| Game of the Century College Basketball |
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| Date | January 20, 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Houston Astrodome | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 52,629 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | TVS Television Network | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dick Enberg, Bob Pettit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Game of the Century in college basketball was an NCAA historical game between the University of Houston Cougars and the UCLA Bruins played on January 20, 1968 at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The UCLA Bruins football program competes in NCAA Division I-A and is a member of the Pacific-10 Conference. The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. John Robert Wooden (born October 14 1910) is a retired American Basketball coach Guy Vernon Lewis II (born in Arp Texas, United States of America, March 19, 1922) is a former NCAA Basketball coach A modern stadium (plural stadiums or stadia in English is a place or venue for (mostly outdoor Sports Concerts or other events consisting For the aeronautical use see Astrodome (aviation Reliant Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome A television network is a distribution network for Television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many Television stations The TVS Television Network, or TVS for short was a syndicator of American sports programming A sportscaster, (also sports announcer, sport commentator or sport presenter) is a type of Journalist on Radio and/or Television Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg (born January 9, 1935) is an American Sportscaster. Robert E Lee "Bob" Pettit (born December 12 1932 in Baton Rouge Louisiana, U Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m The University of Houston (often referred to as " U of H," " UH," or " Houston " is a public doctoral/research The University of California Los Angeles (generally known as UCLA) is a public research university located in Westwood Los Angeles, California, United Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For the aeronautical use see Astrodome (aviation Reliant Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome It was the first NCAA regular season game broadcast nationwide in prime time. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations It established college basketball as a sports commodity on television and paved the way for the modern "March Madness" television coverage.
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History
The UCLA Bruins were the dominant NCAA men's basketball program of the era, winning NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships in 1964, 1965, and 1967. The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California Los Angeles (UCLA The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the Houston Cougars coach Guy V. Lewis wanted to prove his program's worth to his critics, so he decided to schedule UCLA. Houston Cougars is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Houston. Guy Vernon Lewis II (born in Arp Texas, United States of America, March 19, 1922) is a former NCAA Basketball coach Houston and UCLA had met in the previous season in the semi finals of the 1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The 1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA UCLA had prevailed against Houston 73-58, and won that championship. [1]
The Game
Ted Nance, the sports information director for the University of Houston, put the schedule together. UCLA sports information director J. D. Morgan talked Bruin head coach John Wooden into the game by explaining how great it would be for college basketball. Nance put advertisements in the Cougar football programs touting the game as the "Game of the Century".
The game was televised nationally via a syndication package through the TVS Television Network, with Dick Enberg announcing and Bob Pettit providing color commentary. In Broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast Radio shows and Television shows to multiple individual stations without going through The TVS Television Network, or TVS for short was a syndicator of American sports programming Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg (born January 9, 1935) is an American Sportscaster. Robert E Lee "Bob" Pettit (born December 12 1932 in Baton Rouge Louisiana, U Morgan had insisted to TVS owner Eddie Einhorn that TVS use their broadcaster. The basketball floor actually came from the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena is a multipurpose sports Arena in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles California at Exposition
The Bruins arrived in Houston with a 47-game, two-and-a-half-season winning streak. The Cougars were also undefeated since the last meeting between the two teams. Lew Alcindor had a scratch on the cornea of his eye, acquired on court when he got struck by Ted Henderson of Cal in a rebound battle. [2]
The first half between the AP #1 Bruins and AP #2 Cougars closed with the Cougars up by three points. The second half saw the tension between the squads highlighted within the matchup of Houston's Elvin Hayes and UCLA's Lew Alcindor. Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17 1945 in Rayville Louisiana) is a retired American Basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr; April 16 1947 is an American athlete and retired professional Basketball player widely considered Hayes, a 6-foot-9 forward, was not directly matched against the 7-2 Alcindor, but he did block three of Alcindor's shots, and the crowd roared his nickname, "Big E. "
With two minutes to go and the score tied by Lucius Allen free throws at 69-69, Elvin Hayes took a shot and was fouled by Bruin reserve Jim Nielsen. Lucius Oliver Allen Jr (born on September 26, 1947 in Kansas City, Kansas) is a former professional Basketball player Hayes, playing with four fouls in the second half, scored two free throws. The Bruins still had time to score, but an attempted basket by Lucius Allen would not drop.
In the end, the Cougars pulled the upset, 71-69, ending the Bruins' 47-game winning streak.
Aftermath
Up to that point only NCAA post-season games had been broadcast nationally, so there was much skepticism regarding where the broadcast would take the non-profit organization's policy. The broadcast drew a vast television audience in addition to the 52,629 fans who had filled the Astrodome for its first basketball game. For the aeronautical use see Astrodome (aviation Reliant Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome
This would be the worst performance of Lew Alcindor's college career. [3] It was the only time he shot less than 50% from the field. [4]
Neither team would lose another game for the rest of the season. The teams faced off again later that season in the 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament semi finals, with the now #2 ranked Bruins getting their revenge 101-69 against the #1 ranked Cougars and advancing to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels 78-55 for the 1968 title. The 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [1] Houston also lost the consolation game to Ohio State. These games were at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, on the same floor used in the Astrodome game. Houston would open their 1968-1969 season at the Sports Arena, losing to USC on the same floor.
The 1971 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held at the Astrodome following the success of the game and drew more than 31,000 spectators for both the semi-finals and championship. The 1971 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held at the Louisiana Superdome. The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the Eventually, most NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Fours were awarded only to host cities with domed stadiums, and starting with the 1997 tournament, only domed stadiums would be considered for the Final Four. The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the The 1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division
UCLA and Houston played again in 1969 at Pauley Pavilion for the regular season rematch. Edwin W Pauley Pavilion, informally and commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles California UCLA won 100-64. [5] UCLA would go on to win seven more NCAA championships. Guy Lewis would bring his Phi Slama Jama teams to the NCAA final four in 1982-1984. Phi Slama Jama was the Nickname of the University of Houston Cougars men's basketball teams from 1982 to 1984.
In 2007, Both Guy Lewis and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) were inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. The College Basketball Experience featuring the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is a fan interactive facility located in Kansas City Missouri.
Significance
Previously, only NCAA post-season games were broadcast on national television, but only on evidence that broadcasters were going to make a profit from the broadcasts. The "Game of the Century" between the Houston Cougars and the UCLA Bruins proved that Americans were willing to watch college basketball games during the regular seasons. Eddie Einhorn paid $27,000 for the broadcast rights on TVS. [6] In the end, Einhorn signed up 120 stations, many of which would infuriate the networks they were affiliated with by canceling their regular programming to show the game. [7]
Both schools received $125,000 for the game. [6] This was more than the 1968 NCAA tournament payout of $31,781. [6] After January 20th, 1968, the NCAA was able to broadcast college sports matchups at any time of the season, gradually allowing them to have more influence over future broadcast scheduling and introducing more Americans through media to the possibility of higher education opportunities provided by the NCAA. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations In 1969, NBC became the first major network to broadcast the championship game, at a cost of more than $500,000. In 2008, the current NCAA deal with CBS to televise the entire tournament is worth 1,000 times that. [8]
See also
References
- ^ a b 2007-2008 UCLA Men's Basketball Media Guide - PDF copy available at www. The 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA The TVS Television Network, or TVS for short was a syndicator of American sports programming uclabruins. com. pg. 61 Post Season Scoring Recaps
- ^ Jeff Prugh - Bruins win again without Alcindor. Big Lew Sidelined By Eye Injury Suffered in Game against Bears. Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1968
- ^ Robyn Norwood - Game of the Century. Los Angeles Times, January 20, 1998
- ^ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - COLLEGE BASKETBALL / FIRST PERSON Taking the game to a new level. Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2008. Abdul-Jabbar led UCLA to three straight national titles and in the process made the NCAA tournament a prime time special.
- ^ 2007-2008 UCLA Men's Basketball Media Guide - PDF copy available at www. uclabruins. com. pg. 122 Year by Year results
- ^ a b c Jerry Wizig - It's been 20 years since they've played The Game of the Century. Houston Chronicle, January 20, 1988
- ^ Ron Rapoport - 1968: Houston vs. UCLA at the Astrodome - The game that took college basketball to a new level. UCLA fell at the cavernous Astrodome and had its 47-game winning streak stopped. Los Angeles Times, January 20, 2008 link at Latimes.com
- ^ Al Carter - College Basketball: UH and UCLA, under the big top. San Antonio Express-News, January 19, 2008,
- Einhorn, Eddie; Ron Rapaport. How March Became Madness: How the NCAA Tournament Became the Greatest Sporting Event in America. Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-809-6. (The book includes a DVD of the game with commentary by Dick Enberg)
- Sports Illustrated January 29th, 1968
- Jerry Wizig - UH Stuns Mighty UCLA 71-69. Sports Illustrated is an American Sports Magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Houston Chronicle, January 21, 1968
- Jeff Prugh - Big E Stands For End Of Bruin Streak. The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily Newspaper in Texas, USA. Los Angeles Times, January 21, 1968
- J. The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily Newspaper published in Los Angeles California and distributed R. Gonzales - The Game of the Century: Looking back 40 years
- Al Carter - `GAME OF THE CENTURY'/A boon for college basketball, a bust for spectators. Houston Chronicle, January 20, 1988
- Eddie Sefko - `GAME OF THE CENTURY'/Game now unimportant, says Hayes. Houston Chronicle, January 20, 1988
External links
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