National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines)

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NCAA Season 82

The new NCAA logo introduced in the 2004-05 season; the five colored bands represent the five colors used by the member schools.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is an athletics association of eight colleges and universities in the Philippines. Established in 1924, the NCAA is the oldest athletic association in the country. The Philippine NCAA is not connected to the NCAA of the United States.

The Policy Board and the Management Committee handles the affairs of the league. The Board and the Committee are composed of representatives of the eight member schools, and determine the acceptance and suspension of member schools, game reversals and replays, and other official actions. During the nearly yearlong season from June to March, each school participates in 11 sports; each sport is conducted in two divisions: the Juniors for male high-school students, and the Seniors for college students. There are male and female Seniors divisions for some events. The Juniors and Seniors divisions each award a General Championship trophy at the end of the academic year to the school which had the best performance in all sports, based on the total amount of points scored in a Championship tally.

With basketball as the principal sport, rivalries have developed within schools. Rivalries have led to withdrawal from the league of some members as some games escalated into full-blown brawls. The NCAA took measures to prevent major brawls, such as the segregation of arenas into supporters of different schools. With the withdrawal of members schools came the admission of new members into the league. As of Season 82, the league is contemplating an expansion into Division II athletics.

[edit] Member colleges and universities

The number and composition of NCAA members has changed over the years. The association is currently composed of the following colleges and universities, with their corresponding team mascots, affiliation, and the year of admission.

School	Men's	Women's	Juniors	Affiliation	Year joined
Colegio de San Juan de Letran	Knights	Lady Knights	Letran Squires	Private/Dominican	1928¹, 1936
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde La Salle Green Hills	Blazers	Lady Blazers	LSGH Greenies	Private/Lasallian	1998
José Rizal University	Heavy Bombers	(no women's team)	JRU Light Bombers	Private/Non-sectarian	1927
Mapúa Institute of Technology	Cardinals	Lady Cardinals Currently inactive	Mapúa Red Robins Currently inactive	Private/Non-sectarian	1930
Philippine Christian University	Dolphins	Lady Dolphins	PCU Baby Dolphins	Private/Methodist & Church of Christ	1996
San Beda College	Red Lions	See WNCAA.	San Beda Red Cubs	Private/Benedictine	1924², 1986
San Sebastian College - Recoletos	Stags	Lady Stags	SSC-R Staglets	Private/Recollect	1969
University of Perpetual Help System DALTA	Altas	Lady Altas	UPHSD Altalettes	Private/Non-sectarian	1984

Notes:
¹ Withdrew 1933, rejoined 1936.
² Withdrew 1983, rejoined 1986.

[edit] Structure and hosting

The old NCAA logo. The eight circles are the logos of the eight member schools. The "NCAA" logo is the same as that used by the American NCAA

The Policy Board, composed of the presidents of member schools, manages the NCAA's external and internal affairs. It handles matters such as acceptance, replacement, and suspension of member schools. The NCAA presidency rotates among member schools. The president for the 2006–07 season is Brother Edmundo Fernandez of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

The other main administrative body in the NCAA is the Management Committee (MANCOM), which determines matters of athletic concern, such as determining the proper conditions for playing, suspension of players, coaches, and referees, reversal or review of game results, and investigation of ineligible players. The Management Committee is composed of the athletics moderators (or athletic directors) of the member schools, who are selected by their respective university presidents, and the league chairperson, who is selected by the Policy Board. Like the league president, the chair of the Management Committee rotates among member schools. The chairperson of the Management Committee for the 2006–07 season is Bernardo Atienza of Saint Benilde.

The president of the Policy Board and the chairperson of the Management committee come from the school currently hosting the basketball tournament. The rotation is determined by the order of when each school joined the league. For the 2006–07 season, the host will be Saint Benilde, while José Rizal University will host the 2007–08 season. José Rizal University representatives, for the meantime, would be the vice-president of the Policy Board and the vice chairperson of the Management Committee.

The host school manages the logistics, expenses, labor and security in the venues. Each sport has its own host, with the host for basketball being the head of all hosts.

[edit] Sports

The NCAA sponsors eleven sports, which are divided into two divisions: the Juniors division for high school students and the Seniors division for college students. There are male and female Seniors divisions for some events.

Each member college or university has an affiliated high school that competes in the Juniors division. For example, San Beda College's affiliated high school is its campus at Taytay, Rizal, while Letran College's high school is found within its college campus at Intramuros. While these two high schools are integrated within their colleges, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde is not directly connected with its high school affiliate, La Salle Green Hills (LSGH), except that they are both administered by the Lasallian Brothers. As a result, LSGH labels "St. Benilde" instead of "La Salle" on their jerseys.

The NCAA sponsors the following sports for Juniors and Seniors: basketball, chess, swimming, football, taekwondo, tennis, and track and field. Volleyball, table tennis, and beach volleyball are hosted on the Juniors and Seniors level as well as on both a men's and women's level. Cheerleading is a demonstrational event and is not used in the tabulating of each school's final score, and determination of the season's General Champion.

The General Champion for the each division in an academic year is determined by a points system similar to the one used in Formula One, where the school with the highest accumulated score from all events in a division wins the General Championship. A championship in an event entitles a school with 30 points, the second placer 20, up to eighth place, with one point. For an example, see the tabulation of points for Season 81.

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

The NCAA was founded in 1924 on the initiative of Dr. Regino R. Ylanan, a physical education professor of the University of the Philippines (UP). The original members were the Ateneo de Manila, De La Salle College, Institute of Accounts, National University (NU), San Beda College, the University of Manila, the University of the Philippines, and the University of Santo Tomas (UST).^[1]

During the NCAA's first 11 years, several schools entered and left, as set out in the table.

Rizal Memorial
Sports Complex

Araneta Coliseum

Year	Joined	Withdrew
1925	St. Vincent de Paul	St. Vincent de Paul (joined only for one season)
1926	-	University of Manila
1927	José Rizal College	-
1928	Colegio de San Juan de Letran	-
1929	Far Eastern University (from the merger of the Institute of Accounts and Far Eastern College)	National University
1930	Mapúa Institute of Technology	-
1932	-	Far Eastern University, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas
1933	-	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
1936	Colegio de San Juan de Letran (returning member)	-

The decision of the Board of Directors to file papers of incorporation with the then Bureau of Commerce in 1930 led to protests from the University of the Philippines, which was the only public institution among member schools, saying that it would lead to commercialization. National University and the University of Santo Tomas sided with the University of the Philippines on the matter. This led into the formation, via an Article of Agreement, of a triangular meet among NU, UP and UST, with the Board of Control's condition that NCAA events should take precedence. The league established came to be knwon as the "Big Three," and on 1932, the Article of Agreement was renewed. ^[2]

In 1936, the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas withdrew permanently in the NCAA and continued with their own league, while Far Eastern University (FEU) withdrew on its own. Six schools remained in the league and became known as the "old-timer six" – Ateneo de Manila, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle College, José Rizal College, Mapúa Institute of Technology and San Beda College. Also in 1936, league games were transferred to the newly-completed Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, owing to its accessibility among the schools, for most schools were in Manila.

In 1938, Far Eastern University, National University, the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas formed the University Athletics Association of the Philippines, a rival intercollegiate league.^[2]

The NCAA experienced a golden age during the postwar years. The Loyola Gym at the Ateneo campus became the new home of the league. Due to the home court advantage of the Ateneo, Blue Eagles games were held on the old Rizal Memorial.^[1]

[edit] 1960s to 1980s

NCAA basketball champions formed the core of the Filipino team sent to international competitions during 1960 and 1961 in Japan. The opening of the Araneta Coliseum, the largest indoor arena in the Philippines, prompted the league to transfer the championship round there.^[1]

By the 1960s, the league experienced problems such as eligibility of players and interscholastic hooliganism. This led to disagreements among member schools, and as a result the 1962–63 season was suspended, and the following two seasons were held in a loose conference format, where the home and away system was used. San Sebastian College - Recoletos joined the league in 1969. ^[3]

Year	Joined	Withdrew
1969	San Sebastian College - Recoletos	-
1978	-	Ateneo de Manila University
1980	-	Colegio de San Juan de Letran (Suspended)
1981	Colegio de San Juan de Letran (Readmitted)	De La Salle University
1983	-	San Beda College

After the riotous games of the late 1970s, several of the founding members left the league. The Ateneo left the league in 1978 due to violence, which also marred a championship series with San Beda^[4], while La Salle left after a riotous game with Letran in 1980. Ateneo was accepted in the UAAP in 1978, while La Salle had to wait for six years to become a UAAP member. San Beda left the league in 1983, reasoning that the college will focus on school-based sports activities like intramurals.^[3]

With the withdrawal of the Ateneo, league games returned to the old Rizal Memorial and to the PhilSports Arena, since the Loyola Gym was now the location of the UAAP tournament. Also with the withdrawal of the three founding members, most daily publications tagged the NCAA as "an ironic journey from sports to violence."^[3]

[edit] League today

As the league was reduced to four members, membership was actively pursued. Perpetual Help College of Rizal was accepted as members in 1984.^[5] A year later, Trinity College of Quezon City became a full member.^[6]. However, Trinity was not able to meet league requirements and was dropped from the league in 1986, the same year San Beda returned.^[1]

Measures were taken to prevent major brawls from starting such as patrolling the behavior of the crowd by the respective faculties of the member schools, were implemented as part of the remedy to ensure the security during the NCAA games.^[3]

The addition of Philippine Christian University and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the late 1990s resulted in the current lineup of members the NCAA now has.^[1]

Year	Joined	Withdrew
1984	Perpetual Help College of Rizal	-
1985	Trinity College of Quezon City (full member)	-
1986	San Beda College (returning member)	Trinity College of Quezon City
1996	Philippine Christian University	-
1998	De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde	-
2005	-	Mapúa High School (Jrs. only)

A major breakthrough occurred when the league, upon the initiative of host school San Beda, made a move that switched the television coverage of NCAA games from MCI group to ABS-CBN on March 18, 2002. Previously, only the Final Four and the Championship games were televised, but with the five-year contract inked with ABS-CBN, a majority of the basketball games will be aired, giving the league bigger exposure to fans, students and alumni.^[3] ABS-CBN would later air the games on its international affiliate, The Filipino Channel, making the games viewable to alumni and fans abroad.^[7]

[edit] Future expansion

The NCAA has set its plan of expansion. Division II, as it will be called, will be composed of newly admitted schools. The league has already visited and issued invitations to schools such as Arellano University, Emilio Aguinaldo College and the Lyceum of the Philippines University.^[8]^[9]

On 1998, the affiliated schools in the CALABARZON region and southern Metro Manila established NCAA South, an offshoot of the league. ^[10] The schools of NCAA South do not compete with the schools in the main league.

The return of a Mapúa Juniors team, which took a leave of absence beginning at the 2005-2006 season, would return at the 2007-2008 season, as the newly built Malayan High School would be fully operational. Malayan High School would represent the Mapúa Institute of Technology, which is due to be renamed as Malayan Colleges by 2010.^[11]

[edit] Rivalries

Almost all of the rivalries of the NCAA originated from the basketball court, since basketball is the sport most covered by the media, especially on television. Most of the rivalries started due to the schools' compositions, because four of the old-timer six were schools exclusively for males from affluent families. These rivalries have declined in recent years with the withdrawal of two of the old-timer six, Ateneo and La Salle.

With the addition of new members to the league, rivalries shifted to more of a geographical nature. However, the former members would still face their old rivals in other leagues during the off-season, such as the Home and Away Invitational League, the Collegiate Champions League, and the Shakey's V-League.

[edit] Ateneo-UP

A rivalry between the Ateneo de Manila and the University of the Philippines existed even before the formation of the NCAA. University of the Philippines students would troop from Padre Faura to the Ateneo campus in Intramuros to play basketball with the Ateneans,^[12] which led to the Ateneo forming the first organized cheering squad and pep band in the Philippines, which eventually became the Blue Babble Battalion.^[13] This would later become "UAAP's Battle of Katipunan" when the Ateneo and University of the Philippines transferred to their campuses to Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City and when the two schools began competing in the UAAP.

[edit] Ateneo-La Salle

Arguably the most popular rivalry in Filipino sports was forged in the NCAA: The Ateneo-La Salle rivalry.^[14] Historical records are unclear on when the rivalry began, although there are arguments pointing to La Salle's 1939 defeat of a top-seeded Ateneo basketball team and their being dethroned by the Ateneans who beat the Lasallites in the elimination round. While La Salle held their victory parade, they threw fried chickens at the Padre Faura gate of the Ateneo.^[12] However. the La Salle cage team was disbarred for fielding an ineligible player the following year (although the title would not become Ateneo's until 1941, two years after the defeat).

Ateneo-La Salle games were always heated, for both schools were exclusively for males. However, La Salle during its stint in the NCAA was not as strong a contender as the Ateneo was (see Ateneo-San Beda rivalry), with the Ateneo not meeting La Salle again until the 1959 Finals, where Ateneo prevailed.^[12] Ateneo-La Salle games are now one of the most anticipated games of the UAAP season.

[edit] Ateneo-San Beda

With the departure of University of the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila had the most dominant basketball team for several seasons. La Salle was not a perennial basketball contender. It was in this context that the fierce rivalry between the Ateneo and San Beda emerged. Several memorable games in the early 1950s ensued between the two teams. Carlos Loyzaga's San Beda Red Lions toppled the Blue Eagles of Ateneo from 1950 to 1951. Then, the Blue Eagles under the leadership of Frankie Rabat captured the 1952 and 1953 NCAA titles.^[1]

The rivalry continued in the 1970s, when their sons, Chito Loyzaga and Louie Rabat met in the NCAA.^[15] The rivalry came to an end in the 1977 Finals series. On Game One, a brawl ensued against fans of the competiting teams, which led the third game being held on closed doors, with San Beda winning the basketball championship, after Ateneo's last second shot was ruled invalid.^[16] The violence surrounding this championship series, coupled with the violence that was plaguing the league, led to the withdrawal from the NCAA of both Ateneo and San Beda. Ateneo went to the UAAP, while San Beda eventually came back to the NCAA.

To date, Ateneo and San Beda seem poised to rekindle their sports rivalry, less the animosity, via friendship games^[17] and off-season tournaments^[18] even though both teams belong to different leagues.

[edit] La Salle-Letran

In the 1970s, La Salle started its own rivalry against Letran. During the August 17, 1980 game between La Salle and Letran, a major riot ensued. This led to the deployment of army troops around the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. (It should be noted that Rizal Memorial Coliseum is a stone's throw away from the La Salle campus, and the games were held at the height of Martial Law.)

Even before the game started, the crowds were unruly already. By the middle of the first half, Letran called for a timeout. By this time, a Letran student was ganged up and beaten by La Salle students. This led into a riot, where fans threw objects and the Rizal Memorial Coliseum was wrecked. The two teams rushed for the dugouts, as the NCAA Management Committee suspended the game. After deliberation, the Management Committee decided to replay the game, but the Basketball Association of the Philippines, the FIBA-recognized basketball federation in the Philippines, ordered the NCAA to scrap the 1980 season.^[19].

La Salle withdrew from the NCAA, and joined the UAAP after six years of inactivity in intercollegiate athletics. Letran was suspended after it was proven that Letranites started the fight after all. However, after passing the league requirements, the Knights were readmitted.^[20]

[edit] Letran-San Sebastian

After both Ateneo and La Salle left, San Sebastian (frequently shortened to "Baste") strengthened their basketball program. The acquisition of Paul Alvarez to San Sebastian and Samboy Lim to Letran provided several close games in the 1980s which led to the birth of the rivalry.

In the 1980s, Letranites were notorious for yelling profanities at the San Sebastian players, and on one occasion, led to a rumble at Vito Cruz Avenue when at the last second, a power interruption occurred, causing confusion on what team won the championship. The rumbles between the two schools have become more frequent which solidified the intense rivalry between the two schools.^[21] Paul Alvarez would later play for the Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs of the United States Basketball League.^[22]

The rivalry continued in the turn of the millennium when the Stags, met the Knights in the finals twice. This led to several memorable games in which the Knights won the 1998 and 2003 championships, all at the expense of the Stags.

[edit] Letran-Mapúa

The "Battle of Intramuros," which is so named because the two schools are three blocks apart from each other in Intramuros, is the name given to the Letran-Mapúa games. The Cardinals have had the mastery of the Knights in recent years, as Letran failed to beat Mapúa in eight consecutive years in the eliminations, even though the Knights were more successful in the league.^[23]

The Knights were finally able to beat Mapúa in the first round of the 2005 tournament^[24], but the Cardinals avenged that loss in the second round when they dealt the Knights with their first defeat of the season.^[25]

The only instance where Letran and Mapúa met in the Finals was in the 1979-80 season, where the Knights prevailed. ^[26]