Section B · Page 10
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, April 25, 2000
Fullback goes back to kindergarten
Norris finds time for kids, football
By Allan Davis sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
Moran Norris is on a roll.
During the 1999 football season, the Kansas junior fullback gained 537 yards, most of them in the last five games of the season. He was a third-team All-Big 12 Conference selection. Last week, coach Terry Allen said Norris and sophomore linebacker Marcus Rogers had the best overall spring practices on the team.
But there's more to Norris than just the hard-running, hard-blocking football player with the 505-pound bench press.
And now, Norris has been selected to participate in the fourth annual NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference, scheduled for May 28 to June 1 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Once a week he helps Hillcrest Elementary School kindergarten teacher Bob Lominska teach kindergarteners basic skills. And Norris isn't doing it to fulfill requirements for his major; he's doing it because he likes it. He could be at home instead of at Hillcrest, helping Lominska with his kindergarteners amidst mobiles, a miniature covered wagon, tiny chairs and tables and sprouting plants that look like science experiments.
Norris said he enjoyed helping the young people he taught.
"When I first came to college. I
always wanted to do something like helping the community out," he said.
This is Norris' second semester volunteering at Hillcrest. He became involved through a Athletics Department Student Support Services program, Helping 'Hawks.'
"I wanted to do it, and I found out they have an organization, so I just went through them since they represent Kansas athletics," he said. "I could have gone through Big Brothers/Big Sisters, but since I'm a KU athlete, I just decided to represent KU."
Norris' duties at Hillcrest vary, whether it's reading, supervising or just horsing around.
"I help the kids out with whatever they need help with," he said. "Sometimes the teacher might ask me to do something special for the kids. I might read to them. I might just go outside and play basketball with them — just be there for them because sometimes in the household there's just not a man there."
Lominska said he and the kids really were pleased that Norris was there.
"We certainly do appreciate what he does," Lominska said. "And I think it's neat that he's willing to donate some of his time to share with young kids."
Lominska jokingly attributed Norris' success last year to his volunteer work at Hirstert.
"He certainly started rising to prominence when he started working here, so I think there's a real positive result," he said. "So I encourage other athletes who want to kind of move out of the pack to help out in schools."
MoraN Norris, fullback for the Jayhawk football team, is a volunteer at Hillcrest Elementary School. Norris, who has volunteered at Hillcrest for more than a year, enjoys working with the kindergarten students through the program Helping 'Hawks, which is sponsored by the KU athletics department student support services. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
Kansas Football 2000 Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Kickoff |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Sept. 2 | SMU | Dallas | TBA |
| Sept. 9 | open | | |
| Sept. 16 | UAB | Lawrence | 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 23 | So. Illinois | Lawrence | 6 p.m. (Parent Night) |
| Sept. 30 | Oklahoma | Norman, Okla | TBA |
| Oct. 7 | Kansas State | Lawrence | TBA |
| Oct. 14 | Missouri | Columbia, Mo. | TBA |
| Oct. 21 | Colorado | Lawrence | TBA (Homecoming) |
| Oct. 28 | Texas Tech | Lawrence | TBA |
| Nov. 4 | Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. | TBA |
| Nov. 11 | Texas | Lawrence | TBA |
| Nov. 18 | Iowa State | Ames, Iowa | TBA (home games in bold) |
1999 results
Date Opponent (Rank) Score Attendance
Aug. 28 Notre Dame (18) L 48-13 80,012
Sept. 11 Cal-State Northridge W 71-14 33,300
Sept. 18 Colorado L 51-17 47,783
Sept. 25 San Diego State L 41-13 34,500
Oct. 2 SMU W 27-9 24,700
Oct. 9 Kansas State (9) L 50-9 52,254
Oct. 16 Texas A&M (13) L 34-17 70,232
Oct. 23 Missouri W 21-0 42,300
Oct. 30 Nebraska (8) L 24-17 45,100
Nov. 6 Baylor W 45-10 28,600
Nov. 13 Oklahoma State L 45-13 39,562
Nov. 20 Iowa State W 31-28 27,000
(Home games in bold)