JOKE ISSUE: M. Hoops to join Atlantic 10 next season

The move will only affect the men's basketball team, which is seeking better competition. In an unprecedented break from tradition, Athletic Director Steve Bilsky announced that the Penn men's basketball team would be severing its ties with the Ivy League and joining the Atlantic 10 Conference, beginning with the 2000-01 season. At a press conference at the Atlantic 10 office in Philadelphia last night, Bilsky -- flanked by Penn men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy and Atlantic 10 Commissioner Linda Bruno -- shook the athletic world and revealed that the Quakers would be leaving the Ivy ranks to join the more competitive Atlantic 10. "The Atlantic 10 is a great match for the Penn men's basketball program," Bilsky said. "Do not shed a tear for Penn or the Ivy League. This is a rebirth for the Penn men's basketball team." The move means that Penn -- for the first time in its history -- would allow athletic scholarships for its men's basketball program. For 45 years, the Ivy League has officially served as a scholarship-free pillar of academic integrity in the world of intercollegiate athletics and has consisted of the same eight institutions -- Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale -- since the Ivy Group Agreement was signed into effect. Bilsky made it clear that Penn has no intentions of severing its relationship with the Ivy League. The Ivy League currently crowns champions in 33 sports, while Penn fields 28 varsity athletic teams. Only the men's basketball team will leave the Ivy League for the scholarship-granting A-10. "We felt that, given the financial considerations involved, a move to the A-10 made sense for Penn basketball as the University moves into the 21st century," Bilsky said. "With the move, we will have increased television revenues and media exposure for the University of Pennsylvania." The Athletic Department at Penn currently hemorrhages over $2 million annually. While many peer institutions fund their entire athletic budget on the strength of football and basketball revenues, Ivy League restrictions, coupled with free tickets in football, travel, equipment and other costs in both football and men's basketball as well as the bloated salaries of several of Penn's coaches, have left Penn's Athletic Department financially strapped and its Weightman fund hovering near empty. While no one at the University would comment, Athletic Communications intern Jim Morlock did give his insight. "It is my understanding that we're not working with much here," Morlock said. While a move to I-A in football was beyond consideration, a jump from the Ivies in men's basketball requires little capital at the outset and promises greater immediate concern. "A move in football is not feasible, so many scholarships, coaches, so much hassle. But in basketball, that's only a handful of scholarships," Bilsky said. "That means we can be even more competitive -- and financially successful -- without making a drop in the bucket of Penn's academic integrity. Four scholarships a year will hardly register on the pages of U.S. News & World Report." According to Bruno, Penn and the Atlantic 10 are an ideal fit. "The A-10 has prospered through our members' firm commitments to their student-athletes," Bruno said. "As a conference, we have ascended to national prominence while solidifying our unwavering dedication to providing a competitive athletic environment without sacrificing the high ideals of scholarship and sportsmanship. "Penn is the perfect model for the A-10, while we have so much to offer the University of Pennsylvania in return." The Quakers will join the A-10 East division, replacing St. Bonaventure -- the smallest school in the conference with 2,500 students -- and preserving the balance in the A-10, which currently fields six teams in each of two divisions. "I welcome Penn with open arms. This is great news for the Atlantic 10, for Penn and the city of Philadelphia," St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said in a statement released this morning. The Quakers join Martelli's Hawks and fellow Philadelphia school Temple in the East alongside Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was at first proposed that La Salle would switch from the A-10 West to the East in order to bring the Big 5 schools together but that idea was eventually abandoned due to lack of interest. That lack of interest extended to anger on the part of one coach. "Why won't you just let the Big 5 die? You media folks are the only people who care about anyway. Quit living in the past!" exclaimed La Salle coach William "Speedy" Morris. The A-10 West will thus consist of La Salle, George Washington, Xavier, Virginia Tech and Duquesne. But what about the Bonnies? "America should shed a tear for us. We've been a part of this conference since 1980, back when it was called the Eastern 8," Bonnies assistant basketball coach Adam Magnus said. "What about Dayton? they just joined in '96." Penn coach Fran Dunphy, who has guided the Quakers to four NCAA Tournament appearances -- and one post-season victory -- in 10 years at the Quakers helm, applauded the move from a coaching standpoint. "The Atlantic 10 has its roots as an old-fashioned East Coast basketball conference," Dunphy said. "But it's no dinosaur. The A-10 has sent 13 teams to the NCAAs in the past three years." The Ivy League, meanwhile has never sent an at-large team to the NCAA Tournament. Dunphy reiterated Bilsky's sentiments that this was not the end for Penn but a new beginning with its roots firmly grounded in tradition. "The Ivy League tradition is unshakably strong. But the beauty of Penn basketball is that it has always been about more than the Ivy League. It is about the Big 5, and it is about the Palestra. While the Big 5 may have changed in recent years, this move will help to revitalize it. But more importantly, we -- the coaches, the players, the fans -- will still have the Palestra, the finest facility in college basketball. "And as long as we have the Palestra, it doesn't matter what conference we're in -- A-10, Ivy, America East, you name it -- as long as its doors are still open, we can rest easy at night." Penn's move will, however, mean the end of one storied tradition -- the Penn-Princeton basketball rivalry. The two schools have put a stranglehold on the Ivy league, combining for 36 of the last 40 titles, while their twice-annual matchups have become the stuff of legend. "I've always considered myself an A-10 kind of guy," said Bilsky, who previously served as athletic director at A-10 member GW and played his penultimate college game against current A-10 member Duquesne. "Once this thing gets going, though, once you have top programs like UMass and URI and Temple coming in to play in a packed Palestra, with pride and conference standings on the line, the fans will be saying, 'Princeton who?'"