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SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, March 1. 1994
9
Coaches have positive outlook on merger
New schedules may help teams recruit players
Kansan sportswriter
By Gerry Fey.
The first Big Eight Conference expansion in 37 years is its biggest ever and possibly will be the most
literative. The conference officially has
accepted four Southwest Conference teams' memberships for the 1996-97 season: Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
Chief executive officers unanimously approved the invitation to the four schools during a teleconference Friday, Feb. 18. The offers were extended to those schools during a three-day period. The Big Eight has received acceptance from all four schools.
The additional schools have drawn mixed reactions throughout the conference's athletic programs, but Kansas' reaction generally has been positive.
"I don't know how much effect it will have on basketball," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "I'm definitely not one that believes that bigger is better. But I do believe, from an athletic department standpoint, it will be good for the conference and Kansas."
The conference is in its 87th year of existence, and this is the first time since Oklahoma State joined on June 1, 1957 that it has expanded.
The decision to merge with the SWC came about because of the upcoming demise of the College Football Association television package with ABC and ESPN. The CFA television contract ends in 1995, and in order to make the Big Eight more attractive to television' offers, the conference decided to pick up the four Texas schools.
CBS TV, after losing rights to the National Football Conference professional games, grabbed Southeastern Conference and Big East games. This put the Big Eight and the SWC in a precarious position.
"It will ensure the economic viability of our athletic programs for years to come," Chancellor Gene Budig said. "The new conference alignment will attract a TV audience that is comparable to that of the Big Ten and Pac-
10. "
Although the plan started with football, many programs will be affected. Bob Bockrath, Texas Tech athletic director, said he was looking forward to joining the Big Eight.
Many of the larger conferences have made similar additions. Recently, the Big Ten Conference added Penn State in 1991, and the Atlantic Coast Conference accepted Florida State in 1990.
"This will secure our future into the next century," he said. "It's a great privilege to join the Big Eight, not just for football and basketball, but also the non-revenue sports. All four institutions, from the comments I've heard, are really happy about it."
Carl James, Big Eight commissioner, said the conference had to be proactive.
"The reality of the present environment is that intercollegiate athletics is undergoing considerable evaluation and adjustment," he said. "Conference's have changed membership over the years, but not to the degree we have witnessed recently. We realize this new configuration might create some hardships in the short term but in the long run, it will be for the benefit of our current and new mem-
The plan has the major sports in mind, but Kansas men's tennis coach Michael Center said his sport would benefit.
bers."
"As far as tennis goes, Texas and Texas & A&M are top programs," he said. "I definitely want those teams on our schedule. It will help recruiting. The only drawback is that the swing to Texas takes a dent out of our budget."
Center said that adding well-established tennis programs such as 'Texas', would possibly help improve Kansas' facilities. Kansas now has six outdoor tennis courts compared with 'Texas' much larger facility.
Other sports such as women's basketball would not be hurt by the merger, and a huge impact is not expected, Kansas coach Marian Washington said. Texas Tech won last year's women's national championship.
"I'm not sure it's going to help women's basketball in the Big Eight," she said. "It's not going to hurt us because the level of competition is there. We recruit heavily out of Texas."
Recruiting is a big topic for most every sport. Bockrath said it would help Texas Tech battle for recruits in
"It will enhance our football team," he said. "We feel like we lose a lot of good football players from Texas to Big Eight schools. We hope the merger will keep some of those players in our state."
Although the conference doesn't have a name yet — it has obtained the rights to the name Big 12 — basketball coaches already have shown concern about scheduling. In the current schedule, teams play every other conference team twice, totaling 14 games.
Coaches said that system would be impossible with that new alignment. Separating teams into two divisions is likely.
football.
"I don't think we ought to play more than 16 conference games," Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said. "You add two more ball clubs and that's 18 games. That's too many."
Sutton, however, said the merger was a positive move for the Bie Eight.
"I think it's a tremendous day for the conference," he said. "When you look at the total athletic programs, I think we can be the best athletic conference in the country."
Kansan sportswriter Matt Siegel contributed to this story.
Richard Devinki/ KAN$AN
Texas A&M
Baseball team
played in
the College World
Series. Football
dame. Notre Dame
in the Cotton
Bowl on New Year's
Day 1994.
Kansas guard Tamecka Dixon guards UNC-Ashevile forward Beth Matthews at Allen Field House, Dixon had four steals in the victory.
Texas Baseball team participated in the College World Series.
Big Eight, plus four
Big Eight Conference officials have approved a merger with four Southwest Conference Schools. It is the biggest addition ever to Big Eight conference. These are last year's sports highlights.
Texas Tech
Women's basketball
team won the
national
championship.
Jayhawk seniors finish in style with rout
Baylor Volleyball team was ranked regionally throughout the season
Micah Laaker/KANSAN
By Matt Siegel
kansan sportswriter
March came a day early yesterday for the Jayhawks.
On the eve of a month that comes in like a lion, No. 12 Kansas roared past UNC-Asheville 112-36 last night in Allen Field House.
The team's performance was a going-away present for seniors Lisa Tate, Ericka Muncy and Michelle Leathers, who all played in their final regular-season home game for the Jayhawks.
"It was a fun game," Tate said. It was nice to relax and not have to worry about who was going to make the winning shot."
Indeed, Kansas did not have to hold its breath as it raced to a 20-5 lead. The outcome was not in question when the Jayhawks led 50-12 at halftime. Kansas coach Marian Washington inserted Leathers, normally a reserve guard, into the starting lineup with Tate, the center, and Muncy, the point guard.
Tate had a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds, while Muncy had 10 assists and nine points. Leathers scored eight points, including one three-pointer.
The players said it was good to play a game like this after completing a grinding conference schedule but before beginning the Big Eight Conference Tournament.
"They deserved to start the game," said freshman forward Jennifer Trapp. "We didn't need to set them up to score because they are all so good that they can score on their own."
The victory put Kansas' final regular season record at 21-4 and 11-3 in the conference. UNC-Ashville dropped to 6-19 overall and 4-13.
Kansas had five players in double figures and shot 60.2 percent for the game. The Jayhawks also
dominated the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs 50-20.
Kansas' pressure defense created chaos for the Bulldogs as they committed 42 turnovers and shot 33.3 percent from the field. The Jayhawks were able convert the turnovers into easy layups.
"I thought it was a game that we could afford to start all the seniors," Washington said. "We were able to play a lot of people and work on some things that we needed to."
Washington said she did not mind the timing of the final home game. In this season and the season before, the Jayhawks have played five away games during February but only two at home.
"We wanted to play another game for our fans," she said.
Although the game was fun for the Jayhawks, the players already were talking about Missouri — the Jayhawks' firstthe out fans who attended saw the three seniors recognized before the game. Then the fans
saw Kansas tie several all-time team records.
Led by sophomore guard Charisse Sampson's six steals, the Jayhawks recorded 26 steals, which tied a Kansas all-time record. The Jayhawks also dished out 29 assists, which tied another team record.
"We deserve to have a game like this," Trapp said. "The offense and defense were able to relax a little bit. It was nice to have a game like this where everybody scored and had fun. It was especially nice to see Michelle hit that three, because she always hits them in practice."
Trapp said that the team was concerned only with playing well and having fun.
UNC-ASHEVILLE (6-19, 4-13)
Player fgm/fga
Kansas 112, UNC-Asheville 36
Player ftm/fta fgm/tga tp
Moore 3-6 0-0 7
Godette 2-7 0-0 4
Frazier 3-13 0-8 8
Giffin 3-8 0-0 6
West 2-2 0-0 4
Matthews 1-5 0-0 2
Carswell 0-2 1-2 1
Woodfin 0-2 0-0 0
Baldwin 0-1 0-0 0
Smith 0-0 0-0 0
Smith 2-2 0-0 4
Totals 16-48 1.2 36
KANSAS(21-4.11-3)
Ninchay (124, 113, 103)
Muncy 4-6 1-2 9
Leathers 3-7 1-2 8
Tate 9-12 3-6 21
Aycock 2-9 0-4 4
Trapp 7-11 4-5 18
Sampson 8-10 0-0 16
Habbleb 2-5 0-0 16
Dixon 3-7 1-4 7
Slatter 5-6 0-0 10
Canada 6-7 1-2 13
Thalmann 1-3 0-0 2
Totals 50-83 11-21 112
Halftime Kansas 50, UNC-Ashville
12 - point goals UNC-Ashville 3-11
(Moore 1, Frazier 2, Matthews 0-3)
Kansas 1-5 (Leathers 1, Halibble 0-
3) Rebounds UNC-Ashville 20 (Matthews
5), Kansas 5 (Ackovy 4) Asists
UNC-Ashville 13 (More 5), Kansas
29 (Muncy 10) Total fouls UNC-
Ashville 18, Kansas 6 Attendance
600
round opponent in the conference tournament after the game.
"It was a good game for us, because we got the opportunity to work on some things that have been a little shaky in practice," Tate said. "Now we have to take care of business at the tournament. We wanted to play Missouri in the first round. We have a lot to look forward to."
The tournament begins Saturday in Salina. The Jayhawks enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Conference champion Colorado is the No.1 seed.
Senior guard Ericka Muncy receives flowers from Coach Marian Washington before last night's regular season home game. Seniors Lisa Tate and Michelle Leathers also were recognized.
Cold 1, Kansas athletes 0
By Andrew Gilman Kansan sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
It's hard to get used to the outdoors when you have to practice indoors.
"Practices just aren't as beneficial indoors," softball coach Kalum Haack said. "But the worst part is it upsets the girls' study schedules."
Because of bad weather, including snow, the Kansas softball, baseball and golf teams have spent their practice times at Anschutz Sports Pavilion.
Just ask some Kansas athletes who have been forced to relocate inside out of the elements.
"We get to work on swings, but we never get to see how far they go," said senior golfer Casey Brozek. "We don't get a whole lot of feedback on flight."
Another problem caused by the indoor practices is the lack of space.
The softball team also has to deal with a lack of space.
"When we practice, there's a lot of joggers," Haack said. "We need to make sure that we don't do anything that would interfere with them."
the rock because of the snow and also has had another two games post-poned because of the weather. The Jayhawks' game scheduled for 3 p.m. today at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium against Grandview will be played at 3 p.m. tomorrow and the second game has been moved to 2 p.m. Thursday.
"Really, we have no choice, and I've been trying to tell them to just worry about the things that you can can control," Bingham said. "The weather isn't one of them."
The baseball team had to cancel its
-weekend series against Arkansas-Litt-
Baseball coach Dave Bingham was concerned with the players and how they were handling the missed games.
Although the weather has kept the athletes from working outdoors, the emphasis still has been on improvement.
"We've practiced a lot on swings and mechanics," Brozek said. "The putting and chipping are a little more difficult."
"It's a period of adjustment," he said.
"When you practice indoors, then go out, the game is different. But practicing indoors is better than not practic
Haack said it did not matter where his team practiced, just so long as the athletes practiced.
"We have live batting practice," he said. "And we got to the College World Series last year with indoor practices. We're not concerned about how we get better. I'm just concerned that we do."
Bingham also was interested in how the team improved.
Jeff Brandberg, Atlanta sophomore, at KU Weather Service said that by the end of the week teams probably could start practicing outside.
But a move to outdoor practices could happen soon.
"Thursday and Friday should be great," he said. "Thursday will be sunny with a high of around 55 degrees. Friday will be the same with a high around 62 degrees.
"But as far as tomorrow, practicing outside probably won't happen. It will be cloudy with some clearing, but the high will be only about 37 degrees."
Even with the recent weather Brozek remained positive.
"I think it's going to get nice," he said. "I'm hoping the weather man is on the right track."
AP Women's Top 25
The Jayhawks remained at No. 32 for the second consecutive week. The conference tournament begins Friday.
1. Tennessee (68) 26-1 Plai 177 Pre 1
2. Penn SL (5) 22-1 1,808 2
3. Colorado 22-3 1,823 3
4. Connecticut 24-2 1,515 4
5. North Carolina 24-2 1,447 5
6. Texas Tech 22-3 1,403 7
7. Louisiana Tech 21-3 1,274 8
8. New York City 23-3 1,690 9
9. Southern Cal 20-3 1,208 6
10. Purdue 21-4 1,168 10
11. Stanford 18-5 1,180 11
12. Kansas 20-4 1,920 12
13. Vanderbilt 21-6 984 13
14. Iowa 18-5 824 14
15. Saton Hall 23-3 714 15
16. Alabama 20-5 673 16
17. Montana 22-3 559 18
18. Southern Miss. 21-2 491 19
19. Washington 17-4 392 20
20. Oklahoma 15-4 392 21
21. Florida intl 21-3 189 22
22. Florida 21-3 209 22
23. W. Kentucky 19-7 180 23
24. Mississippi 22-7 163 24
25. Auburn 18-8 79 —
Oceans receiving votes: Oregon 07; Ruggers 61;
Hawaii 03; Bowling Green 58; BW Milwaukee 51;
CSM Champlain 50; San Diego St. 42; New Mexico
St. 32; N Illinois 31; Texas AM St. 14; Indiana
Hurra Dane 15; Oklahoma St. 15; Omaha St. 15;
Phoenix St. 9; Georgetown Wash. 16; Stephen F.
Aguirre 9; A George Washington 8;
GD Olympia 6; Virginia Test. 5; Tucson 5; UCLA
4; Toledo 3; St. Joseph 2.
Source: The Associated Press
AP Men's Top 25
After a loss last Wednesday at Nebras ka, the Jiahwayks fell out of the Top 10 for the first time this season.
Kansan staff report
| | Record | Pts. | Pts. |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1. Arkansas (59) | 22.2 | 1,619 | 1 |
| 2. Duke (1) | 21.3 | 1,513 | 1 |
| 3. Michigan (3) | 20.3 | 1,419 | 8 |
| 4. Kentucky (1) | 20.3 | 1,375 | 5 |
| 5. North Carolina (1) | 23.5 | 1,367 | 4 |
| 6. Missouri | 22.5 | 1,365 | 6 |
| 7. Kentucky | 22.5 | 1,187 | 7 |
| 8. Arizona | 23.4 | 1,171 | 9 |
| 9. Purdue | 23.4 | 1,049 | 14 |
| 10. Louisiana | 23.4 | 1,026 | 13 |
| 11. Massachusetts | 23.6 | 897 | 11 |
| 12. Temple | 20.6 | 849 | 8 |
| 13. Kansas | 26.9 | 841 | 10 |
| 14. Syracuse | 19.5 | 786 | 18 |
| 15. UCLA | 19.4 | 766 | 15 |
| 16. Indiana | 17.6 | 577 | 12 |
| 17. Minnesota | 17.6 | 528 | 20 |
| 18. Florida | 22.5 | 502 | 19 |
| 19. California | 19.6 | 496 | 17 |
| 20. Oklahoma St. | 20.7 | 356 | 24 |
| 21. Margarette | 20.7 | 358 | 22 |
| 22. Ala.-Birmingham | 20.6 | 72 | — |
| 23. Penn | 21.2 | 70 | — |
Jayhawks take early lead at swim, dive meet
Other receiving teams: Texas 6, Georgia Tech 50, Georgetown 50, White Forest 44, New Mexico 30, Clovell 27, Murray St. 21, New Mexico St. 18, Alabama 12, Maryland 9, Killeen O. 9, Michigan St. 18, Minnesota St. 15, Michigan St. O. Ohio U. Mississippi St. 4, Nebraska T. Ohio U. Wisconsin 4, Coplin St. 3, West Virginia 2, Coastal Carolina 1, Walter St. 1.
The Kansas men and women's swimming and diving teams won nine of 11 events yesterday at the Big Eight Swimming and Diving Championships and moved into first place after the second day of competition.
Freshman Emily Peters was the only automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships. Peters qualified in the 500-yard freestyle and tied a conference record along the way with her time of 4:50.58.
Senior Krista Cordsen defended her conference title in the 200-yard individual medley. Renda Lusty beat 1993 All-American and Big Eight Champion, Melanie Dodd, in the 50-yard freestyle.
The Jayhawks swept the first threeplaces in the men's 500-yard freestyle. Freshman Erik Jorgensen won the event. Senior Dan Querciagrosa finished second, and sophomore Dan Philips placed third.
The meet will finish tomorrow.