UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY. AUGUST 18, 1997
'Hawks ready for football
Kansas quarterback Zac Wegner is competing for the roe of starting quarterback. Wegner pulls back to throw the ball during practice on Friday at Memorial Stadium.
Many questions remain as team nears opener
By Kelly Cannon Kansan sportswriter
Alabama-Birmingham rolls into town on Aug. 28 to challenge Kansas, and for the next 11 days the Jayhawks will be focusing on the game
"We have an awful lot to do," head coach Terry Allen said. "I am anxious to get started."
"We don't return many starters," Allen said. "The offensive line is such a critical area. Football teams are made around the offensive line."
Junior offensive tackle Justin Glasgow is expected to be a strong leader on the depleted line. Other projected starters are senior Derrick Chandler, sophomore Chris Ennkeing and sophomore Dameon Hunt
Since the exit of former head coach Glen Mason for Minnesota and the beginning of the Terry Allen era, the state of Kansas football has raised several questions. A particular trouble spot for the team is the offensive line.
"We don't have a fifth starter." Allen said. "We'll only go as far as our offensive line takes us. We have some great young men."
The quarterback race, which has been running since the spring, has yet to be decided. The starter will be announced about a week before the UAB game. Senior Matt Johner, who started eight games last season, is in a ahead-to-head race with sophomore Jac Wegner and junior-college transfer Akilie Roberson. Once a starter is picked, that person will perform all year barring injury.
"This will not be a juggling quarterback situation," Allen said.
Johner spent much of the off season getting bigger.
"I did some off season lifting," he said. "My goal was to get strong. I'm going into it thinking that I'm going to be the guy. I'll do the best I can, and I'll do anything Coach Allen asks me."
Wegner also sees himself as a front runner.
SECTION B
"I think I fit in at the top," he said. "It's neck and neck right now. I hope we know. It would be better for the team."
The new leader of the offense seems to be senior Eric Vann. Vann has spent most of his career at Kansas in the shadow of the departed June Henley. This year, however, Vann is excited for his chance to play.
"I better enjoy this season and not take things for granted." Vann said.
Defensively, the Jayhawks return eight starters and their entire secondary.
Senior free safety Tony Blevins is happy with the new coaches.
"These coaches are more people and player coaches," Blevins said. "It doesn't seem like they're using you to keep their job."
Because this is a new season with a new coaching staff, many uncertainties linger.
"This will be a huge learning experience with everybody," Allen said. "We aren't rebuilding, we are in transition. We have a lot of learning that we are anxious to do."
Top wide receiver sidelined indefinitely
Gordon suffers from heart, sleep disorders
Tommy Gallagher
Associate Sports Editor
Kansas football coaches were disappointed Saturday afternoon after learning that wide receiver John Gordon suffers from cardiomyopathy and sleep apnea.
Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that leads to the limitation of the heart's ability to pump blood. Sleep apnea is a condition in which narrowed air passageways cause sufferers to stop breathing for short periods while they sleep.
John Gordon
Gordon has been held out of practice since Wednesday, when a precamp physical revealed a cardiovascular concern. Further testing was conducted at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. Gordon, West Palm Beach, Fla., sophomore, cannot practice until he is cleared to play. He will be out indefinitely.
"I'm not sure if it was from blood pressure or from listening to the heart," Kansas coach Terry Allen said of discovering the disease. "I think there's potential for (Gordon's return) this year. But indefinite is indefinite. It could be two weeks, or it could be two years."
Two basketball players have died from cardiomyopathy since 1990 — Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis.
Gathers played college basketball at Loyola Marymount. He collapsed and died during a game in 1990. Three years
Both players previously had collapsed before returning to the court.
later, Lewis, of the Boston Celtics, died while practicing with the team.
Gordon played in all 11 games last year for Kansas and started five. He finished last season with 16 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns, which is more than all the other current receivers' totals from last season combined.
Gordon and redshirt freshman Eric Patterson are listed as the Jayhawks' starting wide receivers. The top two reserves on the depth chart are freshmen — Termaine Fulton and Harrison Hill.
"Obviously, it's a concern — first and foremost for the young man's health." Allen said. "Football is secondary to that."
With Gordon out of the lineup, Kansas coaches said they hoped to get a closer look at the other receivers at the scrimmage Saturday morning. But when the defense smothered the offense during the 90-minute scrimmage, Allen had even more concerns about the offense.
"If we're trying to run, we're not even crawling yet," Allen said after the scrimmage. "We're not very good (offensively). And we're not going to become good overnight. We know what our deficiencies are on the football team, and we demonstrated them today."
Steve Puppe / KANSAN
"There were missed assignments and a lack of concentration," Johner said. "There were offenses penalties today and missed blocks. That goes along with a new offense, where people don't really know what's going on."
Senior quarterback Matt Johner, who's battling for the start quarterback spot, said he was disappointed with the offense's performance.
While the offense sputtered, one Jayhawk freshman excelled.
Freshman placekicker Joe Garcia was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts during the
Senior running back Eric Vann takes a handoff from junior quarterback Akili Robertson during practice Friday at Memorial Stadium. Vann will be the Jayhawks' starting back.
scrimmage. He connected on field goals from 20, 43 and 45 yards.
Freshman linebacker Jay Ferguson suffered a stress fracture in his foot last week and had surgery Friday to treat the injury.
A screw was inserted in his foot during the surgery to treat the injury. Ferguson was not expected to play a major role on the team this season.
He is the most recent Kansas linebacker to be hampered by an injury.
Sophomore Tyrus Fontenot, who was competing for a backup spot at middle linebacker, will miss two to three weeks after suffering a broken bone in his right thumb last week.
Allen said Fontenton probably would miss the Jayhawks' season opener Aug. 28 against Alabama-Birmingham.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
Teams to sport new look and better attitude
The football, volleyball, soccer, cross country and swimming teams will begin competition this month. These teams, like all Kansas teams this year, will battle opponents while wearing exclusively Nike apparel.
This fall sports season signals the arrival of several facts of life that will define a new attitude on the Kansas campus.
Allen brings different spirit to football team
And spectators in Memorial Stadium, Allen Field House and Super Target Field will sip only Coke and its products.
Reebok, Mizuno, adidas, Footjoy and Pepsi officially have been banished from campus. At least the Kansas mascot has
However, the revenue from the three-year, $3.5 million contract will benefit all 20 Jayhawk teams sporting Nike's swoosh. If nothing else, your friends and relatives on both coasts will be able to purchase Jayhawk paraphernalia with ease.
not changed to the Nikehawks, and it is hoped that Coke will not appear on University diplomas.
But the logo on jerseys and the brand of soda in spectators' cups will not affect fans as much as the attitude on the playing
Just the fact that former coach Glen Mason accepted employment elsewhere could encourage Jayhawk fans to care about football for more than the two Saturdays each fall when Missouri and Kansas State are the opponents.
The attitude on campus last fall was the worst in my three-year stint as a Jayhawk fan. And more than the student body is to blame.
fields. And this fact will have a great impact. Terry Allen is the new football coach.
True story: While walking on campus last fall the week after Nebraska dropped Kansas' record to 3-4, I overheard a football player say to his teammate: "There's a very good probability that we will be 3-8 this season."
Before Allen arrived, the term "player coach" was not spoken on campus during the fall until "Late Night with Roy Williams" came around.
and Notre Dame loomed on the schedule. Kansas proved the prophet wrong by defeating Iowa State, finishing with a 4-7 record, but that statement tells more about last year's football team than its record.
As a faithful football fan, I was appalled to hear a Division I athlete predict defeat for the rest of a season. And it's not like Florida
If the attitude on the football field proves as good as reported, the attitude in the stands will be as positive. Especially if football players don't criticize their team or Kansas fans while talking to the media. It is hoped that the latter trend left campus with fan critic and offensive tackle Scott Whitaker.
It's a fact that people were not excited by Jayhawk football last year. But with the change in attitude — apparent from the head coach and the players — the facts of this fall season will be more pleasant.
The Nike deal
How the money from the four-year, $3.5 million contract between Kansas and Nike will be distributed:
$750,000 annually to Kansas teams for
$105,000 annually to the Kansas athletic department to use at its discretion.
department to use at its discretion
$20,000 annually to community service
$20,000 annually to community service
Source: "Lawrence Journal-World"
University athletics signs $3.5 million Nike contract
Swoosh will appear on all Jayhawk sports uniforms
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Tommy Gallagher Associate sports editor
The Nike swoosh, which cannot be more than 2 1/4 inches square, now will be on all Jayhawk uniforms.
The University of Kansas athletic department and Nike agreed last week to a four-year contract worth about $3.5 million, making Nike the exclusive supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories for all 20 Jayhawk teams.
While there was some speculation that Nike would have signs and promotions at sports venues, Bob Frederick, Kansas athletic director, said Nike was pleased to have the swoosh on athletic apparel.
"Their primary concern is that the logo be on the uniforms," Frederick said. "Some corporate sponsors are interested in signage. They are not. What means the most to them is having athletes in competition with logos on the jerseys and pants."
Nike will provide Kansas' athletic department with $105,000 in cash and about $750,000 in products, apparel and merchandise for the teams each year.
Kansas receives a 7.5 percent royalty on all licensed Jayhawk apparel, which accounted for about $400,000 for the athletic department last year, Frederick said. The athletic department receives 55 percent of the royalty. The Kansas Endowment Association and the Kansas Bookstore receive the remaining 45 percent.
Jayhawk athletic apparel now will be sold in 5,200 retail outlets nationwide as part of the deal. With the increased outlets, the University could reap record profits from its licensed merchandise during the upcoming years.
Frederick estimated the deal could double or even quadruple the athletic department's take from last year during the next several years.
Nike also will donate $20,000 to community service each year and provide a paid summer internship for an undergraduate student-athlete at the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.
The Kansas football and baseball teams started sporting the Nike swoosh last season, while Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams and Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington have had independent shoe contracts with Nike.
But not everyone has used Nike as a supplier before. Last year the volleyball team wore Mizuno, the tennis teams wore Reebok, the soccer team wore adidas and the women's golf team wore Footjoy shoes.
Response from Kansas coaches about the Nikde deal has been positive.
"With the current budgeting, I'm very careful with what I spend," Jerry Waugh, Kansas women's golf coach, said. "Nike gives me a little more room. Generally you have a few extras on your team who get the short end of the stick. This allows us to take care of everyone."
Kansas men's tennis coach Mark Riley said the deal could help Jayhawk coaches in recruiting top athletes and building better programs.
"Nike makes a big difference in recruiting," Riley said. "Both Michigan and Penn State use Nike on the field and as a plus in recruiting. Kids love to have quality equipment, and having a good amount of it is always a plus."
Kansas is the third member of the Big 12 Conference to sign a multi-million dollar deal with a major shoe company during the last three years.
Colorado has a six-year deal worth $6 million with Nike, while Texas currently is renegotiating its six-year, $3.6 million deal with Reebok that began in 1994.
"When we signed this deal three years ago, we weren't in the Big 12 and we didn't have three women's sports teams that we now have," Chris Plonsky, Texas assistant athletic director, said. "I think the renegotiation of our deal will be done within the next two months. This will help our program address changes that have happened to Texas sports during the past three years."
The "Lawrence Journal-World" contributed information to this story.