INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Negotiations to keep
the popular Indiana-Kentucky basketball series alive have stalled for
the second time in a month and there seems to be little chance of
reviving it.
Indiana athletic director Fred Glass
announced May 3 that the series, an annual tradition since 1969, would
end because the two schools could not agree on whether to play the games
at neutral sites or on the two campuses.
According to a letter obtained Wednesday
by The Associated Press, the two athletic directors reopened
negotiations May 10. Two weeks later, the letter said, Kentucky rejected
Indiana's offer for a four-year extension that would have put the first
two games at Lucas Oil Stadium, which Wildcats coach John Calipari
wanted. The third game would have been played at Kentucky and the fourth
at Indiana.
"I'm disappointed Kentucky rejected what
I thought was a compromise that would address everyone's concerns,"
Glass told The Associated Press. "(Coach) Tom (Crean) and I felt like we
tried to be accommodating to Kentucky."
Kentucky had a variety of concerns, some of which were explained in the letter dated May 25.
Wildcats AD Mitch Barnhart said he
didn't receive Glass' letter until Wednesday and expressed additional
concerns in a statement released by the athletic department.
"I informed Fred that we were
disappointed that our previous verbal agreement for a two-year neutral
site contract was off the table, but we would consider the new
proposal," Barnhart said. "I also noted there were some challenges in
our current schedule that were not present prior to Indiana's
announcement on May 3 that they were moving on with their schedule for
2012-13."
The Wildcats had already scheduled a
game for the second Saturday in December, when Indiana and Kentucky
traditionally meet. Moving the Portland game from Dec. 8 would have cost
Kentucky $100,000.
So Glass offered to play the game on
Dec. 5, when Kentucky had scheduled a contest against Samford, or to
split the cost of the Portland buyout. Glass also said he would assist
in dealing with Samford if necessary and even offered to move Indiana's
Dec. 22 game to free up a date for the border-state clash.
When Calipari announced on Twitter that
Kentucky was pursuing a new "non-traditional" scheduling philosophy,
Glass had his answer.
Glass wrote in the letter that Kentucky spokesman DeWayne Peevy officially rejected the compromise in a phone call May 24.
Both schools have historical arguments on their side.
The games rotated between Freedom Hall
in Louisville and the Hoosier/RCA Dome in Indianapolis from 1991 through
2005. That's when the two schools moved their games back to campus
sites, where the rivalry's regular-season games were played exclusively
from 1976 through 1986.
Indiana doesn't want to add another
non-home game to a schedule that already includes the annual Crossroads
Classic in Indy, a road game every other year for the ACC-Big Ten
Challenge and multiple in games in tournaments contested in Hawaii,
Alaska or other places. While some believe the two schools could make
more money by playing in larger, off-campus arenas, Indiana believes
neutral sites would not create the same atmosphere.
"Mitch and I had pretty specific
conversations about a neutral site at Indianapolis and a neutral site at
Louisville, most likely Lucas Oil Stadium and Freedom Hall," Glass
said. "Tom and I didn't feel comfortable about freezing out our students
or our season-ticket holders. Since John Calipari said he would be
willing to do the Lucas-Lucas deal, that's where our compromise started,
and we felt it was only fair to let Kentucky to have the third game
with the fourth game coming back to Indiana because that would give next
year's (incoming) students an opportunity to see the game on campus."
Kentucky still said no thanks because, Glass wrote, the Wildcats did not want to sign a deal that was longer than two years.
"If this compromise wasn't acceptable, I don't know what would be," Glass said.
What happens next?
Kentucky is reviving its series with
North Carolina series and Calipari has talked about a series with
national powerhouse Duke. The Wildcats also have signed a two-year deal
to play Baylor, including a men's-women's doubleheader in Dallas.
Speculation around Indiana has focused
on finding another big-name opponent to replace Kentucky, perhaps Kansas
or Louisville, on the schedule. Glass declined to talk specifically
about Kansas, but acknowledged it's time for the Hoosiers to start
looking for a team to replace Kentucky.
Last year, Kentucky and Indiana played two of the college basketball's most entertaining games.
Indiana handed the Wildcats their only
regular-season loss on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Christian Watford
that set off a wild celebration and sent students rushing onto the
court. Kentucky went on to win the national championship, beating
Indiana 102-90 in the regional semifinals.
"We've really been focused on trying to
keep this series going. That would be our first choice. Now that
they've rejected our compromise, we have to move on," Glass said.
He added: "I think the idea that has,
frankly, been posited by some people who think cooler heads can prevail
has been proved basically inaccurate. I think we provided a compromise
that to most people would be pretty acceptable."
But Kentucky is completely ruling out the possibility of a game this season.
Barnhart noted the Wildcats have kept
Dec. 15 and Dec. 22 open on the schedule for a possible game against
Indiana, that Lucas Oil Stadium is available and that he'd still like to
see the game played on one of those dates.
"In the best interest of our fans, I
would hope we can come to a conclusion to continue this storied series
this December," Barnhart said.
