THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
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Kansan endorses coalition
The University Daily Kansan announced the coalition it has chosen to endorse for this year's Student Senate elections.
FULL STORY PAGE 11A
CAMPUS
Students promote Gay Pride Week
The University group Queers & Allies has held several events this week to foster better understanding of alternative lifestyles. They still have more planned.
FULL STORY PAGE 5A
TICKETS
Final Four e-mail not received
Many KU students said they did not receive an e-mail telling them how to enter the Final Four student ticket lottery.
FULL STORY PAGE 9A
Personal touch to fundraising
PHILANTHROPY
Kelly Mesi, Chicago senior, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. That has spurred her to raise more than $4,000 for research.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
weather
49 36
Rain showers:
— weather.com
57 35 Partly cloudy
66 46 Partly sunny
index
Classifieds. . . 4B
Crossword. . . 10A
Horoscopes. . . 10A
Opinion. . . 11A
Sports. . . 1B
Sudoku. . . 10A
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© 2008The University Daily Kansan
TOURNEY HOOKY
Members of the University of Kansas pep band wave and chant "see ya" after UNLV forward Joe Darger fouled out in the second half of the second round NCAA tournament game against Kansas. Band members experience the difficult ties of balancing school and the tournament.
Final Four schedule challenges performers
BY LUKE MORRIS
Imorris@kansan.com
The basketball team isn't the only group struggling to juggle NCAA tournament trips and academics this postseason. Members of the Spirit Squad and men's basketball pep band also balance the two at tournament time.
"The hardest part is scheduling and keeping track of where I need to be," said senior cheer squad member Maxx Krueger. "Staying organized and keeping up on communication is the hardest."
Krueger will have an exam proctored for one of his classes while he is in San Antonio for the Final Four. He said that during his time with the cheer squad, he learned that balancing cheerleading and academics required getting class work done ahead of time.
Krueger said the Spirit Squad typically flew to tournament sites the day before Kansas' first game, but the squad left for San Antonio this morning to attend pep rallies. After this week, squad members will miss their fourth school day. They will miss a fifth if Kansas advances to the championship game.
Band members face the same challenges of balancing school and the NCAA tournament. The pep band usually leaves
"The bus is the best place." Heilman said. "I say I'll do it in the hotel, but that never happens."
on a bus the day before Kansas' first game of the weekend, but members will travel today and miss their fourth school day.
Freshman band member Shelton Heilman said he used the time on the bus to study for classes.
Heilman and Krueger agree that keeping teachers informed about their activities is vital to staying afloat in classes.
"Usually they're understanding and they'll help you out," Krueger said. "They'll tell you to just turn in your assignments when you get back."
Heilman said that some teachers were more than happy to accommodate for band members' busy schedules.
"They're all usually really supportive," Heilman said. "My English teacher is really excited for me because I have this opportunity."
Kruger said the biggest struggle for some Spirit Squad members is scheduling study time during the trips.
Kruger said members with upcoming tests or papers would do their work either
"Tournament time is just one more thing to add to our busy schedule, and you can lose track easily of your studies," Krueger said. "If you don't make plans to study, it can hurt your grades."
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
The University of Kansas Spirit Squad will arrive in San Antonio today to attend NCAA tournament pep rallies. The Spirit Squad includes the cheer squad, Rock Chalk Dancers and mascots.
on the plane or in the hotel.
Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said the academic support staff that travels with the basketball team was also available for the Spirit Squad at tournament
sites. He also said Spirit Squad members were not obligated to attend tournament games if they needed time off for classes.
Edited by Katherine Loeck
Basketball players balance tournament with academic responsibilities in San Antonio
BY RUSTIN DODD
dodd@kansan.com
Ward might be a forgotten man in March, but as a senior associate director for academic and career counseling, Ward's role within the Athletics Department is to see that the basketball team doesn't lose sight of school during all the distractions of March.
When the Kansas basketball team goes on the road, Scott Ward's hotel room becomes an unofficial team library — a quiet place to study, finish a paper or make up an exam.
"I think it's a challenge for any student to stay focused on their studies," Ward said. "Obviously, there's some pretty big things going on with these guys."
Kansas fans might have Final Four fever, and the basketball team may have spent the last three weekends playing basketball on national television, but there's still an overriding reality: Kansas' players are student athletes. So while a chunk of the student body might have skipped class on Monday to recover from the Final Four celebration, Kansas' players had to be in class.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Senior guard Russell Robinson answers questions during press conference Saturday. Robinson must often spend time on the road working on school work to stay caught up on his classes.
While Kansas doesn't play until Saturday night, the team left on Wednesday for San Antonio. The extra time gives the players an opportunity to practice at the venue where they will play, handle media responsibilities on the day before the game and let their bodies recover fully from the traveling.
Ward said that besides the obvious mental distraction of preparing for Saturday night's National Semi-Final game against North Carolina, the players have another huge obstacle: travel.
With the way the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments are set up, Kansas will have been on the road four straight weeks when the NCAA tournament is done. The team did get a reprieve from school during spring break, but that schedule still adds up to approximately 8-12 days of missed class time.
"Just because we're playing the tournament, you can't forget about school," senior guard Roderick Stewart said. "Because if you do, you're going to be in a hole so deen."
"There is an awful lot of missed class from the Big 12 Tournament on through March," Ward said. "KU professors are great, and they understand that the players need to do everything and get the work in on time, but they are understanding with the travel and that sort of thing."
This is where Ward comes in. He oversees the team's academic progress during the entire year.
But in March it's his job to make sure Kansas' players stay focused on school during the rigors of March.
"There's still papers due," Ward said. "We'll try to get them into a quiet room to work on a paper."
Sometimes exams may fall while Kansas is on the road.
Ward said he'll proctor the exam, following the guidelines of the KU instructor who wrote the test.
According to Ward, Kansas has four seniors — Jeremy Case graduated last year who are on track to graduate in May. This March is crucial for maintaining that.
Stewart, along with Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun and Russell Robinson, is one of those seniors.
Stewart said he does as many assignments online as he can while Kansas is on the road.
"We're here, but there's definitely time for homework too," Stewart said.
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Edited by Samuel Lamb