Fight to the Final Four: Breaking down the Midwest
Club hockey wins third national championship n
MSU celebrates Women’s History Month
SPORTS, PAGE 8
FEATURES, PAGE 7 F
CAMPUS+CITY, PAGE 6
Freshman guard Gary Harris JULIA NAGY/THE STATE NEWS
Weather Cloudy High 34° | Low 22° Michigan State University University’s independent voice | statenews.com | East Lansing, Mich. | Thursday, March 21, 2013
Three-day forecast, Page 2
GOVE R N M E NT
STATE SENATE REINITIATES BILL TO OFFER FREE TUITION By Kellie Rowe rowekell@msu.edu
MSU’s Frank Finn (center) in 1981.
Sean Clement gets a shot off against U-M in 1986.
Spartans celebrate winning the CCHA Cup in 1998.
John-Michael Liles (left) hugs Troy Ferguson in 2000.
Ethan Graham (right) and Steve Mnich in 2006.
Chris Forfar against Miami (Ohio) on March 17.
THE STATE NEWS ■■
State Democrats are relaunching a $1.8 billion initiative to cover Michigan students’ college tuition, but some worry the plan to fund it by closing tax loopholes is not financially responsible for a state with a shaky Whitmer economy. State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, announced earlier this month that lawmakers are bringing back the Michigan 2020 Plan — an initiative that pays tuition for any Michigan high school graduate attending any Michigan college. The Michigan 2020 Plan first was announced January 2012 but did not continue in a Republicancontrolled Legislature. At max, students can receive up to the average cost of an undergraduate tuition, about $10,617 per year, in financial aid, according to state Senate Democrats. Whitmer said the plan is “the best investment” for the state’s economy and won’t raise taxes. According to the Pew Research Center, 21-to-24-year-old college graduates were half as likley to be unemployed compared to those with less education during the recession between 2007 and 2009. “It’s time to end the political excuses for not giving this plan a vote and instead send a message that Michigan can and will create the most well-educated workforce found anywhere in the world,” Whitmer said in a statement. The plan awards grants to students regardless of their family income. College of Education Dean Donald Heller emphasized the state should focus more on need-based college assistance. As for keeping students in Michigan, Heller said he doesn’t know if paying for students to go to college will be enough to keep them in state. “Students attending college in Michigan are leaving the state after graduation because there are not enough jobs here,” he said. Whitmer plans to fund the program by closing the state’s tax loopholes. But state Rep. Jeff Farrington, R-Utica, expressed skepticism that the money collected after tax credits expire won’t be enough to fund college for all Michigan students. “I have a son in college and would love for him to be getting free tuition, but not from a halffinished plan that can’t be taken seriously,” he said. State Rep. Sean McCann , D-Kalamazoo, said the plan was modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise, a 2005 program to pay tuition for graduates from public schools in Kalamazoo, Mich. Anonymous donors pay for students to attend in-state institutions based on how long the student has been in the school district. McCann said he has seen firsthand how beneficial the tuition assistance program is. “I am intimately aware of the positive impact the Kalamazoo Promise has had on Kalamazoo public school students,” he said. “I know the Michigan 2020 Plan will have a similar impact on students throughout Michigan.” The Michigan 2020 Plan, Senate Bill 0223 , was introduced Feb. 27 and is being discussed in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
THE EDGE OF GREATNESS After four decades, CCHA will end this weekend By Alyssa Girardi girardi5@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
When Tom Anastos didn’t get the call, he knew something was up. It was September 2010, and Anastos — now the MSU hockey coach — was serving as commissioner of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, or CCHA — one of the most historically successful hockey leagues in the U.S. Penn State just announced it received an $88 million donation, which eventually turned into $102 million, to start Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs.
The CCHA had a spot open with 11 teams in the league, three of which belonged to nearby Big Ten schools. It would only make sense for the Nittany Lions to seek membership. But the call to Anastos never came. “Once the announcement came that Penn State was going to play Division I men’s hockey, it was inevitable that the Big Ten was going to start hockey,” he said. Six is the magic number to start an NCAA Tournament-eligible league, and the Penn State program was the final piece in the Big Ten puzzle. It also was the beginning of the end for the CCHA. The announcement might have been a door closing to the thencommissioner, but now Anastos and the Spartans are eager to open the new door leading to Big Ten Conference hockey. “As things change, I think Big Ten hockey’s very exciting,” he
said. “It brings the big stage to our sport like never before.” End of an era More than four decades ago, a few college hockey programs were searching for a way to win a national championship. At the time, there only were two major conferences, and neither wanted newer, independent programs to become members. Ron Mason, who was coaching at Lake Superior State at the time, took the matter into his own hands and became one of the founding fathers of the CCHA. After about a year of discussions, the first puck was dropped on Nov. 12, 1971. If national championships were one of the goals of the CCHA, its creators can’t be upset about where the league has advanced. Combined, the 11 current teams have won nine of the past 28 NCAA Championships — two of which were won by the
Destinations Where CCHA teams are headed Miami (Ohio) Notre Dame Western Michigan Ohio State Ferris State Alaska Michigan Lake Superior State Bowling Green Northern Michigan MSU
Spartans. “We formed our own league and, slowly but surely, developed into one of the best leagues in the country, without a doubt,” Mason said. Mason eventually became the head coach of MSU’s hockey team and ushered them into the CCHA in the 1981-82 season. This year, 31 years later, the Spartans played their final CCHA game March 17
NCHC
National Collegiate Hockey Conference
Hockey East WCHA
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Big Ten
— a 4-1 loss to Miami (Ohio). Through the years, the Spartans racked up 11 CCHA championships, now called the Mason Cup — named after Ron Mason. CCHA commissioner Fred Pletsch said Penn State’s Division I program isn’t the main reason the CCHA is ending, but it’s what See CCHA on page 2 X
To see an interactive timeline of MSU hockey players’ success in the CCHA, visit statenews.com. BASKETBALL
CAMPUS
Impact 89FM will not receive 2012-13 taxes By Robert Bondy bondyrob@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
JULIA NAGY/THE STATE NEWS
Senior center Derrick Nix smiles after shooting the ball Wednesday at the Palace of Auburn Hills during practice.
Appling, MSU prepared for NCAA tourney tip-off By Josh Mansour
ily and close friends be able to come watch us play.” The Spartans arrived at the THE STATE NEWS Palace of Auburn Hills for the AUBUR N HILLS, Mich. first time Wednesday to prepare — Returning to the place for their opening game of the his childhood team won an NCAA Tournament today (12:15 NBA championship, this time p.m., CBS) against No. 14 seed ready to begin his own run Valparaiso (26-7). The in-state atmosphere, for a title, Keith Appling which included several couldn’t help but hundred fans to watch smile. 2013 MSU’s practice, is some“Being a homething Spartan players town kid, of course have begun to I followed the TOURNAMENT feed off of. Pistons, espeThe crowd cially when roared when the they won the championship that year,” players fi nished practice with Appling said. “It’s a special jaw-dropping dunks, highlighted feeling to be able to play by the expected suspects, sophhere in the NCAA Tournament and have all my fam- See NCAA on page 2 X mansou13@msu.edu ■■
NCAA
Impact 89FM will not be receiving $300,000 in alreadycollected student taxes from the fall 2012 and spring 2013 semesters, with a student refund in the future. The funds created by a $3 per student per semester tax have been frozen from Impact 89FM since summer 2012 after both ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, and the Council of Graduate Students, or COGS, raised concerns about holes in the station’s financial records and
N EWS B RI E F
FORMER LINEBACKER HAMMOCK FACING SENTENCING A former MSU football player is set to be sentenced Monday for a misdemeanor drunken driving charge that occurred in February. TyQuan Hammock, a former linebacker and fullback with the Spartans, was arrested Feb. 9 for driving drunk while holding a weapon. His blood alcohol
several years of the MSU Radio Board missing meetings. Both student governments passed bills at the end of the fall semester requesting that the station undergo an audit and have the radio board convene on a regular basis before allocating the student taxes from the 2012-13 academic year. “Working together, (Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Services) Denise Maybank and (Vice President for Finance and Treasurer) Mark Haas have determined because the resolution won’t occur before the end of the semester … it would be best to return both the fall and the spring taxes back to students,”
Impact 89FM General Manager Ed Glazer said. “They are going through the best way to complete that.” Maybank and Haas are responsible for deciding when the tax will be returned to students, Glazer said. Haas declined to comment, referring inquiries to Maybank, who did not return multiple calls and an email. Since the bills were passed by both student governments, Impact 89FM is in the process of regaining student taxes for next year, and the MSU Radio Board met at least once this semester, COGS President Stefan Fletch-
level was between 0.08 — the state legal limit — and 0.10. He will go before Judge Andrea Larkin in 54-B District Court for his sentencing. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges Feb. 12. He later accepted a plea deal for a lesser punishment that would eliminate the weapons charge if he pleaded guilty to a charge of operating while visibly impaired, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said. An operating while visibly impaired charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail, 360 hours of community service, a $300 fine, four points added to his driving record and driver’s
license restrictions for 90 days. Associate Athletics Director John Lewandowski said the arrest happened within a week after he notified the coaches he was leaving the team. Coach Mark Dantonio said during Monday’s press conference Hammock informed him after the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl he was leaving the team. “He’s decided to graduate and has an opportunity for an internship this spring,” Dantonio said. “That was his decision. …(We) certainly wanted TyQuan back. I think he’s a very good football player. But he just felt like it was time.”
See RADIO on page 2 X
MICHAEL KOURY