8A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2004
Kansas athletics calendar
TUE
TOMORROW
Volleyball vs. Nebraska, 7 p.m. at home
FRIDAY
Soccer vs. Texas Tech, 4 p.m.
Intramural scoreboard
SUNDAY
Sand Volleyball Man
Beta Freshman Greek def. SAE 3 (21-11, 21-12)
AGD 1 def AGD 2 (21-5, 21-8)
Beta A-2 def. Sigma Chi 4 (2-0, 2-0)
Big N Tasties def. Sigma Chi 3 (2-0, 2-0)
Theta Bli Pledge def. SAE 2 (2-0, 2-0)
■ Women
AGD 1 def, AGD 2 (21-5, 21-8)
Alpha Chi Omega def. AD Pirates (2-0,
2-0)
CoRec
Trichomosis def. Slammers (21-15,
21-11)
Sausage Tacos def. Mountainiers (22-20, 21-12)
Bros & Hos def. Blue Steel (2-0, 2-0)
Soccer
Men
Team Hydro def. GP (7-0)
Battelfield tied EP Elite (1-1)
Mad Cow def. Pi Kappa Phi (3-1)
Phi Delt A-1 def. Fiji (2-1)
Pub Crawlers def. LCA (4-3)
SEX def. Anonymous (1-5)
Delta Gamma def. Alpha Gamma Delta (1-0)
CoRec
rne Neurons def. team X (1-0)
ROTC AF def. KU Hielel (1-0)
Oliver 1 def. Dingos (1-0)
TALK TO US
Tell us your news. Contact Danielle Hilli or Joe Bant at 864-8585 or sports@kansan.com
LACROSSE
Lacrosse wins, loses one at Oklahoma State
The KU women's lacrosse club team opened its fall 2004 season last weekend by splitting a pair of games at Oklahoma State.
in the first game of the day, Kansas overcame a late 8-9 deficit against Nebraska, scoring the last three goals of the game to win 11-9. Freshman Lisa Allen made the most of her collegiate debut with the Jayhawks by scoring seven times. Allen's output was the second-highest ever for a KU player. Also scoring for KU were sophomore Sarah Fiske, with two goals and an assist, and senior Laura Farley and junior Sam Key with one goal each.
In the second game of the day, Kansas jumped out to an early lead against host Oklahoma State before the Cowgirls regrouped behind a smothering zone defense to slowly erase the Jayhawks' loss.
With the game tied 6-6 halfway through the second half, Oklahoma State was able to pull away for a 9-7 victory. Allen once again led the KU offense with four goals. Fiske added two goals, Farley one. Senior Tasha Treifa had two assists and junior Karen Schmeltz added one.
GOLF: Greene does little else nothing but watch as Ward shoots under par
CONTINUED FROM 12A
On the day's first par three, Kevin sinks his first birdie of the afternoon. As he was sticking his tee shot about eight feet from the cup, I had my first run-in with a water hazard. I was able to save triple-bogey. Ouch.
4th Hole
10th Hole
Kevin was on pace for a nice round. My scorecard was on pace for the paper shredder in my parents' basement. We skipped the seventh and eighth holes, deciding to play them last to pass the horridly slow foursome in front of us. The tenth hole is a dream for anyone who can hit the ball as long as Kevin can. It's a dead-straight, extremely long par four. While Kevin tattooed his usual ho-hum 350-yard drive off the tee. I made the hole entertaining.
About 100 yards out from the green, I hit a
nine-iron (still don't know why) about ten yards over the green. The ball hit the cart path, and jumped to the street, where it took another bounce and landed on a friggin' roof. I'm glad I could be of some comic relief to Kevin while he was officially acing this course. Oh, and by the way, he set the course record by shooting an eight-under-par 64 about two weeks earlier.
Kevin's mindset reminds you of Van Wilder, when Van drops the line "You shouldn't take life too seriously. You'll never make it out alive."
11th Hole
Kevin is an excellent student who maintains an excellent GPA, but he does not stress school all that much. He still wants good grades and a degree, but he knows that golf is his life.
"I realized it about
Recently, it's been his play that has done all of the convincing. Kevin won three separate titles this summer, and it springboarded him into his first victory of the 2004-05 season, taking home the Kansas Invitational last week.
probably a year and a half ago," Ward says. "The hardest part was convincing my parents that this was what I wanted to do."
When you follow Kevin Ward for 18 holes on this course, you know that this is where he belongs. His name and a Jayhawk are inscribed not only on his golf bag, but even his see-thru putter grip. He spends almost 50 hours a week on a course, three to four days a week during the season traveling, not to mention early-morning conditioning sessions.
Some student athletes whine about no time for a social life, but Kevin is not that guy. Golf is life, and he's getting pretty
good at it, now that he's able to focus. Even if it means he can only go out one night a week, the reward at the end of the path could be worth the price.
There is no guarantee that Kevin Ward will make millions on the PGA Tour, or that he will even make it at all. Now, he's simply doing what every other college student wishes they could do — successfully pursuing what he loves.
Oh, and while we we're having this conversation, Kevin registered his third of four birdies on the afternoon.
13th Hole
Kevin first started playing golf when he was 12 years old and ultimately decided to pursue golf instead of baseball. Most kids pick up golf clubs because their parents play, but Kevin did it all on his own. He liked the fact that his success on
the course would rely more on personal performance and concentration.
When Kevin first came to Kansas, adjustment took some time. Until the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Kevin was struggling to live up to his potential. But everything he learned in those two years, he now passes down to his younger teammates. Among those lessons are how to manage time wisely and that you cannot live the stereotypical life of the 'average college student.'
Kevin has invested himself into golf. So has his family. They have all invested ungodly amounts of time, money and support into this game, but and Kevin admits that he wouldn't know what to do without it.
As we are finishing, Kevin is quietly firing an
18th Hole
impressive round. I'm just limping to the finish line, and having not looked at the scorecard in awhile, I'm just hoping to stay under 100. I'm trying to figure out how to just hit the ball straight, while Kevin's on his phone figuring out with his roommate, KU golfer Gary Woodland, what's for dinner. Kevin birdies the final hole to finish with a three-under-part total of 69 — or as it's known by the team, "the love number." I shot a 95.
For one afternoon, I got a look into the mind of someone different. Kids in America grow up with dreams of being professional athletes. Kevin is living that dream, and works hard to make sure it becomes a reality.
For me, it was a good story. For Kevin, it was just your typical day at the office.
Kansan staff report
Greene is a Vernon Hills, Ill., senior in journalism
PERKINS: Football is AD's priority for now
CONTINUED FROM 12A
country to help them set up a priority point system, so we are ahead of the game. We raised $30 million dollars last year and that takes a lot of time.
I spend a lot of time with the coaches, a lot of time with the kids. I serve on a lot of committees on campus.
My day is full. It is not just going to games. It is a very hectic schedule.
Editor's Note: The priority point system is a new way of organizing seating in Allen Fieldhouse that rewards loyal and paying fans.
Q: You've said before that when you got here, in some aspects, you felt as if the University was 10 or 15 years behind. What have you been able to do to get it up to speed?
I work a lot on the budget, we work with the coaches on the budget. We also have a lot of compliance issues that we have to deal with. We work on our future plans and facilities, so we travel to other facilities. We are really involved in day-to-day activities.
A: The infrastructure here was really behind. We had very few policy procedure manuals, and that takes a lot of time.
We had no head trainer, we had no head equipment manager and we needed more academic tutors. Those are things that I would have thought would have been in place a long time ago. We've worked on trying to upgrade that.
Q: Specifically, what have you done to advance the University of Kansas to where other universities are?
A: Fundraising — financially, is a huge deal. We were 11th in the country and now we are seventh in our budget.
Not that money is everything, and I don't want to sound like it is, but it is very important. We try to put the coaches in a position where they have the
"I have been really pleased with the
support we have received from the faculty, the media and the donors. In order to raise $30 million, we have had to have a lot of people involved and that has been really gratifying."
Lew Perkins Althetics director
resources to recruit, to travel, to get practice equipment.
We are reviewing all of our contracts with everyone from Nike, to ESPN and Coca-Cola. We have to look at every resource to help bring in financial assistance.
Q: What is it?
Q: What is on the agenda to keep the athletic department moving in that direction?
A: The point system is something that we are going to work on for the next three or four years.
We have so many things to look at that we haven't had a chance to look at because we have been so busy.
But on a very positive side, we have had so much success that we have gotten to spend a lot of time with our team.
Q: We are now about 15 months into your tenure at the University. So far, what has been most rewarding for you?
A: The commitment that the University has towards its athletic programs: I have been really pleased with the support we have received from the faculty, the media and the donors. In order to raise $30 million, we have had to have a lot of people involved and that has been really gratifying.
Probably the best thing I've enjoyed is getting to know the student athletes. Our grade point average was at an all-time high of 2.98; we had seven teams that had a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Q: What did you do to help the student-athletes achieve that academic success?
A: First of all, our personnel is awesome. We needed to improve our resources, so a lot of money that we spend went to academic resources. We hired more full-time people and added space where the kids could study and bought new computers. But most of all the kids make the big difference. But it also goes back to the coaches and recruiting. They bring in great kids, and they make great students. Academics is one thing that you can't underspend on. You spend and spend and spend until you get the best.
Q: The $30 million dollars is $25 million more than what was being brought in yearly before you got here. Where does that money come from?
A: From all over — alumni, and people who just like sports.
Q: What is on your plate for the next month?
A: Football is our number one priority. We are trying to raise money to build a new football office and locker room complex, but we still need another $15 or $18 million.
Obviously, watching volleyball and soccer, and we are working on our point system and men's basketball and hopefully getting women's basketball off to a good start.
So that is my number on priority and it will be until we get that.
Q: What is your favorite sport to watch?
A! All of them. I love them all.
It is all about the kids to me.
- Edited by Johanna M. Maska
FANTASY: Online game includes female following, too
CONTINUED FROM 12A
there were an estimated one million fantasy participants for all sports according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.
This year, the association estimated 15 million fantasy participants for all sports, with 93 percent — nearly 14 million — playing fantasy football.
The allure of fantasy football varies from person to person and encompasses a diverse array of viewpoints. Some participate to learn more about the sport; some see the activity as a way to get together with friends.
Mark Zillman, Leavenworth senior, and Jason Hwang, Overland Park senior, are long-time fantasy footballers and enjoy the competitive nature of the game and revel in the trash talking that dominates their league message board.
Another valuable tidbit regarding fantasy football is its ability to reach out to both sexes.
Jimmy Chavez, San Antonio junior, was very blunt with his reason for playing, simply stating he enjoyed beating people he knew.
There is even a Web site devoted to the female fantasy footballer, aptly named femalefan.com.
The market research company Ipsos estimates that 25 percent of all fantasy footballers are women.
Women at the University of Kansas are involved in the fantasy madness too.
Britney Williams, York. Neb., senior, plays fantasy football along with her roommate.
She credited her "Big
Red"-based love for football and the interaction of fantasy football as reasons for playing.
Although the activity's popularity continues to grow, it is not embraced by everyone.
Take Grant Aikens, Chanute junior, who once played fantasy football but never caught the fever.
Aikens said he was amazed by the fanatical approach of his friends and the amount of time they spent trying to improve their team.
"It was like watching a soap opera," Aikens said, adding that he had no interest in returning to fantasy football any time soon.
Finally, there is graduate teaching assistant Micheal Struemph.
"Half of the male clientele participate in fantasy football," Struemph said.
He said it was commonplace to see guys with stat sheets and date books comparing players.
Struemph, who is not a fantasy footballer, does not quite understand the extent to which some take it.
No matter what draws an individual to fantasy football, there is no denying the game's ability to quench one's competitive thirst.
Moreover, whether non-fantasy footballers understand the dedication — or obsession — the game requires, there is no misunderstanding the sheer delight of spending a Sunday watching football with your friends.
20% OFF TODAY
- Edited by Steve Vockrodt
Whether in-store or online, receive 5% off Tuesdays for each touchdown scored by KU the previous weekend.* Visit Jayhawks.com or call 864-4640 for more info.
Tonight ~ 7:30 KANSAS UNION-Kansas Room (6th Floor)
University Christian Fellowship
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