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A&M basketball team to host exhibition game
TANKM 0
AIA spreads Christianity while competin
Shelby Metcalfs team set
to play Athletes in Action
by John Wagner
Battalion Staff
For six months out of 12 —
from November to April — the
Athletes in Action USA basket
ball team travels across the coun
try, playing some of the nation’s
toughest college basketball
teams in their home arenas.
Nothing unusual there.
Many college coaches welcome
the challenge of playing a top
amateur team, without the
pressure of conference races
and playoff berths. For them, it’s
a chance to evaluate their team
in a game situation — without
worrying about the won/lost
column.
But for the USA’ers, as the
Athletes in Action team is nick
named, there’s a more impor
tant mission at hand than just
defeating that night’s opponent.
In fact, when the first half
ends and the home team heads
to the locker room, the USA’ers
stay on the court and speak to
the crowd.
Their message? Christianity
— as well as basketball. The AI A
team uses basketball as a way to
spread Christian beliefs to col
lege campuses around the
country.
Saturday night, Athletes in
Action will bring its traveling
ministry to Texas A&M as the
USA’ers meet the Aggies in G.
Rollie White Coliseum. The ex
hibition contest begins at 7:30.
AIA began in 1967, the
brainchild of David Hannah and
a offshoot of an organization
known as Campus Crusade for
Christ. Campus Crusade is a
non-denominational group that
works with college students.
Hannah, a Campus Crusade
worker in Oklahoma, attended a
CC-sponsored concert, and came
up with the idea for a traveling
basketball team that could help
CC do its work all over the
country.
If music could be used to
spread the world of God, Han
nah reasoned, vyhy couldn’t
athletics? He met with CC
founder Dr. William Bright, and
AIA was born.
It’s been a successful venture
— especially on the basketball
side. Since their inaugural sea
son in 1967, the USA’ers have
been 392-195 for a winning per
centage of .667. Last season AIA
was 25-12, and so far this year
they’re 5-2, including defeats of
Maryland, Penn State and Oral
Roberts.
Those victories, coupled with
two defeats at the hands of
UCLA and Clemson, epitomize
what AIA is all about. They play
tough teams, and they play to
win. Don Ott, assistant sports in
formation director for AIA, savs
the USA’ers’ rough schedule is
important to their overall goal of
reaching as many people as pos
sible.
“We want to be the best
amateur team in the country,”
Ott said in a telephone interview
from AIA’s headquarters in
Memphis, Tenn.
“It’s important to us to be as
good a team as we can be. If we
come to Texas A&M (with a re
cord ot) 7-0 after having beaten
teams like UCLA and USC, then
a lot more people will be in
terested in seeing the game than
if we were 0-7.
“Being good helps us draw
big crowds.”
Having good athletes helps
also. The USA’ers, coached by
Wardell Jeffries, recruit players
just like college coaches do.
Many of their athletes come
from teams that have played
AIA, as in the case of Ralph
Drollinger of UCLA and Terry
Cummings of DePaul.
Drollinger and Cummings
were outstanding college ath
lete who played for AIA when
their college days were over.
However, neither is with the
team now.
This season, Jeffries’ USA’ers
are led by forward Dan Frost
from Iowa and Steve Bontrager,
a second-year player from Oral
Roberts.
AIA has a reputation for
being a running team, and
Coach Shelby Metcalfs Aggies
are likely to see the USA’ers con
tinue that tradition.
For Texas A&M, Claude
Riley, the Aggies’ all-America
candidate at forward, will start
with Roy Jones, Tyren Naulls
and Reggie Roberts. Either Ro
ger Bock or Jimmy Gilbert, both
freshmen, will start in the mid
dle to fill the position left vacant
by four-year starter Rudy
Woods.
After meeting AIA, the
Aggies will go north to take part
in the Great Alaska Shootout in
Anchorage. That tournament
ansas coac
only com]
ke to the
Ibthem Me
back Eric Dick
mQflel.
“The closes
Wardell Jeffries’ AIA
has beaten Maryland,Oil; 11ICUU -
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begins Friday with the arid whei
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Earlier this year, ClemsoaBs year th<
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Aggie gymnastf,
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by Frank L. Christlieb
Sports Editor
Take away their still rings, pa
rallel bars and pommel horse
and they’re like basketball play
ers without a hoop, baseball
players without gloves or hockey
players without sticks.
Like any athlete, they’re com
mitted to their sport, even
though they play as an extramu
ral sport rather than as a varsity
squad. This weekend, they’ll
participate in their only com
petition of the season, so they’re
as excited about it as a football
player would be about the first
start of his college career.
Competing as a club sport, the
Texas A&M gymnastics team
has been a neighbor of success
for several years. And once a full
slate of competition begins in
the spring, the Aggie gymnasts
hope to find that this year's
squad can boast success as a
roommate.
“Our team is looking very
strong,” says team captain Mark
Hartwell, a four-year team
member. “We’ve got 16 team
members this year and our per
formers in the intrasquad meets
we’ve held have already equaled
last year’s best perforamances.”
The Aggies host the Universi
ty of Texas-Arlington Saturday
at 7 p.m. in 307 East Kyle, with a
charge of 50<Z for admission.
The dual meet will feature all six
Olympic events: floor excercise,
pommel horse, rings, vault, pa
rallel bars and high bar.
Although the Aggies won’t
compete in any more meets this
t(j ( go to the C<
semester, they’ve planned too, and Holt
nl for the spring seme®Mks would b
t hided on t hat slate are cot* Holt/ scum
lions against six schools 1 noi fearful (
Texas Gymnastics Conleitftnrsday at t
as well as Fort HaysStaterfc final wot
sas and Memphis State.
Texas A&M finished s
in the TGC last season,
Texas Tech placing first ani
Texas Longhorns windiniBiat only le
third. This season, Haiwm and that
said, the Red RaidersmaywStopping I
as formidable. B; running I
“Boy, are they looking 1*11 be impera
powerhouse this year,”lieBkerson is ji
“It looks like they’re goinBew SWC c
(turn) varsity pretty soon. Bid. On th<
Hartwell has been the.kltehed for 1,
leader in several events, ftididowns ;
participates in the floorexenBds per can
rings and vault. Other topi* James, wh
members include Mark Mt*6yards and
pommel horse; Jim i ps season, a
rings; Mauricio Orozco. Bstangs and
Galindo and Grant Laude#f44.7 yards
“SMU is
im but an o
,d.“And yet
ssing team.
parallel bars, and David Sew
high bar.
The Aggies also have wd
arounders, which are gymU
who must compete in all
events at each meet. Jim Gil*
Ray Moltz are Texas A&MjB * , 1
arounders. ;®IIllLl
“We’ve gotquiteabitof(li|
this year,” Hartwell said.‘'TiB|-» j--
the key to our strength JIB'11 W .
got a whole new setofbadi
and some real good fresh*
Hartwell said the team#*
like to become a varsitysqti^
the near future, complete
coach and scholarships foi ^ Es r ecut 1 lv ^
athletes. But for now, thesB e ^ oot )a ^
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201 DOMINIK