J
Volume 124 Issue 106
kansan.com
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
LAWRENCE
CAMPUS
BEHIND THE MIC
WORDS BY NATHAN FORDYCE PHOTO BY JESSICA JANASZ
He retired after calling 60 years of Jayhawk basketball and football games. He had the privilege of calling two national championships for the
basketball team and is a Hall of Fame broadcaster. That man is Max Falkenstien, the Jayhawk legend behind the microphone.
"I had close access to the players and saw them frequently as a kid. I went to the games all my childhood, as well as into high school," Falkenstien says. "I've basically been associated with KU Athletics my entire life. I guess you could say I'm a bona fide Jayhawk."
He originally wanted to be a meteorologist with his mathematics degree, but accidentally got the broadcasting job when he returned from the Army Air Corps in the spring of 1946, and decided to resume his career.
"The radio station manager told me that there was a big game in Kansas City and that we ought to broadcast it on the station, do you want to do it," Falkenstien says. "I said 'Well, I never did a game on the radio but I'll give it a shot.'"
That game was against Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State University, and was an NCAA district final game. Falkenstien had admirers from that game, allowing him to continue on with his broadcasting career.
"I came back to school on the following Monday, and my mathematics professor said he listened to the game on Saturday and he felt like he was really there," Falkenstien says. "Not many guys in the business have started off with an NCAA playoff game for their first broadcast game, but I did."
TRIP THROUGH MEMORY LANE
Falkenstien has had several great memories throughout his 60-year broadcasting career. Though it's hard to pick which stood out the most, he relies on what the Jayhawks are known for: national championships.
"You'd have to certainly single out the three basketball national championships that I was a part of. Of course we won it in '52, with Clyde Lovellette, the nation's leading scorer. The next year we almost won it again, but we lost to Indiana in the championship game," Falkenstien says. "Then '88 with Danny [Manning] and 'Miracles,' and then the great 2008 team with Mario's [Chalmers] miracle shot."
Bob Davis, Falkenstien's broadcasting partner for 22 years, agreed that the 1988 national title was a special moment and one the two can always share. "It is one we will always remember," Davis says about calling the game with Falkenstien.
SIGNING OFF THE MIC
Falkenstien's last broadcast was in 2006. In Allen Fieldhouse at the last home game, he was honored at halftime. He had his "number," 60, raised to the rafters as the University retired it, becoming the first non-athlete to be granted the honor.
Falkenstien says he doesn't have any regrets about his long career, but he does wish he could have waited. He wrote a book in 2007 titled, "A Good Place to Stop: 60 Seasons with Max and the Jayhawks." Originally he thought it was a great title, but now?
"I titled it 'A Good Place to Stop,' but actually that was a bad place to stop. Right after I stopped, we won the national championship in basketball and the Orange Bowl
in football. I should've stayed two more years and then that would've been a good place to stop." Falkenstien jokingly says. "Instead of the last game I ever broadcasted, it was a loss against Bradley in the first round of the tournament."
Falkenstien says he doesn't dwell on the last game because of so many other high points in his career.
ONE FINAL WORD
For Falkenstien, it's not the job he misses as much as it's being around the players and coaches. "I don't miss doing the broadcast. I do miss the association with the players and the intimacy with the coaches as you travel with the team," Falkenstien says.
When he retired, Falkenstien had broadcasted more than 1,750 basketball games and more than 750 football games. He was inducted into the College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Also in 2001, he was named the "Best College Radio Personality" by The Sporting News.
Falkenstien still enjoys going to every game the Jayhawks play at Allen Fieldhouse. He says people still come up to him and ask for pictures and autographs and some parents tell their children about what all he did.
nfuse estrians
63
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN HAWK signals have created confu-
place to cross," Woosley said. er times it's pedestrian res, but we look at the number vehicles on the road to see if it's ole."
nuttucky and Tennessee streets between 7,000 and 10,000 day, a number not surprising by Benson, a nearby resident former University student. we were excited when we saw were putting them in at first there are so many cars, they just fly by" Benson said. I guess I don't understand they couldn't put up a sign what each signal means"ough puzzling at first, Gaines he would rather the signals be sing than unsafe.
lo like having them there just se it does slow down traffic, see so many people using walking to campus," Gaines "It's definitely better than g someone get run over or thing."
— Edited by Max Lush
Changes to MCAT will affect incoming students
MARSHALL SCHMIDT
mschmidt@kansan.com
Freshmen pursuing pre-medical education at the University of Kansas will face a significantly different MCAT on their road to medical school this fall. Although recently announced changes to the MCAT will not affect current pre-medical or medical students, they do reflect a shift in the medical community to emphasize a more holistic approach to treating patients.
"Doctors need to be effectively trained in working with real people and the complex factors they face," said Dr. Jeff Koetje, the Kaplan national director for pre-health programs. "Historically, doctors have been criticized with dealing with patients as organ systems or diseases."
Changes to the MCAT will include more upper-level biology and chemistry to the biosciences, elimination of the writing portion and a new section covering behavior and social sciences. Koetje said. The added section intends to convey the complexity of factors affecting patients' health, including language, culture, economics, value systems and ethics.
While Koetie cited that 73 percent of surveyed medical school admission officers approve of the change, only 50 percent believe that undergraduate programs will have enough time to make the necessary curriculum changes.
Paul Crosby, pre-medical advisor for the University, is excited for the coming changes but is concerned about the changes to pre-medical
All sections will be longer, lengthening the test from five-and-a-half to seven hours.
course work.
"Having custom courses sounds great," Crosby said. "However, it's very expensive, and this would place a great burden on small colleges. Overly specialized courses would not prepare students as well for further learning and other career possibilities."
Heidi Chumley, senior associate dean for medical education at KU Medical Center, sees the changes as long awaited. While medical school admissions will have to recalibrate the weight MCAT scores have on admission standards, Chumley sees other aspects of admission, such as grades, the in-person interview and written answers, as continuing
The MCAT has been part of the medical school admission process for 73 years, and this is the fifth revision of the test. The last changes were made in 1991.
"I hope the changes in the MCAT is an opportunity for all institutions to look at more holistic measures for admissions," Chumley said.
Last year, 173 KU students applied for medical school. Koetje encourages pre-medical students to keep up to date with changes, which are slated to go into effect in 2015.
"I would encourage students at the University of Kansas to stay tuned and follow along," Koetje said.
Koetje said students can find additional information at kaplan-mcat.com, or by following @kaplan on twitter and "liking" Kaplan on facebook.
Edited by Taylor Lewis
to be relevant.
The Kaplan Test Prep surveyed admissions officers at 69 universities with Association of American Medical Colleges accreditation about how the new MCAT format will affect test and medical school preparation. Some of the highlighted results to questions of the survey are given below.
Based on what you know, do you support the recommended changes to the MCAT set for 2015?
- Completely yes: 18%
- Generally yes: 52%
- Generally no: 3%
- Completely no: 0%
- Not sure: 27%
Do you think the changes to the test will better prepare students for medical school?
— Completely yes: 11%
— Generally yes: 62%
CLASSIFIEDS 1
CROSSWORD 4
Should pre-med programs revise their curricula in order to sufficiently prepare students for the new MCAT?
— Yes; 67%
— No; 5%
— Not sure; 29%
— Refused to answer; 8%
- Generally no: 9%
- Completely no: 0%
- Not sure: 17%
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
Which would you say is the most impor-
Don't forget
Which would you say is the most important admissions factor?
— MCAT score: 43%
— Undergraduate GPA: 28%
— Relevant experience: 19%
— Interview: 9%
— Letters of recommendation: 2%
— Personal statement: 0%
contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
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Today's Weather
Source: Kaplan Test Prep's 2011 Survey of Medical School Admissions Officers
Overcast skies, 70% chance of showers. South winds 10-15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
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