Bilsky is new AD

W.C. Mepham High School '91 Bellmore, N.Y. Bilsky, who will remain as George Washington athletic director until July 1, was named to the same post at Penn at a press conference February 28 at the Palestra. Bilsky, 44, graduated from Wharton in 1971, and played on three Quaker basketball teams. His senior season, the Quakers were undefeated until a loss in the NCAA tournament Eastern Regional final to Villanova. Published reports placed Bilsky's salary between $100,000 and $200,000 per year, along with a country club membership, use of a car and free education at Penn for his two children. The total value of the deal is estimated at $1.75 million over a seven-year period. Standing on the spot of one of the most important shots in Penn basketball history, Bilsky, a 1988 Big 5 Hall of Fame inductee, remembered what happened on a glorious day at the Palestra January 5, 1969. "We had played Villanova in a time when the basic feeling in Philadelphia was that there were four good schools and Penn," Bilsky said. "We changed that around quickly on that night." The Wildcats were nationally ranked and a daunting opponent. So Penn decided to hold onto the ball, and milk the clock at every opportunity throughout the contest. The old scoreboard at the Palestra showed the score knotted at 30, and the ball found its way into Penn's hands for the the final shot. Bilsky, freed by a pick, shot the ball. Swish. "People poured out of the stands," he said. "And from that night on, nobody thought of it as the Big 4 and Penn -- it was the Big 5." A generation after his buzzer-beater against 'Nova, Steve Bilsky was again on top of the world.

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