SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1995
Frederick wanted for Big 12 conference
SECTION E
Athletic director still unsure about leaving
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Bob Frederick could become the Big 12 Conference's first commissioner – but not just yet.
Kansas' athletic director has been mentioned as a candidate to lead the new conference, which includes the Big Eight Conference schools and four schools from the Southwest Conference—Baylor University, the University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University.
Frederick said that a member of the commissioner search committee asked him to apply for the job. The application deadline is Feb. 1, but Frederick said he would decide whether to apply within the next two weeks.
"I'm flattered that someone at least has thoughts that I would be a potential candidate," Frederick said. "I am not a candidate at this point. I am really happy as athletic director at the University of Kansas."
Frederick's decision will be based on two factors, he said, including whether his family wanted to leave a college community.
Bob Frederick
Frederick also must decide if he wants to sever day-to-day contact with student athletes.
"Clearly a conference office job is an office job," he said. Despite his reservations, Frederick has at least one fan on the search committee.
"Bob Frederick, in my opinion, is one of the most outstanding athletic directors in the United States," said Jon Wefald, chairman of the search committee and president of Kansas State University. "I have a world of admiration for him and what he's done for the University of Kansas."
("Fredrick's) commitment to the overall sports program has allowed us the opportunity to succeed," said Michael Center, Kansas men's tennis coach.
Frederick has tried to develop both revenue and nonrevenue sports in his eight years at Kansas, Last year, Kansas ranked 28th nationally in the 219-school Sears Directors Cup competition, which recognizes the all-sport programs in Division I schools.
In many instances around the country, non-revenue sports, such as tennis, are facing cuts or are being
dropped altogether. Center said that was not the case at Kansas.
"I think we're in better shape now than we've ever been in as far as support from the administration," Center said.
The position will be advertised across the country through January, Wefald said.
Although Kansas' success under Frederick makes him a possible candidate for the Big 12 post, Wefaid said he could not call Frederick one of the top candidates because he did not know who all of the candidates are.
Then, the search committee will narrow the field to six or seven applicants. Those people will be reviewed and three or four names will be given to the Big 12's chief executive officers. Wefaid said the first Big 12 commissioner should be named by the end of April.
Basketball teams prepare for weekend bouts
Job responsibilities will begin in July, and Big 12 competition begins in 1996
Iowa State likely poses biggest challenge to date
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan sportswriter
For the second consecutive game, the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks would like to spoil a Big Eight home opener.
On Monday, the Jayhawks defeated No. 17 Missouri 102-89 in Columbia, Mo., ending Missouri's 16-game conference winning streak. Tomorrow, Kansas will enter Hilton Coliseum, home of the No. 23 Iowa Cyclones.
The 5ayhawks will have to play as well or better than they did against Missouri to beat Iowa State and its starting senior trio of center Loren Meyer, forward Julius Michalik and guard Fred Hoberg.
"They have the most firepower returning," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "Hoiberg, Meyer and Michalki can get you 20 any night and will do that several times throughout the year."
That's what happened Wednesday night when Meyer scored 29 points and Hoiberg scored 23 in Iowa State's 79-66 victory against St. Louis in Ames, Iowa.
The Jayhawks may not have three outstanding players, but they have a lot of good players, which helped them defeat Missouri, Hoiberg said.
The Jayhawks have lost eight of the last 11 games played in Hilton Coliseum.
"The way they were playing was very impressive," he said. "Williams always has them playing well. I think the game kind of typified KU basketball."
"To go and pick up a road win at Missouri and then come right back at Iowa State, to pick those two up early in the conference schedule would mean a lot," said Greg Gurley, Kansas senior forward.
Kansas
11-1 overall, 1-0 Big Eight
Pos. Player Height Year PPG RPG
F Seaen Pearson 6.5 Jr. 9.6 3.0
R Frae LaFrentz 6.11 Fr. 13.5 7.4
C Greg Ostertag 7.2 Sr. 9.8 7.3
G Jacque Vaughn 6.1 So. 9.4 4.0
G Jerod Haase 6.3 So. 15.8 4.5
Iowa State
Iowa State
12-2 overall, 0-1 Big Eight
Kelty Cannon/KANSAN
Valerie Crow / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore forward Jennifer Trapp shoots a layup during a women's basketball practice drill. Kansas will play at home against Kansas State at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Nonrevenue coaches want support
Tennis,softball teams among nation's best
By Robert Moczydlowsky Kansan sportswriter
"We've got a team that looks to be one of the best in recent Kansas history," men's tennis coach Michael Center said. "We play an aggressive style of tennis that is fun to watch. This isn't professional tennis where it's quiet. We encourage crowd participation."
Now that their teams are ranked among the best in the nation, the coaches of Kansas spring sports are looking to drum up some student support.
The No. 23-ranked men's tennis team will play Southwest Missouri State Jan. 21 at Alvamar Raquet Club.
The No. 10 women's tennis team's home opener is Jan. 29, vs. Boise State, and that team, too, hopes for a large flock of the Jayhawk faithful.
"We need a good crowd," women's coach Chuck Merzbacher said. "We've got a potential national champion in Nora Koves, and Jenni Atkerson and Christie Sim are really playing well.
"It doesn't take too many people to really make a loud crowd, and that would be great. This is really an excellent team."
"I'm really excited by the play of our freshmen Michelle Huber and Kristina Johnson," softball coach Kalum Haack said. "We're one of the top 15 teams in the nation, and I'm excited about what's in store for the future."
Expectations are just as high for the Kansas softball team, which welcomes two highly praised players into its already solid lineup.
The softball team opens its season on the road in late February and then returns to Lawrence in early March, when it hopes the fans will be ready.
"If you are a Jayhawk fan, that means that you support all of the Jayhawks, not just the basketball team," Haack said. "If people just come out and take a look at our team, I think that they'll be hooked."
Also looking for a little student encouragement is the Kansas track team, which opens its season at home tomorrow in the Kansas Invitational.
"A lot of our events are under attended, and I really think that people would get a kick out of them," track coach Gary Schwartz said. "You can get close to the action, you can come and go as you please. What other sport offers that?"
The Kansas Invitational begins at noon in the Anshutz Sports Pavilion.
all events are free with a KUID and a valid spring activity sticker.
Nonrevenue sports
MEN'S TENNIS
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Jan. 23 vs. Southwest Missouri State
6 p.m. Alvamar Racquet Club
Jan. 8 at New Mexico
Jan. 29 vs. Texas Tech (in Albu-
querque)
.
SOFTBALL
Jan. 20-21 at Federated Court Classic in Minneapolis (Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Baylor)
Jan. 29 vs. Boise State
8 a.m. Alvarmar Racquet Club
Feb. 25 at RtoLex National Indoor Championships in Dallas
Feb. 17.9 at Texas-Arington Invitali
n in Grand Prairie, Tx
Mar. 3-8 at Texas &MInvitali in
College Station, Tx
Mar.14 vs.Oklahoma City 2 and 4 p.m.Jayhawk Field
TRACK AND FIELD
Jan. 14 Kansas Invitational
12 noon Anschutz Sports Pavilion
Jan. 21 at K-State Invitational in Manhattan, Kan.
Jan. 28 at K-State and Missouri in Columbia, Mo.
Valerie Crow / KANSAN
Kansas senior pole vaunter John Bazzoni practices for the spring track season. The Kansas men's and women's track teams open the season at noon tomorrow at the Kansas Invitational.
By Jenni Carlson
Women's team takes on another band of'Cats
Kansan sportswriter
But the Jayhawks aren't planning a repeat performance when the Kansas State Wildcats come to town Sunday. The tip-off is at 1 p.m. in Allen Field House.
Kansas and K-State opened Big Eight Conference play with two road victories last weekend. Both the Jayhawks and the Wildcats beat Iowa State and Nebraska. The Jayhawks also won their last seven road games.
A group of Wildcats mauled the Kansas women's basketball team once this season, when Northwestern handed the Jayhawks a 78-64 loss on Dec. 18.
"You have to try to win those ones on the road," sophomore forward Shelly Canada said. "Every game on the road is really, really important in the Big Eight."
On Sunday, the Jayhawks will face a K-State team that benefits from good recruiting, Kansas coach Marian Washington said.
K-State women's basketball coach Brian Agler welcomed seven new players to the team this year. Those players include junior point guard Carlene Mitchell, who won the 1994 NJCAA Championship while playing at Trinity Valley Community College, and Kodak High School All-American Brit Jacobson.
Besides the game, fans will be treated to a halftime performance by the Bud Light Daredevils and a free postgame Fan Jam in Anschutz Sports Pavilion. The Fan Jam will be similar to a carnival, with Kansas players signing autographs and interacting with fans.
"Kansas State is a much stronger ball club than they were a year ago," Washington said. "There's no question that Kansas State has done a great job."
Kansas
12-2 overall, 2-0 Big Eight
D
Men's and women's track starts tomorrow
By Robert Moczydlowsky
The annual meet, which will be held at noon in Anchutz Sports Pavilion, boasts a large field of nearby Division I and II schools, as well as a touring team from Australia.
The Kansas men's and women's track team is set to burst out of the gate tomorrow afternoon when it competes in its season-opening Kansas Invitational.
Kansan sportswriter
"We're very eager to see where we are right now," Kansas coach Gary Schwartz said. "We just came off a break, and I'm curious to see our level of fitness."
Nearby teams scheduled to compete include Missouri, Wichita State, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Pittsburg State, a Division II school. Several unattached athletes are also scheduled to compete, including American pole vault record-holder Scott Huffman.
Leading the Jayhawks into the indoor season will be senior All-American pole vaulter John Bazzoni. He will be surrounded by younger teammates, made up of many athletes counted on to contribute for the first time. The Jayhawks' other All-Americans, distance runners Michael Cox and Dan Walters, will not compete because they have eligibility remaining for only the outdoor season.
"This meet will really be good for us," Schwartz said. "It will let us know what we need to concentrate on for the rest of the indoors and into the outdoor season."
14.