Monday, Mrich 7, 1955 University Daily Kansan
Page 5
KU,OU Close Big Seven Play Here Tomorrow
By UNITED PRESS
Only one game remains in the Big Seven conference today—Oklahoma at Kansas tomorrow night—and there is little at stake in the battle.
Colorado, (11-1) jubilant over its first undisputed Big Seven cage crown, will return to Manhattan this week end for the NCAA regionals that could lead to the finals in Kansas City March 18 and 19.
But there was plenty ahead for the conference champions from Colorado university—a chance at the NCAA championship.
In its initial test at Manhattan, Colorado will oppose the Missouri Valley conference representative Friday night. If triumphant, the Golden Herd then would be only one step removed from the semifinals in Kansas City, the following week end.
Featuring a pair of all-conference players in Burdette Haldorson, center, and Bob Jeanagerard, forward, Colorado swept to the Big Seven title with a pair of victories last week. The team clinched the crown by beating Missouri, 66 to 57, at Columbia early in the week and then closed out its regular schedule by thumping Nebraska, 77 to 66. at Boulder.
Nebraska had been the only team in the conference to take the measure of Coach Bebe Lee's champions. That was in Lincoln early in February by an 84 to 77 score.
Missouri (9-3) solidified its six- second place position by handing Kansas a 90 to 71 trimming in its final Saturday night at Columbia. Earlier in the week, Kansas had repeated a 10-point victory over Kansas State in a game which officially dedicated the new Allen oldhouse.
For Oklahoma-winner of only one conference game in 11 starts—the story was the same last week. Two more defeats were marked against the Sooners, leaving them with a season mark of three triumphs against 17 losses.
Oklahoma A&M was a 38 to 34 victor and Iowa State followed with an 84 to 71 decision over the cellar-dwellers.
Back of Missouri, tied for third place in the final team standings, are Kansas State and Nebraska, each with 6-6 records. Kansas, at 4-7, needs a victory over Oklahoma Tuesday night to finish with a 5-7 mark for fifth place.
Big 7 Standings
CONFERENCE
| | W. L. | Pts. | O.pts. |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Colorado | 11 | 1 | 885 |
| Missouri | 9 | 3 | 949 |
| Kansas State | 6 | 6 | 867 |
| Nebraska | 6 | 6 | 845 |
| Kansas | 4 | 7 | 750 |
| Iowa State | 4 | 8 | 898 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 10 | 925 |
ALL GAMES
| | W. L. | Pts. | O.Pts.
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Colorado | 16 | 5 | 1485 | 1412 |
| Missouri | 16 | 5 | 1638 | 1490 |
| Kansas State | 11 | 10 | 1550 | 1527 |
| Nebraska, | 9 | 12 | 1486 | 1508 |
| Kansas | 10 | 10 | 1394 | 1382 |
| Iowa State | 10 | 10 | 1590 | 1517 |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 17 | 1375 | 1607 |
Phi Delt Captures Hill 'B' Cage Title
Intramural basketball signed out of the University sport scene for another season Friday night as Phi Delta Theta and the Schizos settled the fight for the "B" division championship in a fairly close contest, with Phi Delt emerging victorious by a score of 40 to 36.
Don Martin led the victors by scoring 17 points. The high scorers for the losing team were Dick Schellenberg and Ken Wedel, each with 10 points.
The highest batting average ever recorded for a member of the Athletics baseball club was .405 in 1901, hit by Nap Lajoie. That was the first year the A's played in the majors.
Vast Intramural Program Led By Decorated Air Force Veteran
By JOHN McMILLION Kansan Sports Writer
The mammoth task of directing men's intramurals at KU falls on the shoulders of quiet, capable Walter J. Mikols. Mike, as he is more generally known, heads a program in which more than 2,200 students participated last year.
"We strive to provide opportunities for individuals, regardless of athletic skill, to play against individuals of equal competition," is the way Mikols describes the chief goal of his department.
This is done by the establishment of "A" "B" and "C" divisions where the competition is more evenly divided. The close scores in most of the contests seem to indicate this is being achieved.
The vastness of the intramural program can be illustrated by the basketball program. There were 139 men's teams of 1,544 men which played 360 league games during the season and 41 playoff games for the Hill championship. There were 22 separate divisions or leagues.
"The biggest problem is the constant striving to provide facilities to cope with the situation," Mikols said. "Organizations are repeatedly requesting use of the facilities for practice sessions and intra- or inter-faternal contests."
All games have to be played either in Robinson gym or in the
gym annex. Until recently the gym had to be shared with the varsity and freshman basketball teams. The construction of the new fieldhouse has alleviated this situation.
The University has intramura sports programs in touch football, tennis, golf, handball, horseshoes, badminton, basketball, volleyball, swimming, bowling, track, and softball. During the last fall semester 789 men participated in football.
222 in tennis, 127 in badminton, 85 in horseshoes, and 56 in handball. More participate in the spring sports than the fall sports. Mikols said.
Mikols is a native of Buffalo, N.Y. He holds a degree in education from the University of Indiana and has spent the last three summers working on an advanced degree. One of these summers was spent at Columbia university and the other two at the University of Iowa.
WALT MIKOLS
A veteran of World War II. Mikols was discharged from the Air Force as a captain. He served 47 months and had 50 missions in Italy as a bombardier on a B-24. He received the air medal, three Oak Leaf clusters, and the European theater ribbon. He is married and has a 2-year-old daughter.
Mikols selects a core of student directors to assist him in running the intramural program. He tries to let the students take care of the scheduling and running of the program as much as possible. He believes this gives them an opportunity for leadership and a sense of responsibility.
He believes campus life is centered around intramurals.
"Intramurals are one of the most important functions on the Hill," he said. "In the fall, for example, the students live and die intramurals."
Gridders Begin Workouts Today
Football—1955-56—opens to dav for Coach Chuck Mather and about 85 gridmen as the Jayhawks began several weeks of spring practice in preparation for the coming alumni contest scheduled for early this spring.
Mather is beginning this year's spring session earlier than former coaches have so as to give the players every chance to condition and give the staff a longer look at the new prospects.
Mather said he would use the Allen fieldhouse facilities in case inclement weather should delay practice sessions and the team is unable to hold outdoor practices.
With the overlapping of several varsity sports, many of Mather's prospects will either report later or be forced to miss the spring sessions altogether. Basketball will only delay practice for a few days, but track and baseball will claim several players.
The alumni game will bring many former KU lettermen plus several professional grid players here, Mike McCormick, who plays middle guard for the champion Cleveland Browns, will return for the traditional battle. Ray Evans, former all-American back for the Jayhawks, will coach the alum squad.
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