SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, February 24, 1993
11
Recruiting fans not as easy as players
Low attendance at women's games disappoints coach
By Jay Williams
Kansas sportswriter
Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington was driving in Kansas City when something caught here
She saw a billboard promoting the Kansas women's basketball team.
Billboards are the kind of effort Washington likes to see in trying to promote Kansas women's basketball. It's a struggle Washington has endured for 20 years at Kansas, and the struggle continues into the 1990s.
Kansas will close out its home schedule at 2 p.m. Sunday against Kansas State. If tradition holds, the game will be the best-attended contest of the season. The five-largest crowds in the program's history have been against K.State. The largest was in 1981, when 3,750 watched the Sunflower State showdown featuring former Kansas All-American Lynette Woodard.
Women's college basketball has grown immensely in the past decade. Earlier this month, then No. 1 Vanderbilt and current No. 1 Tennessee played in front of a sellout crowd of more than 13,000 fans in Nashville, Tenn. More to than 1,000 people who had tickets to the game were turned away at the gate, including the chancellor of Vanderbilt.
No. 4 Colorado is leading the Big Eight Conference in attendance, averaging 3,007 people a game. Sunday, 8,500 showed up when Colorado played No. 22 Nebraska in a battle between the first- and third-place teams in the conference.
The Jayhawks have never seen those types of crowds. The average attendance at women's basketball games in Allen Field House has remained below 1,000. The fourth-place Jayhawks are fifth in the conference in attendance, averaging 879 fans a game.
Women's basketball and the marketing arm of the Athletic Department work together to try to bring more fans to the field house.
Every opportunity we get,we try to promote the the program," Washington said.
Her main concern is putting a quality product on the floor that will help attract fans.
"Recruiting is at the top of the list," she said. "We want good kids, and we want good people."
Kansas has had success landing some of the nation's top talent. Sophomore Angela Aycock was ranked by some publications as the No. 2 prospect in the nation. Freshman guard Charise Sampson was a first-team Parade All-American.
However, Washington's success recruiting players has not translated to recruiting more fans, yet. Neither has the success of the program, with four 20-victory seasons in five years, two NCAA tournament berths and one conference regular-season championship in that time.
enjoy us." Washington said.
Now, women's basketball and the sports marketing department are fishing for the right hues to bring fans to one game. Once they come, people usually get hooked.
Two years ago, the department decided to market women's basketball as an event for the entire family.
Tracey Bleczinski, assistant director of marketing for Kansas, said one of the more successful promotions this season was a coloring contest for children in the Lawrence public schools. Coloring sheets were handed out to schoolchildren, and the children who want to come bring their parents along.
Also, groups like Girl Scouts and teams from area junior and senior high schools that attend games receive items like team posters and an opportunity to talk with players and get autographs after the game.
"We've always had junior high and high school nights," Washington said. "Marketing has enhanced it."
Also high on the Jayhawks' list are senior citizens. Washington and the team visit with seniors in the community and have meals with them. While the goal is simply to give something back to the community, Washington said, a residual effect has been creating some new fans.
Former Jayhawk guard Kay Kay Hart said she remembers the senior citizen fans.
One group absent at women's games is students. Hart said that was one of the most disappointing aspects of her career. Students with a KUID are admitted free.
"The ones who can come, come to the games every time," she said. "The ones who can't come listen on the radio. Even if you don't know they're names, they know yours."
"So many times I'd see people on campus and they'd say, 'We were going to come...'" she said.
Friday, the Jayhawks played No. 24 Oklahoma State. Students camped in their tents outside the field house while waiting for the men's Saturday game against Kansas State.
"Once we get them there, they really
The Jayhawks upset the Cowgirls 73-69 inside the field house.
"It's disappointing to see students camped out for a men's game and not willing to walk 10 feet to watch the women play," Hart said.
Washington said part of the problem was that students said they were not aware when the games were played.
Bleczinski said that the Naismith Hall Free Tuition Haltime Shootout was added this season to encourage more students to attend the games. Students are chosen at random to shoot a layup, free throw, three-pointer and half-court shot.
At Kansas, fans could get a reward, courtesy of the Kansas players who throw T-shirts into the crowd before every home game. They started that tradition last season, but it was something Washington had wanted to do since she coached the Big Eight select team in 1991.
Women's basketball attendance in the Big Eight Conference The average attendance at women's basketball games this year at Big Eight schools
If a student makes all four shots within the allotted time, the contestant will get tuition paid for one year.
when I was playing, different teams would do things like that," she said. "When we were overseas in Brazil with the Big Eight team, they threw T-shirts to the fans. I liked it, so we started it here."
Women's basketball games have not drawn enough fans to fill even half of the 15,800 seats in Allen Field House. Here are the attendance figures and team records for the past six years.
Other schools also have problems drawing student fans. Dave Eck, assistant marketing director for the Colorado athletic department, said that despite the impressive attendance figures, Colorado women's crowds lacked a significant student turnout.
Women's basketball doesn't fill field house
"They come out for the big games but not the everyday ones," he said.
Dave Campbell / KANSAN
Team Colorado Nebraska Oklahoma Oklahoma State KANSAS Iowa State Missouri Kansas State Average Attendance 3,007 1,762 1,709 1,535 879 653 644 368
Source: Colorado and Kansas Sports Information
Doug Hesse / KANSAN
Sophomore Angela Aycock signs autographs for fans. The Jayhawks signed autographs after the Oklahoma game Sunday as part of a promotion for local junior high and high school students in attendance. The defending Big Eight Conference Champions are averaging just 879 fans a game this season.
Racquetball club seeking new members
By Blake Spurney
Kansas sportswriter
Kansan sportswrite
Even though the Kansas Racquetball Club's season is winding down, it still is looking for new members, regardless of their ability.
Club president Brannon Hertel, a sophomore, said that the team placed 13th at nationals last year, but that anyone was welcome to join.
"There's plenty of opportunity to get your skills enhanced," he said.
Hertel said the club had good teachers to help new members.
"We're short on women racquetball players," member Vic Ullom, a graduate student, said.
The club competes at tournaments as a team, but it also has members that just play for recreation. People who are not competing can play at no cost, Hertel said, and all a member needs is a raquet and eye goggles.
As a team, Kansas competes in three intercollegiate tournaments a semester, plus a regional and national tournament. This weekend the team will travel to Washington University in St. Louis for regalons.
Tournaments consist of nine different brackets. There is one for each of the six singles' seeds and the three doublets' pairs that compete for each team. Points are awarded on the basis of how each team member places within the bracket.
The team has been competing for the past six years. To be eligible a player must be a full-time student. Hertel said it costs him and the other competing players about $300 a semester in traveling expenses.
Last year, the Jayhawks finished second in regionals behind Southwest Missouri State, the No.1 team in the nation. The regional tournament will feature the eight teams in the Central Region Conference, which is the only intercollegiate conference in the nation, according to Hertel. Kansas State, Wichita State and Missouri are also in the conference.
This season, Kansas has been consistently finishing in the top three in its other tournaments, Hertel said.
The national tournament will be April 14-18 in Phoenix, and Hertel said four team members will be attending.
BASKETBALL
Pauley hopes to return for Colorado contest
Kansan staff report
Senior center Eric Pauley has been listed as "day-to-day" by Kansas trainer Mark Cairns because of the strained patellar tendon that he injured prior to the Iowa State game on Monday.
The injury happened in the pregame warm-up before Kansas' 75-71 loss to the Cyclones.
Pauley was examined yesterday and said he hoped to return to practice by Friday, one day before the lajayhaws play host to Colorado. His status will be updated tomorrow at Kansas coach Roy Williams' weekly press conference.
Pauley is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12 points a game. He did not start for the first time this season and failed to play for the first time in his two year career at Kansas.
Pitcher leads by example
By Mark Button
There are those who lead and those who follow. And although Kansas junior pitcher Stephani Williams rarely speaks, she is a leader.
In the 1992 campaign, Williams was 30-6 with six saves and an earned run average of 0.58. She ranked fourth in the nation in victories, sixth in saves and 13th in ERA, earning second team All-America honors.
Williams, a native of Cupertino, Calif. is described by everyone around her as a silent leader.
Kansan sportswriter
As well as being considered a leader by her peers and coaches, she said she is the ultimate competitor. Her father, Wes Williams, said she always been competitive.
"She leads by example," said Kansas coach Kalum Haack.
"She started out at age 2 saying that she was going to do something better than her brother and sister." Wes Williams said.
Her competitive fire was mostly fueled by her brother, Jason, who is three years older and her sister, Stack, who is five years older. Stacie played softball and was a pitcher. Naturally, Stephani not only wanted to pitch, but also wanted to be better than her n
ter.
Williams started playing in the "bobby socks," or little league, when she was 9. Three years later, she became burnt on the sport. However, John Ehmma, the first coach to recognize her potential, convinced her to develop her talent.
By the time she entered Monta Vista High School, she had already developed a pitch rarely found in high school softball, the rise-ball. It was this pitch that thrust her into her high school's top pitching position as a freshman.
However, she was not a one-sport athlete. She was also a soccer standout.
"I told her that every time she pitched — every time — we won," Ehmann said. "She had an effortless, fluid motion that was very rare for girls of that age."
"She was the only player who ran into others and they had to taken off of the field." Wes Williams said.
With Williams anchoring the team, Monta Vista won the California Central Coast Section title, a tournament of 60 teams, during both her freshman and sophomore years.
Dave Chapman, coach at Monta Vista, said Williams was one of the top players that he had coached in his 13
years.
"She had an incredible work ethic," Chapman said.
Williams also played in summer softball leagues. That was where Haack first saw her play.
Haack said he was impressed by Williams and tried to get her to commit to Kansas as soon as he could.
Williams said she chose Kansas for many reasons. She wanted to get away from the Coast, and she wanted to go to a big school. The fact that Kansas offers many schools within it also weighed heavy in her decision. She thought she also wanted to study. She also was impressed with Haack.
"I bet a lot of West Coast schools are kicking themselves in the butt for not recruiting her," Haack said.
"He has a real eye for talent," Williams said. "I knew he would recruit good players."
Williams' honors
Haack said Williams' value to the team is immeasurable.
"The key to softball is pitching," he said. "You can have a great team and a lousy pitcher, and you'll lose every time. Stephani is an athlete you never have to worry about. She is an academic All-American, and she always gives her best effort. I have total faith in her."
Second team All-America by National Softball Coaches Association - 1992
First team GTE Academic All-America - 1992
In 1992 . . .
18 Shutouts
4 no-hitters
3 one hitters
29 complete games
Nationally in 1992 . . .
Fourth in victories (30)
Sixth in saves (6)
13th in ERA (0.59)
Source: Kansas Sports Information
Dave Campbell / KANSAS
Her first opportunity to display her nationally recognized talents in 1903 will be on March 5, when the "Hawks open their season at College Station, Texas.
Williams, who has a 3.9 cumulative grade point average, plans to graduate in May 1965 with degrees in Spanish and environmental studies.
Irène Larsen / KANBAN
Kansas Junior Stephani Williams pitches during practice. Williams helped lead the Jayhawks to the College World Series last season when she won 30 games, the fourth highest total in the nation.