TENNIS The Jayhawks are preparing to play other Big 12 teams that are rebuilding and strengthening their games. PAGE 7A
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2005
ESPN to air from KU
www.kansan.com
Network to broadcast its new road show live from Allen Fieldhouse
Steven Bartkoski/KANSAN
The original floor and the trophy case in Allen Field house is where ESPN College GameDay will be broadcasting to see the No. 6 Jayhawks play host to the No. 16 Texas Longhorns. GameDay will shoot three different shows on Saturday, including one at 10 a.m. that will include the first 40 groups of student campers as the fans.
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mienning@kansan.com
kansan SENIOR SPORTSWRIVER
if you've ever flipped your television to ESPN on Saturday during college football season, you're probably familiar with College GameDay.
The live telecast features well-known ESPN announcers sitting at a table with cheerleaders, mascots and frenzied fans in the background.
It's basically a two-day promotional event for the school of choice; a chance for fans to go on national television and show the whole country how great their school is.
This year, ESPN College GameDay added a new show to its agenda, a college basketball road show. Its second ever college basketball road show stop! Lawrence.
The whole GameDay gang will be in town to see the No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks play host to the No. 16 Texas Longhorns.
The crew will arrive tomorrow and broadcast live shows on Friday and Saturday from the east lobby of Allen Fieldhouse in the trophy case area.
Rece Davis, analysts Jay Bilas and Digger Phelps and ESPN senior writer Andy Katz will host the shows. Dick Vitale, who will provide color commentary for the game, will join the team for Saturday's later shows.
The crew will do four to five hours of shooting on Friday, including a live segment for ESPN News. It will also tape segments for SportsCenter, GameDay producer Barry Sacks said.
Cold Pizza, ESPN's morning show, will also broadcast live from Allen Fieldhouse on Friday.
The doors to Allen Fieldhouse will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. for all fans to participate in the filming of Cold Pizza, producer Rosemary O'Brien said.
If you flip your TV to ESPN tomorrow or Saturday, you will probably see the well-known announcers live at your school, with your cheerleaders and
your fans in the background.
Sacks said he encouraged everyone to get in on the action.
"The student body is welcome to join us for all of the shows." Sacks said. "We encourage them to be active and show school spirit."
Tipoff is at 8 p.m. on Saturday, but the ESPN festivities begin in the morning.
GameDay will shoot three shows from Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
The first will be a live, three-hour show at 10 a.m. During the morning show, the analysts will talk college basketball and pick the projected winners of all of Saturday's games, including the winner of the Kansas vs. Texas game, Sacks said.
Kansas coach Bill Self is expected to appear live on the show, and ESPN will also do a feature story on junior walk-on forward Christian Moody.
The fans for the 10 a.m. show will be the first 40 groups of student campers.
Later in the evening, ESPN will broadcast at 7 p.m. This show will be limited to ticketed fans only, according to KU media relations.
Following the game, there will be an 11 p.m. broadcast that will appear on SportsCenter. The crew will talk postgame and select Saturday's plays of the day.
Sacks said ESPN encouraged all fans attending the game to wear their school colors.
Think all of this excitement has gone to the players' heads?
Nah.
"I just want to play the game, man," senior guard Aaron Miles said. "We're just focused on Texas."
The Longhorns will come into Saturday's game with a 15-4 record, including a Big 12 loss to Oklahoma
"The student body is welcome to join us for all of
the shows. We encourage them to be active and show school spirit."
Barry Sacks ESPN GameDay producer
last Saturday.
"Texas is having some personnel problems, just like we did when Wayne went out," Self said. "But they will be ready. This is a big game for us."
They will play without starting point guard PJ. Tucker.
If Kansas can hold off Texas, they will move to 6-0 in the Big 12.
SPORTS COMMENTARY
— Edited by Megan Claus
JONATHAN KEALING
jkealing@kansan.com
Women's coach proves to be worthy
Before you get the wrong idea, this is not the obligatory "you have to go to all Kansas sporting events to be a true fan" column.
Approaching this season, it's fair to say that expectations for the women's basketball team were fairly low, at least outside the program. At the Big 12 Conference media day back in October, the pundit seemed fairly certain that the Jayhawks were looking at an 0-16 conference record and many, many struggles.
The team stumbled out of the gate with a homecourt season-opening loss to Texas — the Mavericks. Texas is certainly a hot spot for athletics, but Arlington isn't the school that usually crops up as a national powerhouse.
A late charge and just plain cold shooting dealt the lajhawks an early loss.
"The result isn't going to change unless we make changes. There isn't one thing, it's literally probably 50 different things," coach Bonnie Henrickson said after the game.
Fifty changes later, the team met Dartmouth out of the Ivy League on a quiet day just after finals concluded. About 2,000 fans were treated to some kind of a show.
SEE WORTHY ON PAGE 5A
Kansas jumped out to a quick lead and rolled over the Big Green, 84-51. Few members of the media were there, but those of us who were present heard Henrickson continue to pick
Demand high for tickets
More than a thousand students who tried to get tickets to upcoming Kansas men's basketball games against Texas and Missouri during this week's redemption period were entered into a lottery and will be notified of their status today.
The first 3,800 students who went to the Allen Fieldhouse ticket windows this week were given tickets up front. Associates athletic ed.
Associate athletics
"I'll suck if I don't
get them, but I guess it's a pretty fair system."
Luke Fast Salina senior
so winning students will receive tickets to Saturday's game against Texas and Monday's game against Missouri. Students awaiting their lottery fate were frustured with the new system. Last year, students were guaranteed tickets during a week-long redemption period.
"It'll suck if I don't get them, but I guess it's a pretty fair system." Luke Fast, Salina senior, said. "I'll just try to watch the games on TV."
He said 1,050 students who tried to redeem on Tuesday were entered into a lottery for the remaining 200 student tickets. The drawing is all-or-nothing
director Jim Marchiony said everyone who went on Mon d ay received a ticket.
Marchiony said the new system was instituted to create a less-packed student section.
"We've been working very closely with the fire marshal to be sure that there is no overcrowding," he said.
Students who entered the lottery but do not get tickets will be entitled to a refund of $5 per game, Marchiony said.
Bill Cross
Coach envies Jayhawk spirit
Longhorns lacking supportive fans, tradition
KELLIE ROBINETT
krobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITER
Barnes got his first taste of the Kansas mystique six years ago and has said nothing but good things since. Texas has a 3-4 record against Kansas under Barnes. The rivalry between the two teams has become so intense that ESPN is broadcasting its basketball version of "College Gameday," which the network sends to what it considers to be the best game of the week, live from Allen Fieldhouse before the contest.
When Texas coach Rick Barnes first went to Texas in 1998, he left behind a successful Clemson program. It played second fiddle to the tradition-rich Atlantic Coast Conference teams such as Duke and North Carolina. So Barnes left because he simply wanted more.
He envisioned playing in front of sell-out crowds every night, national ranking conference titles and Final Fours. He wanted to coach for an elite program in a major conference. In other words, he dreamed of turning Texas basketball into a program that could rival Kansas.
"I have great respect for Kansas and that, program and tradition," Barnes said. "I think every team in the league looks forward to when Kansas comes in every year or every other year."
The Longhorn coach thinks so highly of the matchup that, in the past, he has suggested playing Kansas twice a year. Once in a nonconference game to create even more of a rivalry.
"Everyone likes those league rival-
ies," he said. "Everyone in the league,
This yearly contest has become a premier match both because the two have played some of the greatest games in Big 12 Conference history, and because of the success, Barnes has achieved at Texas thus far.
not just Texas, knows about and respects Kansas and their tradition."
He has guided the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament six straight times, and reached the Final Four in 2003. Texas also joins Kansas as one of five teams that have reached the Sweet Sixteen each of the last three years.
Compiling a record of 156-62, which is an average of 23.5 wins a year, he has turned Texas into a yearly contender for the conference title.
His success has increased the number of nationally televised games at the Frank Erwin Center, which recently underwent $52 million worth of renovations.
Still, as good as Texas has been under Barnes, he has not received the same kind of support from the army of burnt orange, football-loving Texans that the Kansas basketball team receives on a daily basis.
Playing in a stadium that holds close to 17,000 fans, Texas, on average, has only filled 9,907 seats a game this season. More than 16,000 fans came out to watch Texas take on Oklahoma State, but that is the only time the Longhorns have their house full.
At 11 home games this year, fewer than 10.000 fans attended six times.
Barnes has grown so annoyed with the lack of support that he has pleaded with Texas fans — on the jumbotron
SEE ENVIES ON PAGE 5A
Kansan file photo
Keith Langford, senior guard, and Jason Klotz, Texas senior center, fight for the ball during last year's contest at Texas. The Jayhawks welcome the Longhorns to Allen Fieldhouse at 8 p.m. Saturday.
1