Campus Chaos - Why the Game I Love is Breaking My Heart (Hardcover)

~ Dick Vitale (Author), Dick Weiss (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dick Vitale has been synonymous with college basketball...(he) brings an insider's perspective to each broadcast, and his lifelong relationships... provide him a wealth of knowledge few can equal. As much as Vitale is a fan courtside, he's also a champion of the game away from it, spending countless hours lobbying for rules changes or talking with (players) and knows that the success of the sport rides on the shoulders of these student-athletes... Here are Vitale's heartfelt thoughts on... the sport he loves so deeply ... Campus Chaos is a must read!" -- Rudy Martzke, USA Today

"Dick Vitale's enthusiasm for college basketball beginning in 1979 on ESPN has brought unparalleled interest to our game. However, now there are problems which he addresses intelligently in this book." -- Dean Smith, legendary former coach, North Carolina

"Dick has a passion for the game like I have a passion for pasta. Like my peers, I look upon Dick as a coaches' confidant. This book takes on the issues facing college basketball today and offers valuable insights and solutions." -- Rick Majerus, Utah coach

Product Description

In his 20 seasons on ESPN and ABC, Dick Vitale has been synonymous with college basketball. Through his passion and devotion to the game, Vitale has earned an ever-growing following with an enthusiasm for the game, its players and coaches never before seen in television.

Having coached at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. Vitale brings an insider's perspective to each broadcast, and his lifelong relationships with the administrators, coaches and players provide him a wealth of knowledge few can equal.

Behind every "get a TO, baby" and the "slam, jam, bam" resides in Vitale a growing concern for the sport that reels when yet another misguided underclassman announces he's going pro or a new recruiting or academic scandal arises. As much as Vitale is a fan courtside, he's also a champion of the game away from it, spending countless hours lobbying for rules changes or talking with athletic directors about ways to improve the game.

Being so close to the sport, Vitale is infinitely aware of the big-business pressures that affect it today, from the billions of dollars spent by television networks to the controversy surrounding the entrance exam requirements.

And having played and coached basketball, he truly cares about the kids and knows that the success of the sport rides on the shoulders of those student-athletes who proudly wear their school colors into battle.

Here are Vitale's heartfelt thoughts on how to halt the off-court technical fouls of the sport he loves so deeply.

In short, discusses the following:

* clean up gambling * control agents and boosters * keep players in school * reform recruiting * restructure NCAA rules

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Sideline Sports Publishing; 1st ed edition (December 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890073032
• ISBN-13: 978-1890073039
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,033,118 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maestro of the Hardcourts, March 1, 2000

By	Chet Timmons (Eastpoint, Florida) - See all my reviews

Dick Vitale's enthusiasm and love for the game shines through in the book Campus Chaos - Why the Game I Love is Breaking My Heart. The book disects the problems currently plaguing today's hardcourt action and shows how far the game has transformed from the one developed by Dr. Naismith. The book step-by-step expounds intelligently and informatively on how the current negative aspects of the game can be remedied, bringing the game back in line with its proud heritage. The book which was recommended to me by a friend, did not disappoint this Hoosier basketball lover. This book is a must read for those that love the game as much as I do and in the words of the immortal Dick Vitale, "This book is a dipsy doo dunkaroo."

5.0 out of 5 stars IT BREAKS MY HEART TOO BABY!!, January 18, 2005

By	josh the trifector kay "Bighurt4423" (west bloomfield, mi) - See all my reviews

Annotation: Dick Vitale writes an awesome book that comes straight from his heart. It is mainly about the sudden abundance of college basketball players leaving early for the NBA. The worst is when high school kids start skipping college altogether. The book also describes the way that individual boosters are paying athletes to attend their school of choice illegally. It just breaks his heart BABY!


Info about the Author: Dick Vitale joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season; just after the September 1979 launch of the network. Vitale called ESPN's first ever NCAA basketball game in December of 1979. He has announced almost 1,000 games in his career including a few NBA games. He graduated from Seton Hall with a degree in business administration. He coached high school teams until he was an assistant at Rutgers. He got his first college coaching job at the University of Detroit. After 6 years there, he coached the Detroit Pistons for a few seasons and then became an announcer. He currently is in contract with ESPN for college basketball games until 2006.


Evaluation: How can you not love this book? If you appreciate college basketball or any college sport at all you have to love this book. It comes straight from the heart of one of the most prominent men in college sports of all time. Dick Vitale calls out a problem in college sports that is very evident. He has a plan to fix all of this, but it does not seem that anyone is going to do anything at all. If the game of college basketball is not cleaned up, sports fans could lose the most exciting college sport. This would be a shame and Dick Vitale is right, it needs to be cleaned up. Read it to find out all about the game of college basketball and what needs to be done to clean it up and make it successful again.