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THE UNIVERSITY KANSAN KS STATE HAIGHTOPEKA, KS 66612
VOL.101, NO.145
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
MONDAY, MARCH 27, 1995
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS:864-4810
March Sadness hits'Hawks
Many KU fans still in shock
By Brian Vandervliet
Kansan staff writer
The Cavs won, the "whip" stick has been snapped, and KU fans are still in disbelief after the Jayhawks' loss on Friday. The 67-58 loss pushed Kansas out of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
"I was devastated," said Phil McGuire, St. Louis sophomore, who camped out for almost every game during the regular season. "I'm over it as best as I can, but it still hurts watching the tournament and not seeing our team. It won't ruin my life, but I had hopes on us being
Greg Ostertag,
senior center,
speaks at the
Jayhawks' home-
come at Allen
Field House.
About 500 fans
welcome the
team home Saturday after its
67-58 loss to Virginia Friday.
in Virginia, and then won in yesterday's regional finals, the team would have gone to the Final Four in Seattle.
Jarrett Lane/
KANSAN
Soon after the loss, the KU pep band destroyed the wup stick, which had been rubbed by band members and waved in the air for good luck during tournament games. The stick was kissed by Coach Roy Williams before the second-
round win over Western Kentucky.
Williams, a pep band member for three years, said that although he was disappointed, he wasn't emotionally scarred by the loss.
"We all broke it," said Jarrod Williams, Republic, Mo., graduate student, who found the stick last year. "It was working against Western Kentucky, but I guess we drained it of its power."
"It was sad to see Ostertag go out that way," he said. "I'm a little down, but there are otherthings."
Russell Laws, Seattle law student, was one of many fans who watched in silence as the Jayhawks lost the third-round tournament game in Kemper Arena. He said that during the last few minutes of the game, the crowd became incredibly somber.
"It was real disappointing, but they are a young team," Laws said. "They'll be back. I'm not down on them at all."
Despite paying $175 for scaled tickets to the games in Kemper Arena, Laws said he didn't feel up to watching the matchup between Virginia and Arkansas.
"I don't feel like watching any basketball after that," he said, "I'm not sure if I ever want to see Virginia again."
Rally raises spirits
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan sportswriter
Everybody would have rather waited one day.
About 500 people welcomed home the men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at Allen Field House after the Jayhawks' loss to the Virginia Cavaliers the night before in Kansas City, Mo.
But the rally would have been yesterday evening if the Jayhawks had defeated the Cavaliers. Instead, Virginia ended the Jayhawks' season and sent them home a day early.
The Jayhawks will not go to Seattle. So much for Kemper Arena's so-called home court advantage.
An off-shooting night ended the Jayhawks' season prematurely, but that didn't dim the fans' enthusiasm at the rally. The basketball team and its coaches received a standing ovation from the crowd when they entered the field house shortly after noon.
Although the players weren't as depressed as they had been Friday night, the disappointment could be heard from Kansas coach Roy Williams and the seniors when they spoke.
when you guys come out, whether it's 10 or 1,000 people."
"It's a really frustrating and disappointing feeling right now," senior guard Greg Gurley said. "It means a lot
Williams said that despite the loss he was pleased his team had had a successful season, winning the Big Eight Conference regular seasontitle.
"I think they've given you some special memories by how they played basketball and how they conducted themselves as representatives of the University you love," Williams said.
Kansas coach Roy Williams lectures frustrated Kansas players in the first half of the Jayhawks' game against Virginia. The Cavaliers beat Kansas 67-58 Friday night.
A special memory from the rally was when Williams convinced the "fun bunch" to lead the team and crowd in the Rock Chalk chant. The fun bunch is the name Gurley gave to senior center Greg Ostertag, sophomore center Scot Pollard and freshman forward Raef LaFrentz.
Tom Leininger / THE LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
Although Ostertag seemed to have the most fun during the cheer, he was serious when he spoke to the crowd.
we wanted it to," he said. "I'm going to miss everyone, and I love this place."
"Well, things didn't turn out quite like
Instead of the Jayhawks, another team will be crowned national champions in Seattle in the first week of April. However, Williams said he still was
proud of his players.
"The coach of that team can no way be as proud of his team as I am of these young men behind me now," he said. "I've got the best group of kids anywhere in college basketball."
Big 12 passes over Frederick as first chief
Committee chairman calls commissioner race 'close'
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
The Big 12 Conference selected the Southwest Conference's Steve Hatchell as its commissioner yesterday over Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick.
Hatchell, who had been the SWC's commissioner, and Frederick were the two final candidates for the position. Each met with the presidents and chief executive officers from the Big 12 universities yesterday at a hotel near the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
Jon Wefald, Kansas State president and the commissioner search committee chairman, said the final interviews were the deciding factor in what he called a close race. Seven votes were needed to select the commissioner.
Bob Bockrath, Texas Tech athletic director, said, "I think Steve's a great choice, but I also have to say Bob Frederick would have been a great choice as well. I'm only glad I wasn't involved in the decision."
The new commissioner will direct the Big 12, which includes the Big Eight Conference schools plus Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor. The conference begins business operations July 1, 1996.
Bob Frederick
"From my point of view, Steve is the right candidate," said Bill Marolt, Colorado athletic director. "He has wide, deep and vast experience in working in collegiate athletics."
Early in the selection process, it appeared Frederick was the front-runner. A member of the search committee asked Kansas' athletic director to apply for the position.
Frederick's accomplishments include hiring several Kansas coaches, including men's basketball coach Roy Williams, football coach Glen Mason and baseball coach Dave Bingham.
Under Williams, the men's basketball team has a 184-51 record and has competed in six NCAA tournaments and two Final Fours.
"Before I came here, I wasn't a household name to say the least," Williams said. "If he had left, it would have been a big, big loss to Roy Williams personally."
Like Williams, Mason was hired by Frederick prior to the 1988-89 season. In Mason's fifth year at Kansas, he led the Jayhawks to an Alaho Bowl victory, their first bowl appearance in 11 years.
The record of Frederick-hired coaches continues to improve with Bingham. Before Bingham came to Kansas, the Jayhawks never won more than 35 games in a season. In both 1993 and 1994, Kansas won at least 40 games and went to the College World Series in 1993.
With the baseball team's appearance in the Series, Kansas set a new record. It became the first NCAA school to win a bowl game and participate in the Final Four and College World Series in the same year.
Hatchell served as the commissioner of the Metro Conference and the Orange Bowl's executive director before his appointment as the SWC commissioner.
In recent months, Hatchell represented the Big 12 in negotiations for a five-year football television contract. The contract is worth more than $100 million and guarantees the league berths in five bowls: the Cotton, Holiday, Alamo, Copper and Aloha.
"The guy that beat Bob must have something special," Merzbach said. "I know the Big 12 would have been in great hands with him. But it's our gain to still have him as our athletic director."
The Kansas baseball team played nine games during Spring Break, including a doubleheader against defending national champion Oklahoma.
Page1B
Jerei Harris / KANBAN
Commissioner wants improvements in sewer system
City Commissioner John Nalbandian, who is running for re-election, is an associate professor of public administration and government at KU.
Nalbandian says changes needed to foster growth
By Sarah Morrison Kansan staff writer
City Commissioner John Nalbandian wants to talk about human waste.
Nalbandian, who is running for re-election on April 4, said the biggest issue Lawrence faced was the restructuring and building of sewers, a project that would inevitably cost the city millions, and a campaign issue that no one wants to talk about.
As Lawrence develops to the west and northwest, the city will need to address the problem of building sewers that will drain into the wastewater treatment plant, located in
"In the next two months (the commission) is going to get a report about the need to expand the sewer system, and it's going to have a major price tag attached to it," Nalbandian said.
east Lawrence. he said.
Lawrence, he said.
The city will have two options: build pumps to push the water over higher terrain or build a second wastewater treatment plant at a lower elevation. Nalbandian said.
With either plan, the capacity of the existing wastewater treatment plant also will need to be increased, he said. Increased growth in West Lawrence could put a strain on the current sewer system.
"If we add residences but don't add to the capacity of the sewer system, then we are just courting a disaster because the system just isn't big enough," Nalbandian said. "That is going to be like a $15 million project, and generally that money comes from utility bills.
"We have increased utility rates by 40 percent over the last five years, and now we are going to be facing the same kind of increases
See NALBANDIAN. Page 5A