The last time the United States announced it was going to war with Iraq, Syracuse men’s basketball assistant coach Mike Hopkins stood in a Carrier Dome locker room.

It was during halftime of an 81-79 overtime win against Connecticut on Jan. 16, 1991, when the Dome public-address announcer told the crowd that America had entered the Gulf War. Syracuse finished the game, then its season and then the NCAA Tournament.

Given such precedent, it stands to reason that neither Hopkins nor SU Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel were shocked last night when NCAA president Myles Brand announced the NCAA Tournament would continue despite the possibility of war.

‘We played the rest of the season,’ Crouthamel said of 1991. ‘There was a lot of security. I’m not saying that was right, wrong or indifferent. That’s what happened. I don’t know (what we should have done).’

Said Hopkins: ‘It was unbelievable. It was an eye-opener. The importance to me was the flags on the uniforms.’

Before yesterday’s decision, Hopkins said he understood the significance of war and did not oppose a postponement.

Crouthamel, though, said the logistics involving arenas and hotels would make postponement impossible. Instead, if war is declared, he questioned whether the tournament should be played at all.

‘It would wreak havoc nationally,’ Crouthamel said. ‘I don’t see how you can postpone games. You’re not dealing with one site, you’re dealing with eight sites.’

The NCAA Tournament begins at 12:20 Thursday afternoon, after Saddam Hussein’s deadline to leave Iraq.

According to the Associated Press, the idea of postponing the tournament arose during a town hall meeting held Monday in Indianapolis.

‘We don’t know when it will start, and we have to be respectful of our men and women in uniform,’ Brand told the AP at the meeting. ‘On the other hand, I think we have to be very careful not to let Saddam Hussein control our lives. We have to balance those.’

By refusing to postpone the tournament, the NCAA may jeopardize its $6 billion contract with CBS. If war is declared, the AP reported CBS has plans to shift games to ESPN, MTV, BET and TNN. CBS will devote its resources to war coverage.

Crouthamel was not sure whether the NCAA will collect the $6 billion if the games are shown on other channels.

‘I don’t know,’ Crouthamel said. ‘If the sponsorships were sold based on the fact that this, this and this happened, and you didn’t deliver, then I don’t know what happens.’

Though it created some financial concerns, the announcement allayed one as well. Hopkins worried a postponement would have been done for financial reasons.

‘I understand the importance of war,’ Hopkins said, ‘but is it postponed by money or is it postponed to make people think about our country? If it’s about money and CBS, then it should go on. If it’s money, it’s a joke.’

With doubts about the tournament put aside, Hopkins said he hopes the event can determine more than a national champion. He hopes it makes America more determined to maintain its way of life.

‘They can use the NCAA Tournament as a signal that the United States will not stop what we’re doing,’ Hopkins said. ‘It can be used in a real positive way. Whether they blow us up, bomb us, whatever they do, we can’t stop the way we live.’

Published on March 18, 2003 at 12:00 pm