University Daily Kansan / Monday, August 25, 1986
11
Sports Monday
Valesente puts focus on academics
By HEATHER FRIT7
Associate sports editor
When the Kansas football team lost eight players last year and 10 players in 1984 to academic inelegibility, Beb Valesete was only an assistant coach, and he couldn't do much about .
"He's big time on school," defensive sive and Phil Forte said last week.
But now Valesente is KU's head coach, and peers, players and professors all say that this season, the emphasis is on the "student" side of student-athlete.
On August 15th, Valesente suspended six players with questionable academic status before fall practice began. He said they were welcome to return to the team as soon as their academic eligibility was assured, but as of yesterday only one player had returned.
The rules in Valesente's new academic gameplan are rigid. If a player skips a class and the coach finds out, that player will not practice with the team or play in that week's game.
And last spring, Valesen asked eight players who were having problems in school to sit out of spring practice.
Tutors also will oversee new players and those struggling academically at a mandatory study hall, two hours a night, four nights a week.
"Academics certainly are the most important item in a student athlete's life." Valesen said. "The student-athlete is someone that should pay a tremendous amount of attention to his success in the classroom and then take advantage of his abilities atheltically or otherwise."
One change Valesente made was to hire Paul Buskirk as administrative assistant in charge of academics to fill a position that, in the past, has been more administrative than academic.
Buskirk worked for $2_{1/2}$ years as the liaison between the office of academic affairs and the Athletic
eligibility. He reports directly to Valesente, who he says has "incredible commitment" to academics.
"I never dreamed I would work with a football coach who stressed academics so much," Buskirk said.
I'm a firm believer that players need to major in a degree, not just major in ineligibility.
— Bob Valesente KU head football coach
Department. In his new position, he is the academic coordinator for football, but he works closely with Richard Lee, assistant athletic director in charge of academic support programs, to monitor enrollments and check degree requirements and
"I don't have to fight him for anything."
Valesente also is getting some help from the National Collegiate Athletic Association
Under the NCAA's new entrance guidelines, Proposition 48, incoming
freshmen must have taken a certain core curriculum of 11 classes in high school and have attained a grade point average of 2.0 on a scale of 4.0 in those classes to be eligible to compete in collegiate athletics. The student must also have received a score of at least 15 on the American College Test or a minimum combined score of 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
The core curriculum consists of three years of English classes, two years of math, two years of social science, two years of natural or physical science and two years of additional academic courses.
Before Proposition 48, an athlete's only requirement to be eligible for college athletics was a high school GPA of 2.0, no matter what the high school scale.
"If you take a student who's not prepared for college and force him into a college environment, it may be asking quite a bit," he said. "Now we're demanding quite a bit. The NCAA is demanding that a student have college prep classes."
Bill Sutter, a Lawrence defensive back, didn't take the ACT test, and John Davis, a running back from Laurinburg, N.C., fulfilled his requirements in five years rather than four.
Valesente carries his academic philosophy into the recruiting process, where he says he tries to find athletes who are high-quality people as well as athletes.
The Jayhawks lost two of 15 recruits to Proposition 48 and both cases were unusual.
"We try to investigate not only their athletic ability but also their backgrounds and what they want out of life and whether or not they are committed to getting a degree and graduating rather than just going to school to participate," he said.
decision and he didn't hesitate to take it. He always asked if we had seen the transcript and what kind of student the kid was."
One additional benefit the emphasis on studies might bring is a
"I'm a firm believer that players need to major in a degree, not just major ineligibility. They need to work hard to graduate and walk away with a degree that's meaningful and that's something that they and their families are proud of."
Jim Cochran, recruiting coordinator, said of Valesente, "Basically he told the staff we were not going to recruit a kid that was a marginal student. This was Coach Valesente's first opportunity to make that kind of
correct that. It will take time, but we have plenty of that."
Norman Yetman, former chairman of the athletic board's subcommittee on academics and professor of sociology and American Studies, said, "I think I and the faculty are extremely pleased with the way Coach Valenteis is emphasizing academics. That can't help but improve relations between the two."
Del Brinkman, vice chancellor for academic affairs and faculty representative to the Big Eight Conference and the NCAA, said he hoped the changes would improve relations.
Though they bear the brunt of the coach's new plans, Valesente's players seem to approve of the tough new stand on academics. They hope the team's academic problems will end, giving players more energy to concentrate on preparing for the games.
"I think the approach being taken is a healthy one and one that should be in place," he said. "There's a lot of pressure and demands made on athletes, as with any student. There needs to be a lot of cooperation."
"I've missed a few classes, but it's just not worth it," Forte said. "There are going to be days you don't want to go, but it will help us all out."
Defensive tackle Steve Nave was one of the six players that Valesate held out of practice this fall. Nave said he was an average student his freshman year, but the more playing time he got, the more he neglected his studies. After being suspended, he cleared up his status and returned after missing only one practice.
"It's going to make people push themselves academically," he said. "Now they've got these study hall sessions going, which is great because now I know I'm going to graduate eventually."
With so much pressure to win in collegiate athletics, coaches sometimes tend to emphasize the game rather than studies, but players and members of the football
'I never dreamed I would work with a football coach who stressed academics so much.
Paul Buskurk
Administrative assistant/academics
lessening of tensions between the academic and athletic ends of the University, Buskirk says.
"KU has had more than its share of animosity between academics and athletes in the past," he said. "Coach Val has made enormous strides to
Rovals fall to Brewers in 11
staff are quick to insist that Valesente's commitment is total - to his athletes as well as to academics.
"I've seen no indication that he's committed to anything but academics first," Cochran said. "It's not just lip service."
United Press International
MILWAUKEE — Paul Molitor and Robin Yount hit consecutive one-out doubles in the 11th inning and gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 3-2 triumph over the Kansas City Royals.
Loser Dan Quisenberry, 1.5, pitched three innings, giving one run on three hits and two walks.
National League results p. 12.
CLEVELAND — Joe Carter and Julio傅 belted two-run homers yesterday and helped Phil Niekro to his 310th career victory. The
Cleveland 5 Boston2
Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2.
Nathaniel Crawford, limit 1.
Seattle 3. Detroit 1
DETROIT — Alvin Davis hit a solo home run, Phil Bradley doubled in a run and Danny Tartabull singled home another and led the Seattle Mariners to a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Oakland 11. New York 4.
NEW YORK -- Mickey Tettleton drove in five runs with a pair of bases-loaded walks and a three-run homer, pacing the Oakland A's to an 11-4 triumph over the New York Yankees.
Oakland 11, New York 4
MINNEAPOLIS — Ernie Whitt's RBI single in the top of the 10th innings ignited a three-run uprising that gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 7-9 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Texas 3, Chicago 2
California 4, Baltimore 3
BALTIMORE — Kirk McCaskill
allowed five hits over 8% innings and led the California Angels to a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Toronto 7, Minnesota 5
ARLINGTON, Texas — Charlie Hough survived a 90-minute rain delay last night to throw a four-hitter over $6\%$ innings and Don Slaught singled home the go-ahead run in the fifth, sending the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Pfister, KU out to reverse year Javhawks will try to improve on fifth place conference finish
By RIC ANDERSON
Pfister, a senior who was bothered by shoulder injuries, struggled through the spring season much like the Jayhawks did. The difference was that Pfister made the All-Big Eight team, and the Jayhawks ended up in fifth place in the conference.
Joe Pfister, catcher for the Jayhawk baseball team, perhaps best exemplifies what the team is all about.
Pfister said he worked hard through last season and this summer to strengthen his shoulder and he had good results.
"Right now my arm is my strongest suit," Pfister said.
See more sports p.21.
Marty Pattin, KU baseball head coach, also has been trying to improve his team defensively by recruiting several freshman pitchers and infielders.
and hurried.
"This year we have some kids that I feel will be good players," Pattin said. "The talent we've got will be
pushing the older kids for jobs."
posters or more of our
kids," he said.
Baseball
"We have good students who are great athletes," he said. "They'll put forth the effort."
Pattin said his team had a good attitude.
Pattin, who has the Jayhawks training with 12-minute runs every morning, said the team's goal for the coming season was to rank in the top four of the Big Eight Conference.
Both the Jayhawks and Pfister will have to work hard to attain their goals.
Pattin doesn't hide the fact that his players will have to work this year
"And I'm not going to be satisfied until we get there and stay there," he said.
Pfister said, "Ultimately, I'd like to get drafted. I just want to contribute to the team as much as possible. This is my last go-round so I've got to make it go this time."
Although this season is far from his last, Jeff Spencer, freshman infielder, said contribution to the team also was his highest goal. He was impressed with the attitude of the team toward the work they were doing.
"In high school we won state, but we sort of did what we had to do." Spencer, who attended Enid High School in Enid, Okla., said. "I think everybody here has a pretty good attitude. We seem to be getting along pretty well, even though we only see each other 30 minutes a day. Everybody's been working really hard."
The players aren't the only ones who are sweating it out in the August heat to prepare for the season. The coaching staff is putting in extra hours of groundkeeping work at Quigley Field to ready it for walk-on tryouts, which begin tomorrow, and regular season practice, which begins Friday. An organizational meeting for players interested in trying out for the KU baseball team will take place at 4 p.m. today on the second floor of Allen Field House.
All-out attack
Fred Sadowski/KANSAN
Darryl Golden, right, holds a blocking bag for Phil Forte, left, as line coach Mike Mahoney looks on. The Jayhawks practiced Friday behind Anschutz Sports Pavilion and had a controlled scrimmage Saturday.