Assembly Hall should stay ad-free

Interim Athletic Director Terry Clapacs has done what too many Athletic Directors are afraid to do: maintain dignity rather than sell out to corporate America. As he perfectly stated, "There's a purity about Indiana basketball that we like and enjoy." \nWe all know that basketball is religion in Indiana, and many consider Assembly Hall the Mecca of college basketball. Since it opened in 1972, it has been home to 3 NCAA Championship teams, 6 Final Four teams, and 14 Big Ten Champions, not to mention the IU Athletics Hall of Fame and overflowing trophy cases. There's nothing better than walking into Assembly Hall, seeing championship trophies, looking up at Walt Bellamy, Scott May, Isiah Thomas and Steve Alford, and then watching an IU game and seeing nothing but the state of Indiana at center court and "Indiana" along the press tables and the baselines. Let other schools cheapen themselves and college athletics by plastering "Papa John's" or "Value City" all over their arenas.\nPerhaps it can be best summed up like this: Allowing ads throughout Assembly Hall -- up to $600,000 per year; maintaining IU's dignity and proud tradition of keeping basketball games about basketball -- priceless. The only additions to the inside of Assembly Hall should be championship banners (Mike Davis, we're looking your way).\n\n-- Andrew LeMar and Jason Gaddis\n