Boston University is on its way to the Patriot League in 2013 (Getty Images)At a time when the America East Conference should be celebrating Stony Brook's unlikely appearance in the College World Series, the league instead is reeling from the impending departure of one of its flagship schools.

Boston University announced Friday it will leave the America East for the Patriot League in July 2013, a surprising choice by the Terriers since on the surface it appears to be a lateral move. The Colonial Athletic Association reportedly considered Boston University as a potential replacement for VCU, Old Dominion and Georgia State, but either an offer did not come or the Terriers decided they weren't ready for the step up in competition.

The allure of the Patriot League for the Terriers appears to be its increased stability and academic pedigree. Boston University basketball won't benefit much from the change from either a competitive or financial standpoint because the Patriot League is only slightly stronger than the America East and foes like Bucknell and Holy Cross won't be any greater or lesser draw than Vermont and Stony Brook were.

"We are very impressed by the academic quality of the institutions in the Patriot League and by the League's commitment to student-athletes while effectively competing at the NCAA Division I level," Boston University President Robert A. Brown said in a statement. "We believe that the philosophy of the League is a good match for Boston University and that the schools in the League will give our athletes a rich competitive environment."

Losing the Terriers is a significant blow to the America East, which now seems vulnerable in conference realignment. The America East only has eight remaining members, one of which, Stony Brook, also reportedly has drawn interest from the CAA.

What this means for the CAA is less clear. Perhaps the league believes the better fit is Stony Brook, which boasts an emerging basketball program to go with strong baseball and lacrosse. Or maybe the CAA intends to strengthen its southern base by making a run at Davidson and College of Charleston.

Regardless, Boston University is no longer an option. The Terriers are on the move but the destination is not the one anyone anticipated prior to Friday.

UCLA celebrates its fifth of seven straight championships in 1971 (AP)

The Untouchables is a 10-part series spotlighting college basketball's most unbreakable records. Last up is No. 1: UCLA's seven consecutive national championships from 1967 to 1973.

Moments after UCLA survived Villanova's upset bid to capture its fifth straight national championship in 1971, sophomore forward Larry Farmer waltzed into the Bruins locker room ready for a victory party.

"I was expecting the seniors would be giving high-fives, jumping up and down, hugging and screaming," Farmer said. "Instead when I got in there, it was quiet and guys were just relieved to have won. It was like, 'Phew, mission accomplished.'"

Celebrating championships with sighs of relief rather than screams of joy was an annual tradition for a UCLA program burdened by sky-high expectations at the peak of its dynasty. The Bruins won a record seven straight national titles from 1967-73 and 10 in 12 seasons from 1964-75, an unfathomable accomplishment that has only become more difficult to duplicate since then.

Whereas Lew Alcindor, Sidney Wicks and Bill Walton remained at UCLA through their senior seasons, today's top teams often have to reshuffle their rosters every year or two as a result of early defections. Furthermore, the Bruins never had to win more than four NCAA tournament games to claim a championship, nor did they have to deal with the same social media and national media pressures today's elite teams face.

For all those reasons, UCLA's title streak is the most unbreakable of all the marks established during the Bruins dynasty, more unassailable than even their 88-game win streak from 1971-74 or their 30.3-point average margin of victory during the 1972 season. No other Division I program has even won more than two straight national championships, let alone mounted a serious challenge at UCLA's seven in a row.

"Can it be done? I know that Coach Wooden would say, 'If we can do it, it can be done again,'" said John Vallely, a starting guard on the 1969 and '70 UCLA teams. "But is it likely with the present environment of the NCAA? Could you get the best kids out of high school, take them to Kentucky, have that sort of a run like they did last year, then do that year after year? Very unlikely, in my opinion."

Bob Huggins compared rules governing calls and texts to prohibition because neither can be regulated (Getty Images)

Whereas rule changes in the past have often restricted access coaches had to prospects they're recruiting or players on their team, the pendulum has swung back in the other direction this year.

Coaches were able to evaluate prospects in person at NCAA-sanctioned events in April this year instead of just July. Another new NCAA rule also permits coaches to spend two hours per week instructing their players on the court for eight weeks in the summer.

The latest change takes effect Friday when coaches will be able to make unlimited phone calls and send unlimited text messages to recruits. That's a significant difference from the prior rule prohibiting text messages and allowing only one call per month from June 15 of after a prospect's sophomore year until July 31 after his junior year.

By and large, the reaction to the rule change among coaches has been positive. Here's a sampling from a handful of prominent coaches:

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins: I just learned to text last year. I'm kind of an old-fashioned kind of ball coach, I guess. I think there's been a lot of research and time put in, but honestly I think it's just too hard to keep track of. If you can't legislate it and you can't enforce it, you probably ought to just go ahead and make it legal. I think that's kind of what happened to prohibition, isn't it?

Kansas coach Bill Self: I think it's good. I do. We've got to the point where, and it's nobody's fault, but we have rules for the rules. The book has grown and everything. Anytime you can put yourself in a situation where there's more communication and you get to know families and recruits better, I think that's nothing but positive. I think that should help a ton. So I think it's positive. I think it's going to be more work for coaches, but I think the good far outweighs the bad.

Pete Maravich averaged a record 44.2 points per game in three seasons at LSU (AP)

The Untouchables is a 10-part series spotlighting college basketball's most unbreakable records. Up next is No. 2: Pete Maravich's career scoring average of 44.2 points per game.

Instead of commemorating one of her husband's finest basketball moments, former Alabama guard Bobby Lynch's wife delighted in poking fun at him a bit.

Hanging on the walls of the frame shop the couple owns is a 30x40-inch picture of LSU legend Pete Maravich shooting over Lynch during a 1970 game in Tuscaloosa. The caption beneath the photo reads, "Bob held him to 69 points."

"It's a very big conversation piece," Lynch said with a chuckle. "Anyone who's a sports fan who knows anything about basketball, that's one of the first things they ask about."

Lynch can take solace that many other SEC guards from that era have similar horror stories from their days defending Maravich. The kid with the shaggy hair and floppy socks broke the NCAA record for points per game each of his three seasons at LSU and averaged a

Former Mississippi State coach Babe McCarthy and player Jack Berkshire (AP)Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis is spearheading an effort to commemorate one of the landmark moments in the integration of college basketball.

In 1963, an all-white Mississippi State team defied its state's unwritten laws of segregation and sneaked out of Starkville to face predominantly black Loyola (Chicago) in the Mideast Regional semifinals in East Lansing. Hollis told MLive.com Tuesday that he's trying to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that game by setting up a commemorative matchup for next season at Michigan State's old Jenison Field House.

"The historical significance of that game needs to be recognized," Hollis said. "I don't think a lot of people in Michigan are aware that game was played there and we want to make sure that story is told.

"This is the 50th anniversary as you know and Mississippi State and Loyola are looking at some possibilities, as well as we are. I want to do something that commemorates that facility, so that's what we're working toward. And we're looking at a bunch of different options that make sense."

The ideal option would be a double header at Jenison Field House with Mississippi State and Loyola playing the opener and Michigan State facing another opponent in the second game. Hollis has yet to secure commitments from either the Bulldogs or Ramblers, but don't count it out given his track record.

Hollis hatched the idea for a basketball game on an aircraft carrier last year, spearheaded the plan to hold a Michigan-Michigan State hockey match at Spartan Stadium in 2001 and set up a basketball game at cavernous Ford Field two years later. He has even broached the idea of a basketball game between Michigan State and USC at Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, Greece, site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

Frank Selvy poses for a photo in 2004 on the 50th anniversary of his 100-point game (AP)

The Untouchables is a 10-part series spotlighting college basketball's most unbreakable records. Up next is No. 3: Frank Selvy's 100-point game.

The only Division I basketball player ever to score 100 points in a game doesn't believe it's as monumental an accomplishment as everyone else does.

He seldom mentions it unless asked about it. He always points out the opposing team was mediocre at best. He even insists it's not the memory from his college career he cherishes most, instead citing an upset of heavily favored Duke two years earlier.

"It's something I got a lot of attention for, but I'm not really proud of it," former Furman star Frank Selvy said. "Sometimes I'm almost embarrassed I scored that many points. I hadn't planned to do anything like that. It was just something that happened."

Whether Selvy downplays it or not, his astonishing 100-point performance against Division II Newberry College in 1954 is a record likely to stand for generations. Only five other Division I

Marcus Jordan (AP)Amid growing concern at Central Florida that second-leading scorer Marcus Jordan may leave school rather than return for his senior year, one of the shooting guard's closest friends decided to poke fun at the situation.

"If you want the truth on @SASBMJ and what's going on I will need 200 thousand dollars and a job for at least two years with bonuses!" former UCF point guard A.J. Rompza joked Tuesday on Twitter.

Questions about Jordan's future at UCF began Tuesday with a report from sports gossip site TerezOwens.com that Michael Jordan's younger son is expected to pursue business interests rather than return to UCF. The report isn't exactly ironclad, however, since it cited what appeared to be a third-hand anonymous source.

A Central Florida spokesman confirmed to News 13's David Baumann that Jordan is not enrolled in summer session at UCF but insisted he's expected back for fall semester. It's possible that would be as a walk-on rather than a scholarship player since UCF coach Donnie Jones is trying to bolster the team's outside shooting by adding a recruit or transfer.

There are a lot of factors for Jordan to consider as he decides whether or not to return to UCF.

On the one hand, close friend Rompza and older brother Jeff Jordan are no longer with the the program. On the other hand, UCF is expected to challenge Memphis in Conference USA with the younger Jordan, leading scorer Keith Clanton and a deep supporting cast back from last year's 22-win NIT team.

Chris Obekpa (rivals.com)Only a few months ago, it appeared St. John's might struggle to follow up the highly touted top-five class it landed last year.

Instead coach Steve Lavin quietly has erased all concerns with a six-man recruiting haul that has probably gone underappreciated nationally.

He re-recruited small forward Jakarr Sampson, one of the centerpieces of the 2011 class who originally failed to qualify academically. He landed coveted former Texas A&M point guard Jamal Branch via a transfer. And he bolstered a paper-thin frontcourt by reeling in 6-foot-9 shot blocking specialist Chris Obekpa and 6-foot-10 junior college transfer Orlando Sanchez.

Monday's addition of Obekpa was an especially significant coup for St. John's because the Johnnies lacked a big man capable of protecting the rim when the guards gamble for steals and get beat on the perimeter. Obekpa, maybe the best shot blocker in his class besides Kentucky-bound Nerlens Noel, chose St. John's over Big East foe Cincinnati.

Add the newcomers to a returning core from last year's class, and St. John's now has the talent and depth to perhaps contend for an NCAA tournament berth next season in spite of the departure of NBA-bound Maurice Harkless.

Branch will push returning guards D'Angelo Harrison and Phil Greene for playing time once he becomes eligible in mid-December. Sampson figures to step in for Harkless immediately at one of the forward spots. And Obekpa and Sanchez will surely both play right away as well in a frontcourt that suddenly has some size and depth.