10
Sports
University Daily Kansar
24
Thursday, May 1. 1986
Pless weighs pro options
By Jim Suhr
Sports writer
Kansas linebacker Willie Pillle, who was overlooked in Tuesday's National Football League draft because of concerns that he is too small for the pros, may sign with either the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs or the CINCINNATI Bengals as a free agent within matters of day, he said yesterday.
Pless said he would talk today to Jim Fender, his agent, to determine which team had the better opportunities to allow him playing time.
Les Miller, director of player personnel for the Chiefs, said he was surprised Pless was overlooked in the
Football
draft despite his productivity with the Jahwets. Hawkins, a two-time All-Big Eight selection, made a debut during the season during both four games at Kansu.
Miller said Kansas City's personal office would make every effort to have Pless in a Chiefs uniform next season.
"We'd love to have him because he's the kind of player we're looking for," Miller said. "We feel good when we win, but we're trying real hard to sign him."
the Chiefs as either a linebacker or a member of the special teams.
Fender said that if Pless failed to make the roster of an NFL team, there was a chance Pless could play for the Lakers in the National Football League, the NFL's rival league.
Miller said Pless had a future with
Fender said he thought it was unfair for the scouts to have judged Pless on his size.
"it's such a scientific draft nowadays," Fender said. "They enter Willie's speed and size into a computer and he comes out a reject. He doesn't like it, but his heart in there with it. If they did, he'd come out an All-American."
'Hawks lose to Shockers for 3rd time
By a Kansan sports writer
Wichita State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and never looked back, defeating Kansas 8-4 last in a nine-inning game at Wichita.
The loss, the third to the Shockers this season, lowered the Jayhawks' record to 24-32. Wichita State improved its record to 36-15.
Kansas got all of its four runs on five hits in the fifth inning. The Jayhawks scored on RBI singles by left field Hugh Stanfield, shortstop Gary Lang and first baseman John Bynn and an error hit by second baseman
The Shockers took the lead in the second inning with four runs. They padded that lead with two runs in both the third and seventh innings.
Lang extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Wichita State starting pitcher Shane Durham got the win, im-
providing a second to Haaf it had his third save. Bret Morris took the loss. He is 0-2.
Royals beat Detroit after big 9th inning
United Press International
DETROIT — Willie Wilson's one out single through a drawn-in infield highlighted a five-run ninth inning last night that lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Jim Sundberg, bunging for Rudy Law, then singled to short left and Law advanced to third. Wilson grounded a single to left and drove in Salazar. George Brett, the next batter, delivered a single to right, scoring Sundberg and knocking out Hernandez.
The Royals entered the ninth trail 3-2, but Detroit starter Dan Petry helped start the winning rally by walking leadoff batter Darryl Motley. Petry then was relieved by Willie Hernandez, 1-7, and Lym Jones, batting for Jamie Quirk. The Royals tied the Salazar followed with an RBI double to right, scoring Motley and tying the score 3-3.
Frank White was intentionally walked by reliever Chuck Cary to go and Goalie and Goalie to a two-run game right for a 7-9 Royals advance. White was thrown
out trying to reach third on Orta's hit for the second out. Randy O'Reilly then replaced Cary and go Steve on a groundout to end the inning.
Charlie Leibrandt worked eight innings, striking out three and walking none. He raised his record to 4-0 Dan Quisenberry worked the ninth.
Darrell Evans cracked a solo home run leading off the eight inning to give the Titers a 3-2 lead.
Kansas City had tied the score with an unearned run in the seventh. Shortstop Alan Tramml曼, who belted a two-run homer in the third, made a wide throw on Jamie Quirk's grounder with out in the seventh.
Salazar then scratched a single under Petry's glove and Rudy Law lined a 2-2 pitch to center to drive in the tying run.
Quirk crack his first home run of the season into the upper deck in right with one out in the fifth, shaving him 10 points. The sixth tenor of his eight-year career
Dave Collins lined a double down the right-field line off Leibrandt in the third with one out and Trammel cracked a 2-2 pitch into the left-field seats for the first two runs of the game.
The tennis awards banquet that served as a farewell for the 1986 Kansas men's and women's teams last night marked the beginning of the most important part of the tour for the team's top two players.
Wolf, Treps ready for finals
By Matt Tidwell
Sports writer
Tracy Treps and Mike Wolf, the two No. 1 singles players on the Big Eight up-times, will soon begin preparing for a trip to India to participate in a collegiate athletic Association Finals that begin May 17 in Athens, Ga.
"I'm going to start getting ready tomorrow," said Wolf, who finished the year with a 37-9 singles
Tennis
record. "I just want to go into the NCAA with a clear head and play as well as I can be capable of. Right now I'm playing as well as I ever have."
Trepas was the Big Eight singles champion. She will be the first Kansas woman to play in the national tournament in more than
Scott Perelman, head tennis coach, said, "I think it'll be a new experience for her because when you go to the national tournament, the whole thing can kind of overwhelm you."
Treps said it was her goal to make the most of her time at Kansas.
“This year, since I knew I would be here, I just wanted to play my best.” Trepas said. “I know my game is adjusted now. I'm really anxious to see how I'll do in the NCAA.”
For Wolf, a third shot at the NCAA Finals is just another honor for a player whom Perelman called the cornerstone of the tennis program and a tribute to the University at last night's fullhouse banquet in Adams Alumni Center.
Mike Wolf, Kansas 'top-rated men's singles player, is preparing for the National Collegiate Athletic Association Finals in Athens, Ga., beginning May 17. He and teammate Tracy Treps will compete against other top collegiate players.
The Big Eight's Baseball Budget
K-State: 1 head coach.
1 full-time assistant, 1 grad assistant
1 head coach
Iowa State: 1 head coach,
Iowa State: 1 head coach,
1 full-time assistant, 1 grad assistant
Nebraska: 1 head coach,
2 full-time assistants, 1 grad assistant
Oklahoma: 1 head coach,
3 full-time assistants, 1 grad assistant
1 full-time assistant, 1 grad assistant
Missouri: 1 head coach,
2 full-time assistants
ne assistants
Okalahoma State: 1 head coach, 2 full-time assistants, 4 grad assistants
Source: Net Flight Budgets Bill Sheet KANBAN
Baseball team seeks additional support
By Russell Gray Sports writer
When the Kansas baseball team began its preseason workouts this semester, Anschutz Sports Pavilion was full of athletes.
But not all of the athletes were baseball players.
During the workouts, which coincided with open recreation at the sports pavilion, students jogged around the track, members of the team worked their swags and track team members worked on their sprinting and vaulting.
There wasn't much room left for the baseball team to prepare for its upcoming season, some players said
The apparent neglect of the baseball team and the scheduling of indoor practice is not a problem that began this season.
In a letter to the editor that appeared in the Kansan on March 5, 1985. Hugh Stanfield, starting center fielder for the baseball team, said, "Anschutz Sports Pavilion, built support systems used by football and track thus for."
The Athletic Department told baseball players that it had ordered protective nets in August. he said. The team was stationed in the time Stanfield's letter was printed.
"If the University can, in eight months, have a $3.1 million sports center built, why haven't a few humongous of nets come in?" Stanfield asked.
Some former baseball players question the support their non-revenue sport receives from the department.
But the head coach and an assistant athletic director say that the support is fine and that the program is done fine with what is available.
No one can argue that the baseball team has had its problems. The record speaks for itself.
The team was 23-27 in 1982 (fifth in
the Big Eight, 17-17 in 1983 (third,
23-25 in 1964 (sixth), 19-30-1 last year
(last), and is now 24-32 (sixth, with a
conference on September 14) as a best
program.
Last weekend the Jayhawks lost four straight games to Oklahoma State, 12.3, 10.7, 16.3 and 13.8.
One of the reasons the baseball program is down is the poor support it gets. Chuck Christenson, who played last season as assistant coach last fall, said recently.
Christenson quit the team as an assistant coach in January after a dispute with head coach Marty Pattin. Despite the two coaches' problems, other players have said Christenson is genuinely concerned about the baseball program at Kansas.
Tom Meyer, a former player, said the Athletic Department was worried about looking bad.
"But they don't realize how bad we look when Oklahoma State beats us 20-0." he said.
"I sure I want to win and the kids want to win," Patin said. "I think the basic thing they want us to do is to be able to improve every year and get ourselves up to where we can compete in the Big Eight."
The department has not given up on baseball, but it hasn't made it a
Pattin responds to such criticism by saying that the department is doing the best job it can with the money budgeted for baseball.
"I can't believe the Athletic Department would settle for mediocrity for so long," Christenson said.
The department is making advances for the revenue sports but isn't doing much for the non-revenue sports in general, said Chris Ackley, a Kansas baseball player who finished his career here in 1984.
Others aren't satisfied with his answer.
No.1 priority,he said.
"You can't ignore the fact that baseball is a non-revenue sport," Ackley said.
This year Quigley Field received the old bleachers from the renovated Allen Field House.
Baseball's budget for 1985-86 is $127,445 — sixth in the conference. The budget includes money for scholarships, recruiting and travel.
The baseball team seems to be caught in a vicious cycle. The path to success seems to be more support from the department, but to get that support, financial and otherwise, players at the players said the team must win.
Without the renovation, the team probably would not have received the bleachers, Pattin said.
Using the old bleachers from the field house was a convenient way to use existing equipment, said Gary Hunter, assistant athletic director.
The baseball budget will increase when the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation and the alumni team have a new money it has now, Christenson said.
"The renovation and the bleacher project were planned to coincide and use both as 1 understand the long-range plan," he said.
"They would have stuck with the same bleachers they had before," Christenson said.
When you are a non-revenue sport, Pattin said, other things are more important. The team will get what it needs sooner or later. One of the things the team wants is a small stadium.
"They can't associate themselves with this program just because we're so poor right now," Christenson said.
Pattin attributes the team's poverty as much to its status as a non-revenue sport as to its record.
Blueprints for such a stadium have
been prepared, Hunter said. It would have new bleachers, a new scoreboard, concessions and restaurant space.
"The only thing right now is we've got to find somebody to help us out," he said.
But when will the team start to win? Five players and Christenson have quit the team since the end of the fall semester. The team's best finish in Patttin's five-year tenure was fourth last year, but broke last year's record for games lost in a season and last year's record for errors committed.
Pattin contends that once the team begins to win, the stadium and other needs will be taken care of.
Ironically, baseball's best hope may be football. Schools that spend the most money on baseball and have the most success are the ones with successful football teams, Hunter said.
Oklaahoma, Oklahoma State and Nebraska have the three most successful football teams and are in first, second and third places in the baseball standings. They also have three budgets in the conference.
When the football team wins consistently, it will generate money for the rest of the sports. Pattin nast (in English) is a name used to side the department for more money.
One way to raise money and improve the program is through Patin's annual celebrity golf tournament. Patin said he hoped to double last year's take of $10,000 in this month's tournament.
But the money raised at the tournament and optimistic talk about next year may not be enough. The team needs more support from the department.
Christenson said the team's prac-
See BASEBALL, p. 12, col. 1
Non-revenue sports have financial woes
Sports writer
Bv Frank Ybarra
"Everybody is having problems," he said.
Wade Walker, athletic director at Oklahoma, uses a simple explanation to describe the situation of non-commuters at universities around the country.
One such athletic director is Kansas' Monte Johnson. But he said his problem was different than the one at Oklahoma.
What Walker is describing is the problem that he and athletic directors around the country are recognizing — they say colleges are finding it increasingly difficult to support sports that don't support themselves.
Johnson said that although Kansas needs more money to support all of its non-revenue sports, none of them would be cut.
But within the last year at Oklahoma, despite a successful football program, the swimming program has been dropped, and a 12 per cent drop in the number for all of its non-revenue sports is planned for next year, Walker said.
He said the problem of cutting non-revenue programs was nationwide because the cost of operating was going up.
Even though the rate of inflation is low now, a 1 percent increase in the inflation rate could add a $100,000 investment in Oklahoma's athletics budget, he said.
One way the problem could be helped, he said, was for the National Collegiate Athletic Association to lower its requirement that universities carry at least 14 teams to compete in Division I sports.
One of the biggest factors in Oklahoma's 12 percent cut this year, Walker said, was that the Oklahoma football team would play only five home games, thus taking away needed revenue from ticket sales.
But, Walker said, Oklahoma is not now planning to eliminate any more snorts.
Texas Tech is another school that has had to cut some of its non-revenue sports because of financial problems.
T. Jones, athletic director, said Tech had cut its softball program about a year ago and within the last year that team had cut its swimming program.
General economic conditions in Texas are probably the biggest reason for the cuts, he said. There is not a lot of money, because of the depression of the agricultural and oil industries, to spend on leisure.
industries, to spend on leisure activities.
Bob Broadhead, athletic director at Louisiana State, said his university had to cut wrestling and men's gymnastics in the last three
But, Jones said, many of the same problems carry into other parts of the country, leading many colleges to cut sports also.
years
years.
But LSU's problem was different.
It was having trouble because its programs had to travel too far to compete, he said. Neither gym had a coach, and the Southeastern Conference sports, so LSU didn't have nearby competition.
Traveling is expensive, and it also forces the players and coaches to miss too much school, he said.
But, as colleges such as Oklahoma Texas Tech, and Louisiana State cup non-revenue sports from their athletic departments, those in the university Kansas are to the philosophy of the department is to continue of its sports.
Johnson said that even though one of his priorities was to ensure no programs are cut, a lot of support was given if those programs are to stay afloat.
That support comes from many sources, according to Johnson. It comes from the revenue sports and contributions through the Margin of Excellence fund, conference revenue and student fees.
The Margin of Excellence Fund has been created by the department to help give non-revenue sports help beyond the budget. The program also helps other organizations such as the band and the spirit squad.
The money Kansas raised from these sources covered the expenses of the non-revenue sports, he said, at least on the level the department would like.
Susan Wachter, assistant athlete director, said money coming in from the basketball program probably has reached a peak. The team sold out all of its games at Allen Field House this season and the team went all the way to the Final Four — leaving no where else to go for revenue.
But in football, it is a different storv.
"Hopefully we will do better in the sale of those (tickets) this year." Wachter said. "We need to get that people involved in athletics."
To help bring about an increase in football ticket sales, the department has started the Hawks Club. The clubs are working in Kansas City Topeka and Lawrence to help promote the sale of tickets.
Richard Konzem, assistant athlete director, said the clubs were beginning their big push now so they could succeed of the basketball team.
Wachter said the ideal situation for the department would be to sell as many tickets as Iowa State, which is a relatively small state, with same success as the KU team.
The Cyclones sold 34,324 season tickets last year in 50,000-seat Cycone Stadium Kansas, on the campus of Southern Illinois University in 51,500-seat Memorial Stadium.
See REVENUE, p. 13, col. 1