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SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Commentary
Doug Pacey Columnist sportsakansan.com
Kansas must open wallet if it wants to win football games
Al Bohl now has the much bigger, more complex and even more important task of making good on his promise that Kansas' football team will be competitive in the Big 12 Conference.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2001
finding a competent football coach should be such a high priority to the University administration. And if the coach Bohl hires to build a winning program fails, it isn't an overstatement to say Kansas' athletics director might find himself facing a contract buy-out in a few years just like Allen did on Sunday.
Firing Terry Allen was the easy part.
A good football program can cure all. It could curb the financial woes Kansas' athletics department is experiencing. It can be a huge recruiting tool for the University. It generates money.
Bohl has the credentials to create a high-profile football program.
He wasn't hired to bring tailgating to campus or for pregame gimmicks such as rock bands and giant inflatable toys for children. Fans will fill Memorial Stadium without artificial incentives if the Jayhawks become competitive.
Bohl took doormats at Toledo in the late '80s and Fresno State in the mid-90s and made them conference champions.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway hired Bohl in June to pull Kansas football out of the Big 12 cellar and create a winner in the early 2000s.
But Bohl can't do it alone.
Hemenway and University administrators will need to put the same kind of emphasis that they've focused on bringing more National Merit Scholars to the University toward getting a high-quality coach if they are serious about having a top-tier athletics program and a namebrand institution.
brand institution There is just one way to do that: Spend money. A lot of it.
The new coach will not come cheap. Florida State's Bobby Bowden, who tops all college football coaches, earns $2 million a year in salary and incentives. Kansas' new coach won't make that kind of money, but he most surely will earn more than the roughly $320,000 Allen made in salary and incentives this year, according to the Associated Press.
according to the coach won't be the only one making big bucks. Coaching begins with the coach, but it is carried out by and ends with the assistants.
Allen's best coaching staff was the one he assembled before this season, but he also faced his toughest schedule with the least amount of athletic talent he had during his five years at Kansas.
In 1997, Allen brought his coaching staff from the University of Northern Iowa with him. Bound by loyalty, he stuck by those men when he probably should have tried to find more qualified assistants.
assistants. Or maybe Allen knew he couldn't find better coaches than the ones he had, because the University wouldn't shell out the kind of money top assistants earn. Until last season, Kansas' football coaches were the lowest paid in the Big 12.
were the lowest payers. The salary raise is a positive sign that Hemenway and other University brass realize a school's image is largely based on its athletic teams, not merit scholars or research.
If Hemenway is serious about making Kansas a Top 25 school, he'd better give Bohl a checkbook with a big balance and hope he can do at Kansas what he did at Toledo and Fresno State.
Pacey is an Issaquah, Wash., senior in journalism.
Kansas football interim coach Tom Hayes, left, takes questions from the media Sunday afternoon with Al Bohl, Kansas athletics director. Hayes took over coaching duties yesterday for the Jayhawks' remaining three games.
New football coach undaunted by task
By Brent Briggeman
Kansan sportswriter
More than 30 years of coaching in college and professional football helped brace Tom Hayes for the onslaught he faced yesterday.
"I feel like I'm prepared," said Hayes, who was named Kansas interim football coach on Sunday. "I've seen how it's supposed to be done — how it needs to be done — to be successful. Hopefully I can draw from that experience."
Yesterday, Hayes spoke on the Big 12 Conference coach's teleconference attended a full slate of coaches' meetings and was host of a weekly coach's radio show.
radio show He still has to formulate a game plan for Kansas' Saturday game against Texas,plan a week of practice and
"I don't think you can make a wholesale bunch of changes at this point in the season ... I'm not going to do that."
Tom Hayes
Kansas interim football coach
Despite all this, he showed no signs of stress or strain as he addressed his situation yesterday.
return a hoard of phone calls
"It just necessitates more time for me," said Hayes, who replaced coach Terry Allen on Sunday.
Allen was fired after posting a 20-33
record in five seasons at Kansas.
But Hayes has been around too long to be overwhelmed.
to be overweight. In his career, he has spent time at UCLA, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, working under coaches such as Terry Donahue, R.C. Slocum and Gary Gibbs. Then he spent five years as the defensive secondary coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League.
A day into his new job, Hayes already had the details of his operation worked out. He won't be involved in offensive play-calling, and he won't give up his responsibilities as defensive coordinator. He will oversee the entire operation, but Rip Scherer will continue to run the offense, and Clint Bowen will continue to run the special teams.
SEE HAYES PAGE 7A
Soccer players recognized
Four players named to Conference teams lead team to victory
Kansas senior Natalie Hoogveld, right, attempts a header against a Texas A&M player. While Hoogveld wasn't one of four Jayhawks named yesterday to an All-Big 12 Conference team, she has played a crucial role in the best season in team history.
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
During their most successful regular season to date, four Kansas soccer players earned spots on the All-Big 12 Conference teams, the league office said yesterday.
Junior defender Pardis Brown and senior forward Hilla Rantala were named second-team All-Big 12, and freshman goalkeeper Meghan Miller and forward Monica Brothers were named to the All-Newcomer team.
Brown, a repeat all-conference selection, is co-captain and anchor of Kansas' strong backfield. She thought two selections on the all-conference team was not enough.
"For us to get four in there is definitely good," said coach Mark Francis. "I think it's great for our program and great for the individuals because they all deserved it."
Brown, a Salt Lake City native, transferred from the University of Portland after her freshman year. She has had quite an impact in the Big 12, landing all-conference spots both years and being named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week last season.
team was not enough. "The fact that we only had two players on the second team is pretty pathetic," Brown said. "It'sunfortunate because there are like five players that deserve to be on there."
Rantala has tallied 10 goals and 12 assists to pace the Jayhawk offensive attack. She will leave Kansas with numerous offensive
the schools as the teachers. "I'm glad Hilla's been able to stay healthy all year," Francis said. "I think for her it's good because there were more players around her this year to give her a little bit of a better opportunity to do well. I think it ended up working out well for her."
records, including the distinction of being the school's all-time leading scorer.
The Jayhawk's incoming class was successful, and the Big 12 took notice.
succession, and enjoyed a solid season guarding the goal for the 13-5 laj Hawkes. She has recorded four shutouts, saving 53 shots and giving up just 1.47 goals per game.
"Meghan stepped in as a leader right
anybody savvy. Brothers has been a pleasant surprise for the Kansas squad. She is second on the team with 21 points off nine goals and three assists and earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors after scoring three goals against Oklahoma State on Sept. 30.
away," Brown said. "I wouldn't expect anybody but her receiving the award."
Kansas is preparing for the opening round of the Big 12 conference tournament in San Antonio. They open the single-elimination tournament up with a game against rival Missouri on Thursday.
Contact Wood at 864-4855
Kansas plays professionals in opener
By Jessica Scott Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team begins the 2001-02 preseason tonight by facing a formidable — and somewhat unexpected — opponent.
Marian Washington
The Jayhawks will play the Houston Jaguars at 7:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse, the first of two exhibition games for Kansas this week. The Jayhawks were recently surprised to find out
that Houston had several professional athletes.
A handful of the Jaguars have professional experience as members of the WNBA, including former Big 12 Conference star Amanda Lassiter (Missouri) Jamie Redd (Washington) and Vanessa Nygaard (Stanford).
"To be honest, I did not know," said Kansas coach Marian Washington. "You really don't know the caliber of the teams. Some end up being very weak, and some are really strong."
Senior guard Selena Scott is in the starting line-up, along with fellow co-captains Nikki White and K.C. Hilgenkamp. Sophomore Sharonne Spencer will start her first game as a Jayhawk after sitting out as a redshirt last season. Freshman Chelsey Thompson will round out the starting five.
"I don't think it matters who starts," Scott said. "I think it matters if we pull out a victory or not."
"He's like family," Washington said. "I'm just really proud of how he's done."
Washington said Cook's Jaguars would have an up-tempo running style with a strong defensive game.
Jaguar coach Kevin Cook served under Kansas coach Marian Washington from 1984-1993, before becoming a five-year assistant coach with the four-time WNBA champion Houston Comets.
Kansas has compiled a six-game preseason winning streak and stands at 15-7 overall in exhibition games.
"It's an exhibition game, so it definitely gives us a chance to see how far we've come along," Washington said. "If you're gonna lose, lose now. But we're not going to lose, we're going to win."
Contact Scott at 864-485P
Illinois recruit vows to play for Arkansas
Kansas' final major recruiting target made his college choice yesterday, choosing Arkansas over Kansas, Arizona and Boston College.
Andre Igoudala, a 6-foot-6 swingman from Springfield, Ill., announced his decision yesterday morning at a press conference at his high school.
Igoudala visited Kansas the weekend of Oct. 20 and attended the NBA exhibition game played at Allen Fieldhouse.
Alen Hutchinson.
With the announcement, Igodala became the second Kansas recruiting prospect in three days to commit to another school, Hassan Adams, a 6-foot-4 guard from Los Angeles, committed to Arizona on Saturday.
Kansas has received oral commitments from 6-foot-9 forwards Jeff Graves and Moulaye Niang thus far in the recruiting process. The Jayhawks have two scholarships still available for the 2002-2003 year.
-Kansan staff report
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