THE FINAL FOUR
University Daily Kansan/Friday, April 1, 1988 5B
Success enhances Big 8's reputation
By Tom Stinson
Kansan sportswriter
In the last 30 years, the Big Eight Conference has had only five representatives in the Final Four. This season, along with being the host of the final weekend of collegiate play, the league has two teams competing
That looks good on paper. The league gained valuable national exposure and furthered its reputation being strictly a football conference.
That looks even better on green paper. The five Big Eight teams that compiled an 11-3 pre-Final Four tournament record earned an estimated $3,691,700 from tournament play.
"It has been excellent for the conference," said Big Eight Commissioner Carl C. James. "We have eight programs that are competitive in Division I basketball. People recognize that the conference is moving forward. We've had strong power ratings the last few years and have placed five teams in the tournament this year and before.
"Having two teams in the Final Four is special. Not many conferences have had that. That's exposure we can't buy."
The estimated conference earnings are $1.7 million more than in 1986, when Kansas made the Final Four and the league had five teams in the tournament, said Susan Wachter, KU's assistant athletic director.
This year, the Final Four teams will earn more than $1 million.
This money goes to the league office and pays its expenses. The remainder is divided between the eight athletic departments. Wachter University receives between $25,000 and $25,000 for the following fiscal year.
"The formula was changed in 1986," Wachter said. "It was ammended to allow for a larger traveling party as you move further
Kansas' added money goes into a "Big Eight share" account, Athletic Director Bob Frederick said. Most of the account's capital is from television contracts, football bowl games and the NCAA tournament.
Teams competing in postseason play are supplemented for their tournament travel expenses with an expense allowance from the league office. Wachter said that the league office changed the expense formula in 1986 after Kansas' allowance did not cover its expenses.
is too not!
It doesn't pay for all expenses. It pays for so many people to travel and for so much per day for meals and lodging. But we won't realize it until September. So it's for next year's budget."
in the tournament.
Iowa State coach Johnny Orr did not think the exposure would assist his recruiting but Oklahoma State coach Leonard Hamilton did not see how it could hurt.
budge. Along with the added money, Big Eight schools earn national recognition generated from the tournament teams. This can aid in a program's recruiting and reputation.
"This has a significant benefit to the conference in terms of recruiting and exposure," Frederick said. "A couple of schools are already finished recruiting; but for schools like us, it will have a significant impact on recruiting."
"It's good for everybody," Hamilton said. "It puts you in a position for recognition. It will definitely help the image. We need to take the situation and build on it. We need to be aggressive about building our product.
"There's a lot of loyalty in the media to cerain conferences and
schools. This situation is helping us get recognized. We are the type of conference that deserves the attention. This is a very, very tough conference. We're finding that out now."
The Big Eight has not enjoyed such success since the 1940s and 1950s. Between 1940 and 1958, league teams participated in nine Final Fours. Kansas won the NCAA Championship in 1952 under F.C. "Phog" Allen.
Oklahoma State, formerly Oklahoma A&M before joining the conference in 1857, made four Final Fours and was the national champion in both 1945 and 1946 under Henry Iba.
Playing host to the event also is helping the conference gain recognition. The Big Eight played host to the Midwest Regional competition in Kemper Arena in 1983 and 1986. In 1986, Kansas won the Regional; but in 1983, no Big Eight teams were in it.
“This year has been a dream come true.” James said. “It’s in Kansas City, and two Big Eight teams are in it. We feel good about that.
"We are pleased two Big Eight teams are here. We hope two Big Eight teams will be playing on Monday. If not, we hope one Big Eight team will be playing on Monday. And, if not, we still had a lot of fun."
Brown is the key to Jayhawks' success
When the Jayhawks were playing Colorado at Allen Field House, the game became so boring that I fell asleep while watching it on television.
It was too unbelievable that, at home, Kansas would allow a perennial doormat to score 15 straight points.
Granted, a true fan follows a team during both good and bad times, but this team was playing a yawning bar of basketball. But since I am not a true fair-weather fan (I went to six Kansas football games), I woke up and watched the second half. The team better and were well on their way to snapping a four-game losing streak.
Before that game, I had my doubts whether Kansas would make it to the NCAA tournament. But that victory ended those doubts.
David Boyce
Associate sports editor
Now, even if Kansas loses tomorrow, it has had a great season. When considering the players lost from the team and other players not performing up to preseason expectations, what more could anyone expect?
But why has this season turned out great? On paper, Kansas has one phenomenal player, a couple of college collegiate players and role players.
Obviously, a great player can take a team a long way. Just look at what State Bird did for Indiana State in 1799.
Yet there is another more important reason for the Jayhawks' success. His name is Larry Brown, and he has driven the team to heights that not even he could have
dreamed of.
If Kansas defeats Duke tomorrow, don't be surprised if phrases such as "coaching genius" are uttered by the national media.
And if such words are spoken, it won't be an exaggeration.
I think the coaching job Brown has done has been excellent, but I didn't always think that way during the season.
Watching him from the press tables during the fall semester, I thought his berating style had gone too far. I still can remember him running onto the court, yelling at Lincoln Minor for an errant pass. I thought that for a player to do this to a college player in front of his fellow students and basketball players was deplorable. But obviously, Brown knew what he was doing
Also during the fall semester, he constantly screamed at Otis
Livingston until he screamed him right off the team for the postseason. I thought Brown's behavior was causing the players to play scared. In other words, playing not to make mistakes — a style that leads to many mistakes. But again, Brown must have known what he was doing.
It would have been unfair to criticize Brown's questionable game behavior without watching him in practice.
In practice, I saw a man teaching the game of basketball and players listening to him with utmost respect. Sure, there were disagreements in practice, but what showed the most was seeing players wanting to learn. And it is for that reason that Kansas has come this far and why I am not in shock because of its success.
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