THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL. 115 ISSUE 139
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2005
ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
Rylan Howe/KANSAN
Football coach, Mark Mangino (left) in adidas attire, and Chancellor Robert Hemenway honor Dana Stubblefield, former KU football player, during halftime of the spring football scrimmage April 16. Mangino is the first person associated with KU athletics to publicly wear adidas since the University signed a contract with the apparel provider.
KU finalizes contract with adidas
By Ross Fitch
rfitch@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The University of Kansas Athletics Department formally confirmed yesterday a longswirling rumor by announcing its $26.67 million, eight-year contract with adidas. The new contract means a break from the department's 14-year partnership with Nike.
The department signed another contract last week with ESPN Regional Television. The agreement reached last Thursday is for a $40.2-million, seven-year contract extension.
The new adidas contract, which translates into roughly $3.3 million a year in cash and product, is markedly superior to the contract the department had with Nike, which was for $650,000 in cash and product a year.
The main difference between the Nike and adidas contracts is that adidas will cover all 17 KU varsity sports, whereas Nike concentrated on football and men's and women's basketball.
"It puts us in a whole other stratosphere." Perkins said.
Mangino is obligated to make two appearances per year and wear Nike apparel at all official football events.
Adidas will supply practice gear, warm-ups, uniforms and footwear. Both football coach Mark Mangino and basketball coach Bill Self have portions of their contracts devoted to their relationship with official Athletics Department apparel providers.
In Self's contract, it is spelled out that he will receive at least $350,000 from Nike for advertisement or promotion of its
The department and Nike did not have a fallout, said Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director, and Nike had served the University well during the past years. Rather, he said the department more appreciated what aladas was bringing to the table.
"We were impressed with adidas' recognition of the value on the entire KU athletics program," he said. "Adidas will provide excellent customer service, more product for our student athletes and coaches and more revenue for the KU athletics program."
Athletics director Lew Perkins said the department generated about $66 million for the University for the next seven to eight years with the two contracts.
SPONSORSHIPS
adidas sponsors several universities in all sports:
Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Indiana Hoosiers
North Carolina State Wolfpack
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Pittsburgh Panthers
- Tennessee Volunteers
* UCI A Prine
Wisconsin-Madison Badgers
Source: adidas public relations
products. All of these provisions will carry over to the new contract with adidas.
GREEK LIFE
The deal was agreed to on March 30, but it still awaited signatures and settlement of final details. The new contract will officially take effect after Nike's contract expires on June 30.
The University of Kansas' $26.67 million contract, which extends through 2013, is one of addidas largest contracts in the country.
Not much will change for the University's basketball and football programs, but the other varsity sports benefit dramatically.
Kansas baseball coach Ritch Price said that, with adidas covering uniforms and player supplies, more money would be put it the team's budget to travel and, in return, receive better schedules.
Recruiting will also benefit because the University is one of the few premiere adidas programs in the country, he said.
The contract extension with ESPN Regional Television, which will take effect July 1, will pay the University $5.74 million a year. The current contract, which has been in place since July 1999, pays the University $1.8 million a year.
Kansas women's soccer coach Mark Francis said the deal would aid his team because adidas is a soccer company.
Marchiony said the department would use part of the contract's revenue to purchase and install a video board in Allen Fieldhouse before the start of the next basketball season. But he said the board was not a stipulation of the contract.
The agreement grants ESPN Regional multimedia rights and corporate sponsor rights.
— Edited by Laura Francoviglia
Securing their safety
Greek houses face burglaries, safety concerns
Kansan file photo
Pi Beta Phi sorority installed the "Hand Key II" palm scanner to improve the security of the house and its members.
inside — but she couldn't.
Paige Phillips
arrived
home to Pi
Beta Phi after being
out evening this witter.
A cold rush of wind
swooped
across her face.
Phillips, Plano,
Texas, junior, was
freezing. All she
wanted to do was get
The 163 women of Pi Beta Phi, 1612 W. 15th St., were required to use a fingerprint scanner to unlock the door. But the system had frozen because of the cold weather. Phillips thought about ringing the doorbell, but none of the women could hear it from their rooms upstairs. After five minutes, she finally reached a sororit-
ty member and was let into the house.
Next winter, Phillips won't need to worry about a frozen security system. Pi Beta Phi spent thousands of dollars on a new palm-scanner called Hand Key II this February. The sorority, like many Greek houses at the University, has improved its security this school year.
Sorority members are concerned more about personal safety, while fraternity members are more concerned about their possessions.
Some houses, such as Sigma Delta Tau sorority, are responding to break-ins. Others, like Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, want the best prevention possible. Generally both men and women in the Greek community are concerned about security, but while men cared most about their possessions, women cared most about personal safety. All greeks know that safety is something that potential new members want to know about.
SEE SECURING ON PAGE 4A
RELIGION
Seder celebrated by students
BY ESTUARDO GARCIA
egaria@kansan.com
KANSAN STUD WRITER
With wine glasses raised — or grape juice glasses for those under 21 — about 60 members of KJ Hillel and their families started the second night of the Seder celebration of Passover.
Celebrating Passover is the oldest tradition in Judaism, Seder is the time for family and friends to get together and remember the struggles the Jewish people.
This year's timing of the Seder was fortunate for many out-of-state students who took advantage and went home for the weekend.
students come to his house to celebrate the first night of Seder, but this year there was no one here to accept his invitation.
Jay Lewis, KU Hillel director,
said he usually has out-of-state
Celebrating Seder can be difficult for out-of-state students who can't go home.
Michelle Grinstein, Plano,
Texas, senior, and Jeff Gordon,
Houston, Texas, sophomore
weren't able to visit their families this year for Passover and celebrated with Hillel.
"This gives us a chance to have a Seder and not be at home." Grinstein said.
Rachel Sevmour/KANSAN
Gordon said that Hillel's Seder was shorter than the celebration he is used to, but the nice casual atmosphere still provides everything he needs from
Lawrence sophomore, John Benjamin, foreground, celebrates the Jewish Passover Seder with Saranne Bergen, Sioux City, Iowa, junior and others last night at the Lawrence Jewish Community Center. The Jewish Passover is the oldest and most continued religious holiday celebrated. To Benjamin, it is more than that. "It's part of our heritage," he said.
Today's weather
SEE SEDER ON PAGE 2A
All contents, unless stated otherwise,
© 2005 The University Daily Kansan
Soldiers' challenge The University's ROTC program hosted 102 teams from 25 different colleges in a competition that challenged a variety of recruits' skills, from grenade assault to knottying. PAGE 8A
Kansas Relays Wrap-up
Kansas Relays big success
Kansas Retails Wrap-up Jeremy Mims, Brooklyn Hann and Abby Emsick won their respective events this weekend. Jayhawk fans ate it up. PAGE 5A
Kansas Relays attracted 24,000 spectators and helped put this year's Relays in the record books. The fan increase will help with next year's budget to bring in more star athletes. PAGE 5A
4
Softball sweep
Softball sweep The Kansas softball team took two victories over Oklahoma during the weekend. Good defensive plays, strong hitting and aggressive pitching were combining factors for the victories. PAGE 5A