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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer, right, chest bumps with Alex Gordon as Gordon celebrates his two-run home run in the 11th inning against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 3. The Royals' playoff schedule coincides with both Late Night in the Phog and a Kansas football game this weekend.
Jayhawks vs. Royals: The battle for fans' attention
SCOTT CHASEN
@SCHasenKU
Students are facing a dilemma they likely haven't experienced before.
On Friday, the University of Kansas will host Late Night in the Phog, an annual kick-off event to Kansas basketball. But with the Kansas City Royals playing their first game of the American League Championship Series the same day and time, many students are facing the difficult decision of whether to go to Late Night or be near a television to watch the Royals play.
"I've been both a Royals fan and a Jayhawks fan my whole life," said Paul Wade, a junior from Lawrence. "But on Friday, I'll be watching the Royals because it's something that's happened once in 29 years versus what feels like 100 years of Kansas dominance."
A big problem for those wanting to both go to Late Night and keep up with the Royals game is the notorious cellphone service in Allen Fieldhouse. With some students unable to check scores and receive updates reliably, it seems that staying home might be the safer option for those looking to follow along with both. However, some students, like Conor McReynolds, still
feel that experiencing Late Night in person is well worth the risk of missing some, or all, of the Royals game.
"Ever since I was little, my grandfather would take me to Late Night in the Phog," said McReynolds, a sophomore from Overland Park. "So I'll try to follow the Royals game on my phone, because I don't want to stop the tradition of going to Late Night."
Unfortunately for Royals fans
PAUL WADE Junior from Lawrence
at the University, conflicting schedules continue the very next day. The first pitch for Game 2 of the ALCS will be thrown at approximately 3:07 p.m., just minutes after Kansas begins its football game against Oklahoma State. However, with the No. 16 Cowboys heavily favored, some students see this as less of an issue.
"I would definitely rather watch the Royals over our football team, especially
considering that we're probably going to lose," said Luke Schletzbaum, a sophomore from Overland Park. "It's not much of an issue at all."
Attendance has been a problem for the football team this year. Kansas drew 36,574 fans for its opening game, making it the worst-attended Kansas football season opener in the last 10 years, according to The Wichita Eagle.
But some students aren't ready to give up on the football team just yet.
"I've been going to KU football games since 2004," said Ken Beck, a sophomore from Salina. "It would feel weird not going to games, almost like I was a fair-weather fan if I gave up on them this early in the year."
Regardless of what students choose to participate in, there's no denying this is an exciting time for sports fans in Lawrence and Kansas City. What hasn't been mentioned is that there is also a home Sporting Kansas City soccer game on Friday, another sporting event that factors into some fans' viewing decisions.
Either way, fans will have plenty to watch this weekend, and plenty of tough decisions to make.
Edited by Drew Parks
High-profile recruits to attend Late Night
BEN FELDERSTEIN
@Ben_Felderstein
Every October, just as the football schedule reaches conference play and the hype of basketball season reaches its breaking point, it is time for Late Night in the Phog.
It's a time for recruits to come in and get a feel for Jayhawk tradition. They get to meet all the current players and coaching staff, and they can hear the roar of the Allen Fieldhouse crowd.
On top of introducing the basketball team and listening to speeches from coach Bill Self and other members of Kansas athletic coaching staffs, this is a night that is heavily used for recruiting.
Late Night has been a selling point for recruits in the past and is something that Self always stresses during recruiting.
"I was hooked right after Late Night," said freshman guard Kelly Oubre Jr. "It's a great time to learn the traditions and what it means to be a Jayhawk."
2017 recruits are expected to attend.
This year, six total 2015 recruits will reportedly be in attendance, five of whom are among the top 20 recruits in the 2015 class according to Rivals.com. Additionally, seven 2016 recruits and two
JAYLEN BROWN, NO. 2, 6-7,
200, MARIETTA, GA.
Brown still has 15 schools on his list, including Kansas, Kentucky, Florida State and Arizona. Brown has been called a strong wing with a decent shot that is improving.
STEPHEN ZIMMERMAN, NO.10.
STEPHEN ZIMMERMAN, NO. 7-0, 241, LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Zimmerman has Kansas,
Kentucky, UCLA, Arizona,
Indiana, Louisville, North
Carolina and UNIV on his
list. Zimmerman is a 7-footer
with the ability to step back
for a midrange shot. His size
and offensive fundamentals
bode well for a Bill Self high-
low offense.
CARLTON BRAGG, NO. 14, 6-9,
225 CLEVELAND, OHIO
Bragg has a short, fiveteam list made up of Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Illinois and UCLA. Bragg is one of the better athletes in the class, who has the ability to grab rebounds and attack the basket similarly to Cliff Alexander.
BRANDON INGRAM, NO.18, 6-8,
180.KINSTON,N.C.
Ingram has a six-school list made up of Kansas, Duke.
Kentucky, North Carolina NC State and UCLA. Ingram is one of the better shooters in the Top 20, with great ability to knock down shots in transition.
TYLER DORSEY, NO. 19, 6-4,
180, PASADENA, CALIF.
Dorsey has 10 schools still on his radar including Kansas, Colorado, Connecticut and Georgetown. Dorsey is a plus-sized guard whose play in the open court has been compared to John Wall due to his quickness.
MARCUS LOVETT, NO. 90, 5-11,
165, CHICAGO, ILL.
LoVett has five schools on his list as well. Those schools are Kansas, Indiana, Michigan State, Marquette and UCLA. He is a left-handed point guard with a consistent jumper.
All of these players will be in the Fieldhouse Friday, watching the classes do their dance routines, learning Jayhawk traditions and eventually watching the intraquad scrimmage. If these new recruits are as inspired as Oubre Jr. and many others before him were, then it could be these recruits passing down the torch of Jayhawk tradition next year.
Edited by Jordan Fox
Commentary: Late Night needs a lottery system
By Jeffrey Kaplan
@JKap22
Late Night in the Phog is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated events during the year at the University. Fans come from near and far to support Kansas Athletics at the free event to get a glimpse of the basketball team.
Multiple fans waited in line the entire day, but still didn't get a chance to step foot in the building. The mad rush of people to get in the Fieldhouse was complete pandemonium. There was no crowd control or organization outside of the Fieldhouse to prevent the madness. People were pushed aside,
But with the appeal of the event being free, there comes a major downfall, something evident from last year's Late Night at the Phog.
disregarding the safety of others as they stamped into the building.
After this experience, Athletics had to figure something out to keep this problem from happening again.
Currently, the plan is to open the Fieldhouse doors at 3 p.m., with the event starting at 6:30 p.m. While this somewhat diminishes the waiting time outside the building, it still does nothing to actually control the number of people who will be waiting to get into the event. More safety personnel will be on hand, but will it be enough to control the potential mob?
The more-than capacity crowd includes people who skip work, students that skip class, and groups that camp overnight. Everyone who goes through this trouble, and understandably so, wants
to be guaranteed into the building.
But the fact of the matter is that the system is still flawed. Because this event has grown in popularity in recent years — with the added incentive that it is free — there are going to be thousands of people waiting outside. A noteworthy percentage of those people won't get in after waiting countless hours.
An idea that Athletics should consider is an online lottery system that gives fans the opportunity to enter their names for a chance to attend the event, similar to the method Kansas Athletics uses for students to redeem their men's basketball tickets online. Athletics would then select a set number of fans randomly to be chosen to
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