12C
/ HOMECOMING / MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
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What do you think?
BY VICTORIA PITCHER
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TAILGATING FOOD?
STEVEN LIN Haysville senior "Everyone usually just gets burgers."
CHRIS BADENHOOP Alliance, Neb., freshman "Anything barbecue. Beer brats are my favorite."
KYLEIGH DIXON Parsons senior "We make a salsa. It's my friend's mom's recipe."
MEGAN KITTREDGE Colorado freshman "I like all foods. I just like being around the atmosphere."
DORIAN HALL
Tulsa, Okla., sophomore
"I like burgers a lot. And by the way, I'm sexy and single."
KATIE NELSON
Wichita junior
"Whatever is on sale at Checkers,
we'll throw it on the grill."
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editor@kansan.com
Alumnus stays close to KU
BY GEOFFREY CALVERT
Football analyst David Lawrence cherishes his role with University
Not many Jayhawks have been invested in Kansas football as long as David Lawrence, the analyst for Jayhawk football on the Jayhawk Radio Network.
"I always made a trip up to Lawrence each year," he said. "When I was 2 years old I went to a game during the Orange Bowl season. Being a Jayhawk was bred in me pretty early."
From a young age, Lawrence was conditioned to be a Jawhawk.
Lawrence was a standout at Parsons High School and earned a football scholarship from the University. Playing tight end and offensive guard, Lawrence was a four-year letter winner, was named a team captain senior year and earned Offensive Player of the Year and All-Big 8 honors in 1981.
"When I finished playing, I wanted to be a coach for Don Fambrough." Lawrence said. "He gave me an opportunity to coach as a graduate assistant. The next year he got fired, which is the world of big-time athletics."
Lawrence said he couldn't imagine coaching at another university because he held Kansas closest to his heart. Not surprisingly, Lawrence said he is really looking forward to the upcoming homecoming weekend.
After graduating, he stayed close to Kansas.
noncearning. "As I get older I appreciate it more," he said. "I don't take it for granted. Quite a few of my teammates come back. It's been about 30 years so it varies on who all comes. We sit around and relive old memories, catch up on our kids, and talk about the current team. We all miss playing for KU. At the time we thought we were miserable, with class, practice and study hall. But after it's all over you really miss it."
Seeing many old players come back during homecoming weekend helps Lawrence cherish his job.
"I'm very fortunate," he said. "Kansas football has been a passion of mine. Some of my best relationships are from Kansas football."
"Friday I'll get out and see friends," he said. "I'm still close to coach Fambrough. I'll visit with him about the homecoming game. Homecoming is about seeing people before the game and hopefully after."
Although Lawrence is busy commentating during the actual game, he maximizes the rest of homecoming weekend.
involved.
"I got asked to do broadcasting right out of college because the guy who covered KU thought I could speak well enough," he said. "It's easier than coaching."
He was a graduate assistant and doing work for Channel 6, and I met him through that." Davis said. "Then our son went to South Junior High and had him for a teacher."
Although many of his former teammates are only around the University for the homecoming game, Lawrence is constantly involved.
it's easiest to talk about. In 1984, Lawrence first met Bob Davis, his partner in the broadcast booth.
While he spent only one year as a graduate assistant, Lawrence has remained involved in coaching by spending 18 years as the coach at South Junior High School, when he still teaches. Lawrence has three children, Dyana, Josh and Lindsey. Dyana and Josh graduated from the University in 2007 and 2008. Lindsey will graduate in May.
"I had the best of both worlds for 18 years," he said. "I thought it was time to move on so that I made sure I didn't miss any of my children's other events."
Lawrence decided to retire from coaching after his son played at South.
Josh said he enjoyed having his dad coach him.
"He knows the game really well and I think he was an excellent
coach," he said. "Not just with Xs and Os but with communicating with young people and being a good figure in kids' lives."
Coaching Josh was just one of the opportunities that father and son had to bond with sports.
"I went to all the games when I was younger." Josh said. "I got to know Bob Frederick, Bob Davis and Max Falkenstein. Dad got me sideline passes when I was little."
"Obviously we were both living in Lawrence and had family dinners," he said. "I went to every game, and we talked KU sports all the time. And if I needed to get a ticket he could usually find one for me."
At the University, Josh was able to stay close to his dad.
Lawrence has spent time as an analyst on both television and radio. He started as a radio analyst in 1982, did television analysis for Channel 6 from 1988 to 1994, and has worked for the Jayhawk Radio Network since 1994.After doing analysis on both radio and television, Lawrence said he feels television is an
television is an easier job.
"TV has an advantage because you have people talking in your ear telling you what to address," Lawrence said. "Radio is more of a pioneer thing. It is what you call
it. No one knows anything unless you tell it. There's so much more you have to tell on radio."
"I got asked to do broadcasting right out of college because the guy who covered KU thought I could speak well enough. It's easier than coaching."
DAVID LAWRENCE Football analyst
As a sideline analyst with the Jayhawk Radio Network, Lawrence's job was to report on happenings that could be seen or experienced on the sidelines better than announcers could describe them upstairs in the broadcasting booth, such as injuries, momentum, and the feeling of the team on the sidelines.
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"I cover the nuts and bolts and David analyzes," Davis said. "He brings the experience of having been there. He's coached, he sees
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After legendary KU analyst Max Falkenstien retired in 2006, Lawrence replaced him in the broadcasting booth, leaving his position as a sideline reporter. Lawrence made a smooth transition but he noticed distinct differences among the two positions
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ences among the wide audience.
"You see better in the booth," he said. "You have the advantage of seeing the entire field. There's so much to look at in one play when you are in the booth that you have to prioritize. Being able to see the whole field helps you do that."
Davis was very complimentary of the job Lawrence has done in replacing Falkenstien.
Lawrence handled being Falkenstien's replacement.
"I didn't feel pressure to be Max," he said. "You never can replace 60 years behind the mike. I'm not on the same level as Max and Bob Davis."
the game as a player and has a great feel for subtleties that others wouldn't notice"
Whether he is upstairs in the booth or reporting from the sidelines, Lawrence has always been a loyal Jayhawk supporter. He
said he dislikes criticizing individual players on-air because, as a former player himself, he knows that the players are still just college kids and aren't even being paid to perform. However, he maintains an even balance between being a Jayhawk fan and a Jayhawk broadcaster.
caster.
"I would not be doing my job if I wasn't critical of our play in our losses this year, but I'm looking for positives as much as possible." Lawrence said. "I don't call a neutral game. I call it from a KU perspective. I think that's what the fans want. But it's my job to tell them the truth."
Josh said he notices how much his dad cares about the success of the team.
"He's an especially passionate KU fan," Josh said. "I think you can tell when you listen how much he cares. He does a nice job masking his disappointment but you can tell through his voice that he really cares."
As a former player, Lawrence can sympathize with the current players' struggles and invests himself into the result of each game.
"My heart goes into it," he said. "I care whether we win or lose. It's extremely important to me. I care about those kids. I was in their shoes, and I like developing relationships with them."
To maintain his credibility as both a fan and a broadcaster, Lawrence puts in his fair share of time in preparation for each game.
"i got to practice once or twice a week. I'll watch four or five hours of video. I watch us on Sunday and watch video of the opponent on Tuesday and Wednesday, I write out depth charts and keys to the game."
Davis agreed.
"We know KU really well so it's a matter of getting familiar with the other team," he said. "Teams from the Big 12 North we see every year, and the South teams we see two years at a time. The non-conference schedule is always unfamiliar so we have to do a crash course each week."
Preparing for the games is an all-encompassing, week-long task.
"The hours aren't always particularly great sometimes," Davis said. "It isn't a nine to five job. There's lots of travel involved. We work every weekend during the season as well as holidays. It's something you have to really love."
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Edited by Abby Davenport