THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS FALLS TO WICHITA
Fourth inning determines close-call game in 6-4 loss
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2008
BASKETBALL SPECIAL SECTION
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
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ADMISSIONS
2008 KANSAS JAYHAWKS
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 138
Sports'success could yield more students
FULL STORY ON PAGE 3A
According to a study done at Virginia Tech, the recent athletic success of the University of Kansas could mean an increase in admissions applications.
FULL STORY ON PAGE 3A
》 ECONOMY
The global increase in food prices has reached the University of Kansas. Nona Golledge, director of KU Food Services, said her department has had to increase some of its prices to balance against the rising costs. But she said the University is doing everything it can to keep campus food as cheap as possible.
Food price increase hits campus
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLINTON SURVIVES PRIMARY
FULL AP STORY PAGE 8A
Hillary wins delegate-rich Pennsylvania to stay in race
weather
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P.M. T-storms
79 59 A.M. showers
Classifieds...4B
Crossword...6A
Horoscopes...6A
Opinion...7A
Sports...1B
Sudoku...6A
Partly cloudy
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© 2008 The University Daily Kansan
index
STRIPES FOREVER IRON
College basketball's hardest working man and his quest to officiate the Final Four
Referee Steve Welmer signals for two shots during the Kansas-Colorado game on feb. 16 at Allen Fieldhouse. The 57-year-old Welmer officiated 124 games last season, more than any other referee in the United States.
MAN
BY B.J. RAINS
bjrains@kansan.com
It is barely five o' clock on a cold January morning and Steve Welmer is already in his rental car in the small college town of Bloomington, Ind. Welmer is on his way to the airport, needing to catch the first flight so he can arrive in Lawrence by late-morning.
Welner is refereeing ESPN's Big Monday game between the Kansas Jayhawks and Oklahoma Sooners that night.
While surveying the action in the paint, Welmer reaches down and tugs his pants, first pulling them up in the back before giving them a pull in the front. It's something that he does almost every time down the floor, a habit that along with his balding head and 6-foot-10-inch, 240-pound frame, makes him one of the most recognizable referees in college basketball.
While most men his age are watching the game from their easy chair, the 57-year-old Welmer stands at center court, his outstretched arm holding the ball nine feet in the air as he prepares to throw the jump. As one of his trademarks, he holds the ball high with his right hand before pushing it up another four feet into the air to start the game. Sophomore forward Darrell Arthur wins the tip for Kansas and another night of basketball is underway.
After running up and down the court for two hours with players less than half his age and hearing few complaints from players, coaches and fans, Welmer grabs some chicken strips from a drive-thru, heads back to his hotel and goes to bed. He must wake up in five hours to head back to the airport, this time heading to Denver to referee the Colorado-Nebraska game the next night.
From November through March, it's a nomadic life with a rigorous daily routine for one of the most respected officials in the business. Though he works more games each season than any other referee, Welmer's seasons have all ended short of the goal that everyone in college basketball shares. While he looks forward to relaxing and playing golf near his Florida home, he would rather work at least one more week and get to call a game at his first Final Four.
After completing his 27th season of officiating at the Division I level, Welmer is a popular choice of conference coordinators, who battle to have him officiate as many of their games as possible. The result for Welmer was a schedule that featured 124 games this past season—more than any referee in the United States. It was the 14th consecutive year that Welmer led all Division I referees in games officiated, something he said he took great pride in.
SETTING THE SCHEDULE
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Coordinators for 10 conferences, including the Big 10, Big 12, Conference USA, Mountain West, Western Athletic Conference, Sun Belt, Horizon and Missouri Valley Conference, send Welmer a tentative game of games every August for the
upcoming season. Welmer then arranges the schedules on a master calendar with a U.S. map to plan his season.
Welmer looks for locations that let him
ref a cluster of games in the same area. Once he decides which games he can work, he sends the list back to the conference coordinators so they can offer the other games to
other officials.
Welmer employs his wife Linda, a retired Northwest Airlines ticket agent, to make all
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