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SPORTS
SPORTS The men's basketball team may have as many as 11 players in Saturday night's match-up against the Texas Longhorns. PAGE 1B
The Jayhawk baseball pitching roster looks strong this season. Sophomore Sean Land will be one to watch.PAGE 2B
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SPORTS
KANSAN
FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2005
VOL. 115 ISSUE 83
www.kansan.com
NCAA sets new academic rules
By Ross Fitch
fritch@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Student-athletes now have a significant incentive to stay in the classroom: their teams will suffer if they don't progress toward a degree.
On Jan. 10, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, led by University of Kansas chancellor Robert Hemenway, passed an academic reform policy requiring teams to maintain an Academic Progress Rate of 925, which is roughly equivalent to a projected 50 percent graduation rate. The scores will
HEMENWAY
be determined through a point system in which each team earns one point for eligibility and graduation of each player, and one point for player retention each term.
If teams fail to meet the new requirement, they will face penalties that restrict replacing
the scholarship of an academically inelegible athlete who leaves the school. The maximum penalty will be 10 percent of a team's financial aid limit.
meaning two scholarships each could be lost for men's and women's basketball, and nine for football. Penalties are at the discretion of the NCAA.
The penalties will not be imposed immediately. The NCAA will collect data from each school and issue preliminary reports to let teams know where they stand, said Paul Buskirk, Kansas associate athletics director for student support services. The actual penalties would start being applied incrementally next fall and into 2006.
According to 2003-2004 APR data, more than half of all schools have at least one team that would have been penalized if the policy was currently in effect.
Teams could also be banned from preseason tournaments and postseason games and playoffs. Problems that persist for four consecutive years could result in losing membership in NCAA's Division I.
The data show that about 30 percent of football, 25 percent of baseball and
20 percent of men's basketball teams would be affected.
"Now, not only do student-athletes have to remain eligible and proceed toward a degree, but their institutions and their teams will receive significant penalties if they do not maintain academic standards," Hemenway said.
"Life isn't only basketball," freshman basketball forward Alex Galindo said. "You never know what's going to happen."
"Whether you're an athlete or not, you're here to get an education," Matt Hoge, Olathe senior, said.
Genevieve Boyle, Salina sophomore, said student-athletes shouldn't get any special treatment.
Other students, such as student senators, are as busy as student-athletes
SEE NCAA ON PAGE 6A
Former KU quarterback enters hotel business
BY ADAM LAND
aland@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFP WRITER
Carpeting that once covered the floor of the Eldridge Hotel is now gone. The checkered marble floor that gleamed decades ago is now covered in dust from construction. The hotel that stands at seventh and Massachusetts streets is a Lawrence landmark and was recently acquired by University of Kansas alumni.
Bobby Douglass, former KU quarterback who played most of his career with the Chicago Bears, and KU Alumni Mitch and Susan Chaney of Texas, along with local investors, paid $2.92 million at bankruptcy auction for the historic hotel. The Douglass-Chaney group plans on dropping $1.5 million in renovations.
Douglass attended the University from 1966 to 1968. He played quarterback and led the Jayhawks to the Orange Bowl in 1968. His name is featured on the north side of Memorial Stadium, which he said was a great honor.
Even though he lives in Chicago. Douglass said he kept coming back to Lawrence.
Renovating a local landmark
During one trip back to Lawrence, Douglass stayed at the Eldridge Hotel while visiting his daughter who attends the University. The hotel was a little run-down, but Douglass thought it had promise.
SEE ELDRIDGE ON PAGE 2A
A couple walks past the Eldridge Hotel, 701 Massachusetts st. yesterday evening. Renovation of the hotel, which is under new ownership, began in mid-December. Bobby Douglass, co-owner of the hotel, said he was expecting to be finished in May 2005. (Left) Bobby Douglass was a quarterback for Kansas from 1966 to 1968. He is one the Eldridge's co-owners.
Accreditation to begin next week
Thorough evaluations to enable federal funding
BY DANI LITT
dlitt@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITE
Next week, the entire University of Kansas will undergo review for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, a branch of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
"Accreditation is a review of how the University is doing according to its mission," said Barbara Romzek, chair of the steering committee and associate dean of social sciences.
"Without the accreditation, students would not be eligible for financial aid and faculty and staff are not eligible for federal research grants," she said. "As a result, there would be fewer students and fewer faculty."
Accreditation gives the University federal funding for loans and financial aid. Romzek said.
Each school also goes through individual accreditation that is not related to the University's accreditation, said Lynn Bretz, director of University Relations. The schools are accredited by their own national professional organizations.
Deborah Teeter, director of Institutional Research and Planning, said the University could be accredited for up to 10 years and has been accredited for the full 10 years she has been at the University.
The accreditation consists of a self-study, similar to a self-evaluation, done by the University and a site visit by a 12-member team of outside academics from major research universities in the Midwest.
The outside academics are trained,
ACCREDITATION FORUMS
Four open forums will be held for faculty, staff and students on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the Kansas Union, where those groups can address the evaluators conducting the accreditation.
**Staff Forum:** 11:15 a.m. to noon, Jan. 31, Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
Faculty Forum: 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.
Jan. 31, Parlors A and B,
Kansas Union
Student Forum: 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.
Jan. 31, Regionalist Room,
Kansas Union
Faculty Forum: 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. Feb. 1, International Room Kansas Union
Source; University Relations
experienced administrators, faculty deans, provosts, chancellors and university presidents. The University pays a fee for the comprehensive visit, which varies for each university, said Diane Nyhammer, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools liaison for the University.
The Higher Learning Commission will pay for expenses evaluation members incur while they are here.
Provost David Shulenburger chose 22 representatives of the University to be on the steering committee. The representatives are faculty and staff from the Lawrence campus, Edwards campus, the University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Kansas
SEE ACCREDITATION ON PAGE 6A
Lawrence taking homeless services seriously
BY JASON SHAAD
jshaad@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Members of the Lawrence Task Force on Homeless Services have spent much of January mulling over recommendations from different community groups about how to improve homeless services, including mental health services and alcoholism programs.
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The task force published a preliminary report last fall and has since met with groups that included homeless people, service providers and business owners, among others, to discuss its
Mayor Mike Rundle, director of the task force, said the draft report focused on creating a city-wide approach to gaps in homeless services, including a need for a better case management system. Case management involves working with homeless people to improve their living and employment situations.
"The thought is that if you're chronically homeless, you're sort of in a revolving door where you don't think you can get out." he said.
initial findings and recommendations.
One gap the task force addressed was the availability of mental health services. Helen Hartnett, assistant professor of
A similar concern is how to help people suffering from alcoholism, said Rich Forney, Salvation Army administrator and task force member. Forney said that The Salvation Army, 946 New Hampshire St., had its own alcohol detoxification center, but that it had been used about eight times in the last two and a half years. He said there was a serious need for a farther-reaching program.
social welfare and task force member, said Lawrence no longer had an open facility for persons to stabilize during a crisis.
Other areas for improvement included emergency and shelter services, housing programs and job programs. Forney said
these services needed centralization.
In the report, business owners expressed a need to eliminate the perception that Lawrence is an "open city" that welcomes transients.
A report from Downtown Lawrence Inc. also suggested a centralized service located away from the downtown area in order to decrease loitering and panhandling.
Dawn Thompson, owner of Children's Orchard, 742 Massachusetts St., said panhandlers discouraged people from entering some stores, and ordinances needed to be established to prevent this.
right direction, Thompson said. She said she shared the same goal as everyone else — to get people off the streets and into a safer place.
The task force was moving in the
The next meeting is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. Members will discuss the process and will vote on recommendations. The task force will present its final report to the City Commission in late spring.
Feedback from various stakeholders is crucial to make the task force's final report a success. Hartnett said.
The University Daily Kansan
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1435 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045
(785) 864-4810
© 2005 The University Daily Kansan
Hispanic retention
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- Edited by Lisa Coble-Krings
A higher education magazine recently recognized the University for increased enrollment and retention of Hispanic students, but some say it can still do better. PAGE 3A
New Year's Celebration
The Center for East Asian Studies is having an East Asian Lunar New Year party today at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries honoring both Chinese and Korean culture. PAGE 3A
Index
4
New: Briefs 2A
Weather 2A
Opinion 4A
Classifieds 4A
Sports 1B
Comics 7B
Crossword 7B
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