12B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY OF DARY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2006
FOOTBALL
Paterno has no plans of departure
Carolyn Kaster/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Penn State coach Jae Paterno waves to the crowd during a Penn State game in 2004. Paterno has been at the school since the 1960s.
BY GENARO C. ARMAS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Tanned and rested after his beloved beach vacation. Joe Paterno was ready to go. Season No. 41 as Penn State head coach awaited.
"I feel great and I feel that I am going to coach as long as I feel good about myself and still be excited about my work." Paterno said at Big Ten media day in Chicago earlier this month.
It seems that Paterno's familiar rolled-up khakis and smoky, thick-rimmed glasses won't be disappearing from the sidelines any time soon, especially after last year's football resurgence — an 11-1 record and Coach of the Year honors for Paterno.
Who's next after JoePa?
High times in Happy Valley, though a question still looms.
"Whenever the time comes, we'll cross that bridge at that time," athletic director Tim Curley said.
Curley said there was no succession plan in place. Paterno is under contract for another two seasons.
He'll be 82 on Dec. 21, 2008.
"He loves it. It's his passion," said Jerry Sandusky, one of the many assistants who Paterno has outlasted. Sandusky retired after the 1999 season after 30 years on the staff. "He loves the thrill of the competition, and challenge of a new group."
Yet the topic of how much longer
potential successors. But there appears to be underlying sentiment, at least, to find someone accustomed
invariably comes up around Paterno — in passing, among fans; from reporters; and on the recruiting trail.
"I tell a kid that we are recruiting. I hope to be around at least three, four, five years, and that's what I plan to do," Paterno said.
"Every once in awhile, I'il stick my two cents in and yell at some of the coaches something terrible because I don't know what's going on."
JOE PATERNO Penn State Coach
School officials, hardcore alumni and people close to the football program hesitate about even suggesting
to the "Penn State way"
when the time comes.
A mong Nittany Nation outsiders, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who has been rumored to be a candidate to move up to the NFL, is
a Pennsylvania native who grew up a Penn State fan. The Post-Gazette of Pittsburgh reported in a column two
years ago that then-Iowa athletic director Bob Bowlbs said he thought Penn State might be the only college job that could lure Ferentz from the Hawkeves.
But wooing Ferentz for any job could be expensive: His contract was restructured a couple of months ago and it nearly doubled his annual salary to $2.84 million. His contract expires after 2012.
While he's still very much the boss, Paterno has admitted to delegating more responsibility to his assistants in recent years.
"I don't want to step back too far," Paterno joked earlier this summer.
"So every once in awhile, I'll stick my two cents in and yell at some of the coaches something terrible because I don't know what's going on."
His base salary of $603,438 makes him one of only four coaches in the Big 12 who does not earn at least $1 million. Texas coach Mack Brown makes about as much as Mangino's salary just for wearing Nike apparel on the sidelines.
Guy Morriss makes a reported $1.1 million per season at Baylor, but his career record is just 11-23 including a 5-6 overall record and a 2-6 mark in conference play. Why the heck is Guy Morriss making more than Mark Mangino? What has Morriss done that Mangino hasn't?
FOOTBALL
Mangino deserves more
Mangino's career record with the Jayhawks was a non-impressive 15-28 after Colorado game. The team surged to a 3-0 start before dropping to 3-4 on the season and 0-4 in Big 12 play.
Times sure have changed. After the football team lost its fourthstraight game last season, a 44-13 drubbing by Colorado, some students on campus were calling for coach Mark Mangino to be fired. Now, people are saying that he doesn't make enough money and should get a new contract to stay with the lavihawks.
Sports-talk shows began to suggest that Mangino "wasn't Lew's guy" because Athletic Director Lew Perkins came to KU after Mangino had been hired. Speculation arose that Perkins might fire Mangino at the end of the season.
By improving the on-field success of the Jayhawks, Mangino has helped boost season ticket sales. Attendance soared to an average of more than 43,000 per game in 2005.
That all changed, however, when the Jayhawks went an improbable 4-1 to finish the season. With those four victories came some of the most magical and memorable moments in recent Kansas football history. The Jayhawks ended Nebraska's 36-game winning streak in the series by defeating the Cornhuskers in Lawrence. Then, KU drove down the field and scored with just minutes remaining against Iowa State to tie the game and send it into overtime. Kicker Scott Webb won the game for the Jayhawks and made them bowl eligible for the second time in three years under Mangino.
Mangino has done everything he has been asked to do. He's lived up to his end of the deal. He's improved the product on the field, and helped Kansas be known as more than just a basketball school. Despite whether Perkins hired him, Mangino needs to be rewarded for what he's done.
in the Big 12 in the near future and Mangino is one reason why. The thing I can't figure out, though, is why Mangino is the lowest-paid coach in the league. Yes, that's right. With everything that Mangino has done to help KU football recover from the dreadful Terry Allen days, Mangino is the lowest-paid football coach in the Big 12 Conference.
To top it off, Mangino's bunch
It's obvious to anyone who has watched Mangino during the past four years that Mangino has completely turned around this program. The Jayhawks went 2-10, including 0-8 in the Big 12, during Mangino's first year at Kansas in 2002. The Jayhawks have shown steady improvement each season, including a trip to the Tangerine Bowl in 2003, victories against Kansas State and Missouri in the same season for the first time in 15 years in 2004, and the magical finish to the 2005 season resulting in the Fort Worth Bowl title.
BY B.J.RAINS
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
BJRAINS@KANSAN.COM
Kansas may be on its way to becoming one of the top programs
Now, as the football team prepares for the 2006 season with the desire of topping last years success, Perkins is working with Mangino on a contract extension. It's about time, Lew.
smoked Houston 42-13 in the nationally-televised Fort Worth Bowl, securing the best Christmas present Mangino could have received. He quieted the critics and was essentially assured of keeping his job.
Not this year.
Edited by Derek Korte
FROM THE EDITORS
We think The University Daily Kansan does a pretty darn good job providing you with all the sports news that happens on campus. This semester, we promise to indulge your senses at the buffet of sports only the Kansan can bring you.
Look to us for KU coverage Editors offer buffet of coverage for fall and spring sports
Huge gameday previews will be topped only by full-color photo pages that recap all the action, home or away.
Every semester, we sports editors take time out of our busy day to promise you an exciting revolution in sports coverage.
Coming off one of the best seasons in recent history, the Jayhawk football team is looking to have another exciting season. The Kansan will be there every step of the way.
We've assembled a staff of talented and experienced writers to provide you with an in-depth look at everything that encompasses KU sports.
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS AND
Be sure to check out the sports section every day for informative articles, unique photos and entertaining columns. Expect not only
ERIN WILEY
KANSAN SPORTS EDITORS
MPHILLIPS@KANSAN.COM
EWILEY@KANSAN.COM
to find out everything you want to know about the Jayhawks, but also the rest of the Big 12 Conference.
Football is the premier sport of the fall season, but the Kansan is dedicated to presenting coverage of the other sports, too. Each team, from volleyball and swimming to golf and cross country, has its own beat reporter to bring you the breaking news and results from each game, match or race.
If one of the spring sports is more your style, the Kansan will give you the off-season coverage you desire. Oh, and there is that other sport, basketball, which kicks off its season with Late Night in the Phog.
Don't stop getting your coverage merely by reading the Kansan during class or on the bus. When you get home, head to our newly revamped Web site at www.kansan.com. There you can check out extra pieces of information, including photos and graphics that can't fit within the confines of the print version. In fact, check it out today to view supplements that go along with Ryan Schneider's article on Big 12 coaches' salaries.
After you spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium supporting the Jayhawk football team, an evening at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center cheering on the volleyball team or chasing the cross country team around the course in late October as it plays host to the Big 12 Championships at Rim Rock Farm, turn to the Kansan first as your number one source for Jayhawk sports.
After all, if you published a newspaper, wred read it.
—Edited by Derek Korte
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