During the past week there has been much debate on whether the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments should be played as scheduled, delayed or even canceled due to the conflict in Iraq.

NCAA President Myles Brand put an end to speculation Tuesday when he announced the games would not be postponed even if the United States is at war during the start of the tournament.

Brand’s decision to play has been debated nearly everywhere and Eastern’s campus is no different.

“I think it should go on as planned,” Steve Proutsos, a junior education major, said. “If the tournament does not go on it shows that Saddam Hussein is dictating our lives, and then he becomes the winner.”

Sophomore Russ DePaolis agrees with Proutsos and said the NCAA Tournament could turn into a patriotic display for America.

“Although what is going on in Iraq is really bad timing for the NCAA, it should still go on because it is a healthy distraction from war,” DePaolis said. “For the fans in attendance, the games will become a way to express everyone’s patriotism. I was at the 1991 NHL All-Star game at the old Chicago Stadium during the Gulf War and when the crowd yelled and sang along with the National Anthem it was unbelievable. There was not a dry eye in the house.”

Billy Liddell, a sophomore engineering major, believes the games should be played because the troops want them to.

“I saw on SportsCenter that the troops felt the games should go on because we need to resume our everyday lives,” Liddell said. “That’s reason enough for me to support the decision that they should be played.”

Jesse Mackinson, a forward on the Eastern men’s basketball team, feels the games are something Americans can look forward to and enjoy during a rough time.

“I think the tournament should still go on, because people look forward to it,” Mackinson said. “Basketball is something our country can relate to.”

Eastern’s head basketball coach Rick Samuels agreed with his junior forward, but he was quick to note sports are not important compared to the war.

“I think the tournament should go on as scheduled unless there is a safety concern for the teams and fans,” Samuels said. “But basketball should not be the primary focus on television; that should be the war.”

One of the few people to disagree with the decision to play the games was senior psychology major Tanya Budic. She believes hosting a tournament of this magnitude is dangerous when we are at war.

“I enjoy the tournament but I don’t think it should be played at this time,” Budic said. “It’s not because it takes away from the war, but because of the safety concerns. Right now you have 20,000 people in these arenas and the crowds will only increase as we get closer to the Final Four. I just fear how many lives could be in jeopardy if an attack occurs on our soil.”

Brand’s decision to play the games saved the NCAA millions of dollars in revenue. Airline and hotel reservation already made by teams and fans could have played a part in Brand’s decision to go forward with this year’s tournament.

“That could have been a big fact,” Samuels said. “Not just the TV money but you had teams that traveled through snowy conditions to play. It would have been tough to cancel the games.”

Proutsos supported Samuels’ statement but said that playing the games show Hussein and Iraq that they are not disrupting our lives.

“I’m sure all those things (money, hotels, flights) had a big influence on the games being played,” Proutsos said. “As a fan I would be upset if the games were canceled because it would be showing weakness.”

Another reason students believed the tournament should still be played is the decision to continue other sports such as high school and professional basketball, hockey and spring training baseball games.

DePaolis felt the games should be played because other events are still going on as planned.

“The NCAA shouldn’t be canceled because you still see the high school basketball state finals being played,” DePaolis said. “Musical concerts and events like professional wrestling are not being canceled so college basketball should be played.”

Eastern’s coaches and players noted that it would be hard for the teams in the tournament to be prepared mentally as well as physically if the games were postponed or canceled.

“Anytime you’re ready to play and you don’t, you lose focus,” women’s head coach Linda Wunder said. “But sometimes there are bigger issues to focus on.”

Rachel Karos, a sophomore guard on the women’s basketball team expressed reservations if the games were postponed but said that the players must have a lot on their minds.

“It could be very difficult to postpone the games,” Karos said. “Even though I’m not playing (in the tournament), the conflict is on my mind. When you think that the players have to deal with the season and this, it will become very emotionally straining.”

Mackinson pointed out if the games were postponed it would disrupt the teams play.

“It would have been hard,” Mackinson said. “It would disrupt your style of play and the players would become rusty so I’m glad it’s still going on.”

The games were supposed to be shown nationally on CBS, however, as the network decided to show war coverage to fulfill its Federal Communications Commission responsibility and sold the broadcast right to ESPN and MTV. This change caught a few students by surprise.

“Yes, it was a surprise to me,” Proutsos said. “After I came home from class I turned on CBS and found Dan Rather not the Marquette and Holy Cross game.”

Sophomore Jeff Lapsansky was also thrown by the network switch, but he quickly found the games.

“I turned on CBS and saw Dan Rather and I wondered what seed he was and how high his RPI was,” Lapsansky said. “But when I saw that the games weren’t on CBS, I figured they would be on ESPN because they are the total sports network.”

Despite majority opinion supporting the NCAA Tournament to go on, viewers would understand why it might be canceled.

“I wouldn’t be upset because I would realize why it is being canceled,” DePaolis said. “The war is much more important then a basketball tournament.”