Section B · Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, January 21, 1999
Kentucky will battle undefeated Auburn
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — With a 17-0 record and a No. 6 ranking, Auburn can no longer expect to sneak up on opponents.
"Every game is going to be a war," Tigers coach Cliff Ellis said Tuesday. "In this position, you're going to get everybody's best shot."
No. 7 Kentucky gets its shot at the Tigers' perfect record tonight, in a game few would have picked as a potential showdown before the season.
A loss would be the Wildcats 'fourth in nine games and would drop Kentucky (15-4, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) two games behind Auburn (5-0 SEC) in the race for the SEC regular season title.
Led by junior college transfer Chris Porter, averaging 16.8 points and 8.7 rebounds, Auburn has won all but one of its games by double-digit margins.
The defending national champions, on the other hand, have struggled in recent weeks, losing consecutive games to Duke and Louisville in December, then losing at home last week to Tennessee and struggling to beat Mississippi Saturday.
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith sounded envious Tuesday as he talked about the Tigers, who are among the nation's statistical leaders in scoring offense and defense.
"They're very athletic. They're playing so well together as a team." Smith said.
Auburn has benefited from the stability of having Porter, Bryant Smith, Mamadou N'diaye, Scott Pohlman and Doc Robinson start every game. The Wildcats, on the other hand, have routinely jugged lineups as Smith has searched for the right combination.
"We don't have that consistencyvet." Smith said.
Although the Tigers have not won at Rupp Arena since 1988, Ellis doesn't expect his team to be intimidated.
"I think they're as prepared as they possibly can be," said Ellis, who will be coaching his 700th Division I game. "Kentucky's a great team, but I think we're a good team, too."
Kentucky might play without center Jamaal Magiole, who Smith said will be suspended for patting the underside of a Mississippi player's chin during Saturday's name.
Magloire received a technical foul and was benched by Smith for the last 16 minutes of the Mississippi game, but said afterward that he thought the incident fired up his teammates. Smith disagreed and said Tuesday that Magloire would be punished further, though he refused to give details or say whether Magloire would miss the Anthurium game.
"Jamal knows he was wrong." Smith said. "There's no place for that type of conduct."
In December, when Maryland came to Rupp Arena with an undefeated record and a No. 2 ranking, it was Magloire who guaranteed a victory for the then-No. 5 Wildcats, who won 103-91.
Magloire was unable to make a prediction Tuesday as Smith kent him from reporters.
Other Kentucky players emphasized the need for improvement against Auburn.
"We've been a little up-and-down, a little more up-and-down than we want to be," center Michael Bradley said. "It's not like we have major problems, but we need to put a team away from start to finish."
A number of Wildcats, including Heshimu Evans and Scott Padgett, have struggled with their outside shooting in recent weeks, and Smith said the challenge posed by Auburn could help the players shift their focus from individual struggles to the need to win as a team.
"Sometimes a challenge like this forces players and teams to say, 'Hey, we've got to do more things to win,'"
Smith said. "I hope that's the case with our guys."
Auburn's start is its best since a 19-0 record in 1958-
59. That streak ended on Feb. 21, 1959, at Lexington's
Memorial Coliseum, where the No. 2 Tigers lost 75-66
to the third-ranked Wildcats.
Colorado hires new football coach
Northwestern coach replaces Rick Neuheisel
Barnett, who resigned as Northwestern's coach after seven seasons, told his players of his decision Tuesday night, and was expected to arrive in Boulder Wednesday night.
The Associated Press
The school called a news conference to introduce him tomorrow. Barnett's hiring is subject to the approval of Colorado's Board of Regents, which has its regularly scheduled monthly meeting today.
BOULDER, Colo. — Gary Barnett, wooped by many schools since leading Northwestern to the 1996 Rose Bowl, is the new coach at Colorado.
and the University of Colorado," Buffaloes athletic director Dick Tharp said yesterday.
"I'm pleased to bring forward to the Board an individual who is deeply committed to young people
Barnett replaces Rick Neuheisel, who left Colorado on Jan. 9 to coach Washington at $1 million a year. The
52-year-old Barnett planned to spend tomorrow assembling a staff and preparing to meet recruits.
Northwestern has a 4:30 p.m. EST news conference and is expected to announce that Miami (Ohio) coach Randy Walker will replace Barnett.
In the past few years, Barnett has turned down coaching opportunities at such top schools as Notre Dame, UCLA and Texas. He is returning to the school where he was once an assistant under Bill McCartney.
Barnett met with Tharp Tuesday in Houston, where the agreement was set, according to media reports in
Barnett's hiring came one day after Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubik turned down a chance at the Colorado job.
Barnett was Colorado's original choice, but Tharp had trouble dealing with Barnett's expensive buy-out.
Chicago and Denver.
Barnett signed an 11-year contract with Northwestern in 1996, but Denver's KCNC-TV said Colorado won't have to pay Barnett's $250,000 buyout fee. Barnett apparently will settle with Northwestern on his own.
Northwestern was one of the worst programs in the country before Barnett arrived, failing to win more than four games in a season since 1971.
The Wildcats won only eight games in Barnett's first three seasons, but the following year he led them to a 10-2 mark, including a 41-32 loss to Southern California in the Rose Bowl.
The Wildcats ended 9-3 the following season, which ended with a 48-28
"I'm pleased to bring forward to the Board an individual who is deeply committed to young people and the University of Colorado."
Dick Tharp University of Colorado athletic director
loss to Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl. Northwestern returned to its losing ways the last two years, going 5-7 in 1997 and 3-8 in 1998. Also, Northwestern has been rocked by a sports betting scandal in which four former Wildcat football players were indicted Dec. 3, accused of lying about their gambling activities.
Barnett's record at Northwestern was 35-45-1 in seven seasons. His only other head coaching job was at Fort Lewis, a Division II school in Durango, Colo., where he had an 8-11-1 record in 1982-83.
Discrimination case puts NCAA in court
Female student sues association for denial of volleyball position
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A lawsuit drafted by a rookie law student who was angry that her spot on a college volleyball team had been denied will help the Supreme Court answer whether the NCAA is subject to federal discrimination laws.
The NCAA told the court yesterday that a key anti-bias law guaranteeing federal
protection against sex discrimination in most schools does not apply in this case.
"The NCAA is an association of its members and its members ... receive federal money. The
NCAA does not," argued the tax-exempt organization's lawyer, John G. Roberts Jr.
Roberts said a federal appeals court was wrong when it ruled that the NCAA is an indirect recipient of federal aid because of the dues it collects from its 1,200 member schools.
The federal law known as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 applies only to educational programs receiving federal money.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule in Renee Smith's case by summer. If the court allows her to continue her lawsuit, the NCAA could be on the hook in a host of other discrimination lawsuits based on race or disability, both sides have said.
The NCAA argues that individual universities are fair game for discrimination complaints, but said it is a step removed.
Smith, 26, sued in federal court after the NCAA said she was ineligible for the volleyball teams at two schools where she did postgraduate work.
"You don't just follow the money," Roberts argued.
"I want to establish a precedent, so
other intercollegiate athletes don't have to start at zero," Smith said outside the court building.
The NCAA first judged her ineligible in 1993, based on the sports organization's rules. Although Smith had two years of eligibility remaining after her early graduation from St. Bonaventure in upstate New York, she lost them when she moved to Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y., for graduate school, the NCAA said.
The NCAA refused to grant Smith a waiver.
Smith tried again when she moved on to law school at the University of Pittsburgh in 1995. Again, the NCAA denied her a waiver.
Smith sued in 1996 after completing her first year of law school, alleging that the NCAA was more inclined to grant waivers to male student athletes.
Her lawyer, Carter Phillips, argued that the NCAA ought to be subject to the same anti-discrimination rules as its member universities.
"You can't stop at the federal funds recipient" such as a university, Phillips told the court. "You have to go beyond that."
The NCAA claims it actually grants waivers to women more often than men. The raw numbers of waivers are much higher for men because far more men ask for them, the NCAA said.
But the Supreme Court is not debating whether the NCAA favors male athletes over female athletes — only whether Smith may continue her lawsuit.
"We dispute the case on the merits, but the merits are not before the court," NCAA lawyer Roberts said.
Smith wants the case sent back to a trial court, where she can seek more evidence about the NCAA's practices. She could lose all legal avenues if the justices rule the NCAA is exempt from Title IX.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seemed sympathetic to Smith's difficulties framing her original legal argument without help from a full-fledged lawyer.
"Usually before you cut off a plaintiff's head you allow him a chance to flesh out an allegation," she said.
Heisman winner awaits NFL draft
The case is NCAA vs. Smith, 98-84.
Williams not picky about team options
The Associated Press
"I don't really care where I play, I just want to go and play football," the former University of Texas player said Tuesday before receiving his second Doak Walker Award as the nation's top college running back. "I'm sure I'll have fun wherever I go, and I'll be on a decent team."
DALLAS—Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams said he would be happy wherever he plays pro football. His mother is more discriminating.
But Sandy Williams said she
wants her son to be either the first player chosen in the April NFL draft, by Cleveland, or go to the Dallas Cowboys.
Williams' mother and Ricky's two sisters.
Cassie, 21, and Nisey, 20, who now live in Austin, visited the Cowboys' training facility Tuesday, and she had a message for owner Jerry Jones.
"I wanted to leave a note:" Dear Jerry, please draft my son. Love, Sandy," Sandy Williams said with a laugh.
Williams received his Walker trophy at a banquet of the SMU Athletic Forum, which also gave former University of Kansas and Chicago Bears star halfback Gale Sayers a special award for retired athletes who contribute to their communities.
Sayers and other former greats chipped in their advice for Williams.
"I don't really care where I play,I just want to go and play football.I'm sure I'll have fun wherever I go."
Ricky Williams Texas Running Back
"Make sure that he's in training camp on time," Sayers said. "Pro football is a Grand Canyon above college football ... and he's a marked man coming in."
"He's got what it takes," said former Dallas star Tony Dorsett, whose NCAA career rushing record was broken by Williams. "But you've got to be in the right system, you've got to stay healthy."
Even before the draft, Williams will give baseball another shot. He signed a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers Tuesday and will report to the team's spring-training camp in Florida next month. But he apparently has no illusions about becoming a football and baseball star like Bo Jackson.
"I have so far to go in baseball ... I'm just trying to keep getting better," said Williams, who played A-league ball last spring.
Williams said he was especially honored to win the Doak Walker Award again because he met Walker last year.
Walker, the Southern Methodist All-America and 1948 Heisman winner was paralyzed in a skiing accident and died last spring at 71. Williams, who wore 34 on his jersey as a Longhorns senior, honored Walker by wearing his number, 37, when Texas played Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl—"the house that Doak built."
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