http://media.pbs.org/ramgen/unctv/unctv/biocon/Dixiet.rm
One of Friday's first battles as the new president of UNC was over canceling the Dixie Classic tournament, a basketball tournament that equaled the ACC tournament today. Because a few of the players received threats from gamblers who wanted their money back from a point shaving deal they had made with them, Friday was concerned about the safety of the students and the reputation of the university. He had witnessed a similar situation at Madison Square Garden and did not want UNC to suffer the same fate as the institutions had at that time. Hear his story about this.
Friday's presidency indeed had some significant challenges. One of his first major issues as president was the point shaving scandal at UNC before the Dixie Classic. Friday made a decision about the Dixie Classic that won him stark criticism. Then in the early 1960s, Friday campaigned against the Speaker Ban Law and finally had to initiate a lawsuit to get the ban repealed. In 1968, the Black Student Movement presented a list of demands. Governor Bob Scott offered to send troops to the campus if the situation turned into rioting, but Friday rejected his offer.
In December 1968 the newly formed Black Student Movement presented a list of demands to the UNC administration. Ultimately the students staged a sit-in at Lenoir Hall, and Governor Bob Scott offered to intervene, a proposal which Friday rejected. However, the next day, Friday came to campus to find state troopers on campus anyway. Friday describes his reaction to their presence and the ultimate resolution of the protest.
Dixie Classic (basketball tournament)
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1949 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country(ies) |  United States |
| Ceased | 1960 |
| Most titles | 7 – North Carolina State |
North Carolina State head coach Everett Case originated the idea of the Classic. His assistant, Carl "Butter" Anderson provided the name. The tournament was played over a three-day period every December, just after Christmas, on North Carolina State's home court.[1]
The Classic consisted of three rounds. In the first round the four North Carolina schools would each play a visiting team. The winners of the first round game would advance in the winners' bracket and the losers would advance in the losers' bracket. Each day would have four games played until the third and final day when a champion would be crowned. No team from outside North Carolina ever won the Classic.
The tournament came to an end after a point-shaving scandal in 1961 involving players from both North Carolina State and North Carolina.[2][3]
In 2011 The Classic: How Everett Case and His Tournament Brought Big-Time Basketball to the South by Bethany Bradsher (ISBN 978-0-9836825-2-3) was published telling the story of the Dixie Classic.
[edit] Championship games
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Result | Most valuable player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | NC State | Penn State | 50–46 | Dick Dickey | NC State |
| 1950 | NC State (2) | Colgate | 85–76 | Sammy Ranzino | NC State |
| 1951 | NC State (3) | Cornell | 51–49 | Lee Terrill | NC State |
| 1952 | NC State (4) | Brigham Young | 75–59 | Ernie Beck | Penn |
| 1953 | Duke | Navy | 98–83 | Rudy D'Emilio | Duke |
| 1954 | NC State (5) | Minnesota | 85–54 | Ronnie Shavlik | NC State |
| 1955 | NC State (6) | North Carolina | 82–60 | Ronnie Shavlik (2) | NC State |
| 1956 | North Carolina | Wake Forest | 63–55 | Lennie Rosenbluth | North Carolina |
| 1957 | North Carolina (2) | NC State | 39–30 | Pete Brennan | North Carolina |
| 1958 | NC State (7) | Michigan State | 70–61 | John Richter | NC State |
| 1959 | Wake Forest | North Carolina | 53–50 | Billy Packer | Wake Forest |
| 1960 | North Carolina (3) | Duke | 76–71 |
- All games played at Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Peeler, Tim (August 11, 2008). "Remembering Reynolds: The Dixie Classic". North Carolina State University. Retrieved November 25, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "University Life". Biographical Conversations with William Friday. UNC-TV. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
- ^ Carr, A.J. (March 16, 2006). "Dixie Classic scandal left bad taste". The News & Observer. Retrieved November 25, 2008.[dead link]
