who
was a part of the broadcast
team covering the U.S. win-
ning the Olympics’ first wom-
en’s hockey gold medal at the
1998 Nagano Games. “I’ve
always had a belief in wom-
en’s hockey, and the Garden is
stepping up.”
Hefford, a Hockey Hall of
Fame member, can’t wait for
the puck to drop Sunday.
“Yeah, I almost came out of
retirement,” she said. “I want
to play there.”
Cross-country
cross-country season started
earlier this winter and the
mask rule there was changed
Continued from B1
Strang, a volunteer assistant
to allow runners to pull down
at Summit the past two years,
their masks during a race.
took over for Jim and Carol
Strang is one of several
McLatchie, who stepped down cross-country coaches in Ore-
in February 2020 after oversee- gon working with the Oregon
ing a stunning run of success
Health Authority on proposed
since taking over in 2012.
rule changes that would follow
Strang said the Storm have
what was done in Washington.
been practicing unofficially for
Strang said she is a huge
the past several
mask proponent,
“Our philosophy
months, taking a
but noted that
break in Novem-
both the World
has been to just
ber and Decem-
Health Organi-
ber when state
zation and the
try to keep the
restrictions pre-
Centers for Dis-
vented them from kids out there
ease Control do
practicing.
not recommend
together as much
In a normal
masks for runners
as possible. I think
cross-country
who are exerting
season, runners
at a high level.
would build their we would welcome
“I think we
training in order
can do it in a way
the competition,
to peak at districts
where the meets
but we don’t want
and state. With-
are started with
out those meets
masks on, and
that to be the sole
this season, the
once we have sep-
focus. The focus
focus has shifted.
aration on the
“Our philos-
course, then the
is more around
ophy has been
masks can come
to just try to
down, as long
being together. At
keep the kids out
as they can keep
this point, it’s such
there together
some separation,”
as much as pos-
Strang said. “And
a short season,
sible,” Strang
then they’d go
it’s hard enough
said. “I think we
back up right as
would welcome
they’re getting to
to schedule and
the competition,
the finish line.
but we don’t want manage all of these
That’s what’s be-
that to be the sole
ing proposed. It’s
meets.”
focus. The focus
about making
is more around
sure they have a
— Kari Strang,
being together.
positive experi-
Summit High School
At this point,
ence and want to
cross-country coach
it’s such a short
come back again
season, it’s hard
next fall. If it’s de-
enough to schedule and man-
nied, then we will wear masks
age all of these meets. We’re
the entire time.”
scrambling to find venues and
Whether the rule get mod-
put in all the protocols to keep
ified or not, cross-country
things safe. We want the focus
coaches are focused on keeping
to be on the athlete experience a fun, positive environment as
and making sure it’s as positive runners return to the sport.
as it can be.”
“We’re approaching it like
As of now, cross-country
how great can we make the
runners must wear masks 100
day, how can we be positive,
percent of the time at meets
what do we have to be grateful
and practices. Strang and Nye
for, and overall most import-
said their teams have been
ant, are we being safe?” Nye
adhering to those rules, even
said. “And we’re just getting
during their higher-intensity
up the next day and doing it
workouts, but that rule could
again.”
possibly change.
e e Reporter: 541-383-0318,
mmorical@bendbulletin.com
In Washington, the
Prep sports
Continued from B1
On the soccer field Thurs-
day, Mountain View boys host
Philomath and Summit hosts
Ridgeview, while Madras trav-
els to face Molalla. The Moun-
tain View girls welcome Crook
County, Summit travels to
Redmond to face Ridgeview,
while Sisters heads to Philo-
math. On the volleyball court,
Crook County hosts Moun-
tain View, Redmond travels to
Summit, Sisters faces Cascade
and La Pine welcomes Trinity
Lutheran.
While it seemed in early
February that the Friday Night
Lights would be shut off for
the year, the state reversed its
course and flipped the lights
back on. The traditional ri-
valry of Bend High and Red-
mond will be played Friday
night, along with a cross-town
matchup between Mountain
View and Summit. Crook
County will travel to play
North Marion, Sisters will host
Pleasant Hill, and Siuslaw will
make the trip from the coast to
face La Pine.
Sisters and Crook County
boys soccer, as well as Gilchrist
volleyball, compete Friday as
well.
If all goes according to plan,
the first week of high school
sports will be capped off Sat-
While it seemed in early
February that the Friday
Night Lights would be shut
off for the year, the state
reversed its course and
flipped the lights back on.
The traditional rivalry of
Bend High and Redmond
will be played Friday night,
along with a cross-town
matchup between Mountain
View and Summit.
urday with the Central Oregon
Cross-Country Rust Buster
Relays at Summit and a pair of
Bend High volleyball matches
against Redmond and Pend-
leton.
Also, Central Christian
will host Gilchrist and Trinity
Lutheran, while La Pine will
travel to face Santiam Chris-
tian. The La Pine girls soccer
team will also face Santiam
Christian while the La Pine
boys host East Linn Christian.
Bend High and Summit
boys will face off on the soc-
cer field, as will the Mountain
View and Summit girls to cap
off the first week of action.
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0307,
brathbone@bendbulletin.com