University Daily Kansan / Thursday, September 17, 1987
Sports
13
Frederick hopes to boost ticket sales
James Larson/KANSAN
Bob Frederick, KU athletic director, said he would like to see a marketing strategy in place for the football program by next season to boost ticket sales.
Bv MIKE CONSIDINE
Staff writer
One of Bob Frederick's first stated goals when he was hired as KU's athletic director in June was to increase football attendance. It is a problem badly in need of attention.
Over the past five years in the Big Eight Conference, only Kansas State has lower attendance than KU. During that period, the Jayhawks have compiled a 20-33-1 record and averaged 34,904 fans per game. By contrast, Missouri is 19-34-3 but has averaged 47 772.
Frederick said that two conditions needed to be met to correct the lagging sales.
Additionally, early KU football season ticket sales were down this week.
"One is to improve the program," he said. "The more successful the team is, the more interested people are going to be in watching it.
"The second thing is that we have to do all the other things that make the game work."
Frederick's main focus so far has been upgrading the non-conference schedule for future years. Sports Illustrated declared this year's schedule, which includes three NCAA games, one of the worst in the nation.
Auburn and Baylor are booked for 1988 home games. Southern California will be in to kick off the 1989 season.
"We'll be playing better-quality opposition in the years ahead." Freeman
Frederick said he was in the process of scheduling games with Virginia, Oregon State and Michigan State. He said he was also trying to negotiate contracts with Air Force, Indiana, Northwestern.
Frederick said that one of the keys to improving overall attendance was to have a clean, dry floor.
I think the long-range solution is to get more students involved," said Frederick, who served as director of the Williams Fund from 1981-85. "If memory serves me correctly, in the late 70s we were averaging 13,000 to 14,000 students per game. This past year, we averaged 7,500."
Frederick spoke to campus fraternities and sororites about the problem during Greek Week. He said he also wanted to meet with students at residence and scholarship halls and ask David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs, for input.
One area he'll be looking into is the cost of student tickets, which prices vary.
“It's important to get them out because they're our future,” Frederick said. “Soon they'll become alumunates and have to have to ask for their help then.”
Boosting attendance among current alumni, especially the 25,000 in the Kansas City area, is a top priority.
"We've worked really hard the last two summers with our Hawks Club and had a fair amount of success," Frederick said. "The biggest thing at this point is Johnson County. That has to be the focus for us in the future."
The Lawrence area is another under-utilized source of revenue. Based on studies of similar-sized communities, Frederick estimated that the community could add $15-20 million.
"It has to start here. We really had success (two summers ago) in selling new season tickets, but not as much this year," Frederick said.
The new sources of income would reduce the strain on present contrib-
"We put so much pressure on donors right now for private contributions," Frederick said. "We've got to take some of that pressure off by increasing the gate revenue at football (games). We want to sell season tickets, that way we'll know we've got that many banked."
Missouri has experienced success with a different approach this year, said Laura Toy, administrative assistant for the Tigers' athletic department. The Tigers are emphasizing single-game ticket sales and focusing on attracting interest groups like the School of Agriculture.
"We've tried very hard to make it an event with an entertainment package that will appeal to the whole family." Toy said. "We feel we're having better success marketing to large interest groups than we would having pompon days which have more limited appeal."
To make the game an event, Missouri plans a number of activities for its football weekends including downtown "Spirit Nights" on Fridays and a one-hour rock concert shortly before kickoff time.
Missouri has also hired a full-time employee to concentrate on corporate ticket packages.
Frederick said that he was not planning to use many one-time promotions such as the Willie Nelson State season opener Sept. 5.
"I don't want to say they're gimmicks." Frederick said. "But we
want the people to come out on a consistent basis."
Frederick was hired too late to be able to institute changes for the current season, but said he would like to have a comprehensive marketing strategy for the football program in place by December or January. He said the school presently had a $7.5 million budget for football advertising and had one half-time employee involved in marketing.
"It's a situation we need to take a real hard look at," Frederick said. "I think eventually we have to get to a point where matching is a year-round effort for us."
Director no stranger to Kansas athletics
Bv MIKE CONSIDINE
Staff writer
When Bob Frederick was selected to fill the KU athletic director's position in June, he was far from being a stranger to people around the University.
Frederick has been a part of KU athletics as an athlete, a coach and an administrator.
basketball under Dick Harp. After receiving his bachelor's degree in education, Frederick worked for Harp for two years as a graduate assistant. He returned in 1971 to serve as golf coach and assistant basketball coach under Ted Owens. After coaching stints at Brigham Young and Stanford, he was basketbal coach at Lawrence High from 1977 to 1981, when he was named
director of the Williams Fund.
In 1985, he resigned to accept the position of athletic director at Illinois State.
As an undergraduate, he played
"I think one of my personal strengths is the ability to draw a wide range of constituencies together," Frederick said. "I don't want to be perceived as a faculty or student athletic director. I want to represent all constituencies including alumni
One of his main ambitions, Frederick said, was to open the lines of communication as he did at Illinois State.
"I spent a lot of time with the faculty and students at ISU," he said. "Enthusiasm for an intercollegiate athletic program starts with the students.
and friends."
Picking goalkeeper tough job for coach
By ROBERT WHITMAN
Staff writer
Only minutes before every game, the KU men's soccer coach solves the club's biggest mystery: who the starting goalie will be.
Coach Glenn Shirtlife said he made that decision just moments before game time. As it turned out in Sunday's match against Missouri, Shirtlife needed both goals, Jon Gregor and Scott Schaffer.
Gregor was injured about 15 minutes into the game and was replaced by Schaffer, a freshman in his first collegiate club match.
"The guy had a great shot and was unmarked," Schaffer said. "The ball deflected off one of our defenders and went right to him. I was on the left and I ran back to the right. I missed it by a little bit. It went off the post."
Schaffer played for Parkway Central High School in suburban St. Louis, the Missouri state high school soccer tournament runner-up last
Less than 10 minutes later, the Tigers welcomed Schaffer to collegiate club soccer by scoring a goal from a ball deflected off the head of a Kansas defender. Missouri made the goal stand in a 1-0 victory in the Jayhawks' opening game of the fall season.
"The way I handle keepers usually is, as far as they're concerned, they're both starting." Shirlttie said. "Injuries happen in warm-ups, somebody can hurt his shoulder or break a bone. You don't want that skiff off if he knows he's not starting. I want them both to be mentally sharp for the match."
But as far as who will start the next game for Kansas, only Shirtlife knows, and he won't tell until just before the next game.
He said both goalies were nearly equal in ability, so competition in practice during the week determined who would start.
fall.
Shirtlife said everyone else on the team had an idea by Friday afternoon's practice who would be starting.
Though he is trying to win a place
with the Spartans, he said, he and
Gregor set. So well.
"Jon and I are working really well together. I like the way Jon is taking it," Schaffer said. "This is more a team not individualism.
"To be a successful team, you have
to be able to do as good as each
other." Shirt slid over.
is n smart to judge yourself against somebody else. I guess that's what coaches are for."
Angels beat Royals 6-4; Boone catches record
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bill Buckner had three hits and drove in two runs, and Ruppert Jones had twoRBIs as the California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 6-4 Wednesday night.
Greg Minton, 4-2, got the victory as relief for starter Chuck Finley, and the Angels' Bob Boone caught his record-setting 1919 game. DeWayne Buice went $2\frac{1}{2}$ innings for his 16th save despite allowing a bases-loaded walk to George Brett in the ninth inning.
Jones doubled home Buckner from first base off Royals starter Bret Saberhagen, 17-9, snapping a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning after Buckner led off with a single. The Angels added two insurance runs in the ninth on an RBI double by Mark Rayal and a run-scoring single by Devon White.
California hit three straight doubles in the first inning, scoring three runs. Wally Joyner singled with one out and took third on Johnny Ray's double to right-center field.
Buckner lined a double to left-center and scored both runners, and Jones reached second when his pop
fly fell inside the left field line, just out of the reach of field gary Thurman. Buckner barely beat Thurman's throw home.
Finley balked home one run after Bill Pecola and Thurman singled. Thurman was sacrificed to third and fourth in the 12th. He was when Wilson grounded to first.
Danny Tartabull doubled home a run after Wilson led off with a single in the first inning for Kansas City, and the Royals scored twice in the second, tying the game.
Boone broke the record set by Al Lopez when he appeared behind the plate in the bottom of the first inning. The record came near the end of Boone's 15th season in the major leagues.
The game was stopped at the start of the bottom of the first and Boone took the field alone to an ovation. The next play ended onto the field to congratulate him.
Angels Manager Gene Mauch presented to Bone a plaque with a home plate and the words "Bob Boone" in Record 1, 1941 games. Sept. 16, 1987.)
Negotiator says strike is possible
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The chief negotiator for NPL club owners said yesterday that a strike next week was a bad signal, unless federal mediation takes place.
Jack Donlan, the executive director of the NFL Management Council, said the proposal submitted by the players on Tuesday would cost owners $200 million above the figures he said. He also laid out his plans he said, that was without taking into account the union's demand for free agency.
"This proposal is not a framework for settlement. We can't get there with this proposal." Donlan said of the union position.
He also said he would like to resume negotiations but only with a mediator or face-to-face with his union counterpart, Gepshaw. The union has so far rejected Donald's calls for mediation, although Upshaw has said he would welcome the participation of NFL Commissioner Pete Rosele or anyone else who could make a deal for management.
Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Union, said he was disappointed in Donlan's response and would meet tomorrow with AFL-CIO president Lane Kirkland and other national labor officials. He also again dismissed the call for a mediator.
"They (management) have taken the position that the middle ground is their ground," Upshaw said. "If we want to settle anything, we have to move to their ground. When we've had mediators in the past, they weren't even at the table when the deal was struck. We're willing to negotiate. Why are they calling for a mediator?"
The Management Council also disclosed it had filed with the National Labor Relations Board an unfair labor practice complaint against the union.
Darryl Terrell works on his receiving during practice. Terrell, who was made a starter this week, was playing for Southern Methodist University when its football program was suspended.
Football player adjusts to life after fall of SMU
Bv CRAIG ANDERSON
Staff writer
All the stereotypes of crooked, overemphasized, big-time Texas football seemed to be played out in real life when the NCAA suspended the Southern Methodist University football program after last season.
The termination of football at SMU came after it was discovered that Mustang players had been receiving payoffs from some of the school's athletic boosters, among other violations.
Kansas junior tailback Darryl Terrell was a member of the MU football team when the house came tumbling down on them. He got a first-hand view of about the only way known to keep fans from enjoying his crazy state from enjoying their sport. Well, almost first-band.
"There were always rumors that guys were taking money, but I never saw any of them getting paid." Terrell said. "I was never offered any money by anyone."
"It was real crazy down there for awhile," he said. "Coaches were running around all over the place trying to talk to players. A lot of times they wouldn't even know the players they were talking to."
Terrell did witness one football stereotype — the one of college football coaches in a frenzy, trying to recruit the type of athletes that might make their own jobs more secure.
The recruiter Kansas sent, linebacker coach Scott Conley, took a different approach, the tailback said. Terrell said he was moved most by the good education he would be able to receive at Kansas.
The thought that Texas high school football was like playing in a pressure cooker turned on high power wasn't totally accurate, Terrell said. Playing at W.T. White High School in Dallas for
"There's some pressure in just playing football, but there were so many star players in the area that it kind of spread out," he said.
During his high school career,
Terrell rushed for over 2,700 yards
and scored 27 touchdowns. He also
intercepted seven passes playing at
cornerback. Terrell made the all-district team each of the three
hemes he played varsity football.
three years didn't cause him any high-anxiety stress attacks, he said.
While being recruited in high school, Terrell said local fans tried to pressure him to play at his hometown college – SMU. Terrell visited Oklahoma and Texas El Paso State University to become a Mustang. He said the final decision on where to go to school was completely his.
"I went to SMU because back in 1984, when I signed, they had some great teams and some great players." Terrell said. "I also liked the chance to be able to play in my hometown."
The winning tradition of Jay hawk football might not rival that of SMU, but so far the transition to SMU has gone smoothly. Terrell said
This week the 5-foot-11, 180 pound Terrell was moved to firstteam tailback status after rushing for 21 yards in six carries in the Jayhawk's 49-0 opening game loss and improved as he grew more accustomed to his new team and new school.
"Every day I feel more comfortable with my surroundings," he said. "My teammates have really made me feel welcome."
What would not be welcome to Terrell would be another game like he and his teammates experienced against the highly regarded Tigers. Aburn surprised Kansas with five touchdowns in the first 16 minutes of the contest.