Second Section
Rebuilding is out, enthusiasm is in for football coach
By Craig Anderson Assistant sports editor
You won't hear the word "rebuilding" when new Kansas football coach Glen Mason talks about the direction his program is taking.
Glen Mason, the new football coach for the University of Kansas.
"i refuse to use the word," said Mason, who was hired Dec. 30 to replace fired Jayhawk coach Bob Valesente. "That sounds great to a freshman or sophomore, but what do the seniors think when they hear it? That doesn't help their attitudes any."
When the fans and media evaluate the Jayhawks, Mason said, they should look for a well-coached team and a team that plays with as much enthusiasm and hard work as it can. Victories will come with other factors, said the 36-year-old Ohio native.
Mason signed a five-year contract with a base salary of $78,000 a year. With other incentives such as a television contract, housing allowance and insurance annuity, his contract is believed to be worth about $200,000 a year. Mason would not comment on his contract.
Mason became the 34th coach in Kansas football history and the fourth coach in six years. He took over for Valesence, who posted a 4-17-1 record in his two seasons at the University of Kansas.
Included in Valente's record was a 31-17 loss to Mason's Kent State team early last season. Mason said he had good memories of his first trip to Lawrence last fall.
"I remember walking up on campus the day before our game and thinking how beautiful it was," Mason said. "I also went to Anschutz (Sports Pavilion) and was really impressed with the facility. Little did I know then that I would be returning so soon."
Impressions of the Big Eight Conference already exist in Mason's mind. He served as an assistant coach at Iowa state under Earle Bruce in 1975 and 1976. Bruce, who
was fired last year as football coach at Ohio State, was a leading candidate for the job as coach at KU.
"There are two teams that are out in front, and everyone is chasing them," Mason said of Oklahoma and Nebraska. "Initially, you have to worry about the battle for third place."
Between them, Oklahoma and Nebraska have won or shared 40 of the last 42 Big Eight titles. Kansas hasn't won a Big Eight crown since 1968, when it shared the title with Oklahoma.
Mason is no stranger to having to overcome forecasts of doom for his teams. His 1986 Kent State team was predicted to finish in last place in the Mid-American Conference but finished second. Mason was selected 1986 MAC coach of the year for his efforts. He was 12-10 in two years as the Golden Flashes' coach.
Kansas Athletic Director Bob Frederick, who agonized about finding a head coach for the Jayhawks, said he was confident that he had the right man for the job.
("Mason") is described in football traxternites as the best young coach in the country.
Mason takes over a program that has had its share of difficulties in the past few years. Because of academic ineligibilities and defections, Kansas will only have about 75 players on scholarship next season. Mason also will be hampered by a late start in recruiting.
With the national letter-of-intent signing day about a month away, Mason said he hoped Kansas could still sign some high-quality athletes. Mason is concentrating his recruiting efforts this week in the Kansas City area and the state of Kansas.
"I'm sure we're a little bit binhid, but that just means we will have to knock on a few more doors," he said. "In my experience recruiting, it seems to me to be two common denominators. Kids want to play for
a winner, and they want an opportunity to play early in their careers.
"You don't give them any guarantees. You sell yourself, your ideas and your commitment. You've got to sell him on a dream."
Besides recruiting in the Kansas City area and in the state of Kansas, Mason hopes to branch out to the football-rich Ohio prep ranks. Mason recruited heavily in Ohio when he was at Kent State. He was also an assistant coach at Ball State and Ohio State.
recruiting there," he said. "I don't need a road map to find those towns. I'm on a first-name basis with just about every coach in northern Ohio
"I spent the better part of ten years
As for being about 20 players short of the scholarship limit, Mason said he couldn't worry about that now. What he can do is build for the future.
Mason said he would recruit junior college players sparingly. He wants to build his foundation on high school recruits, with the hope of being able to redshirt as many of them as possible.
control." he said of the shortage in numbers. "When I was at Kent State, I was never once at the 95 level."
Coming from the Mid-American Conference to the Big Eight Conference will be a definite step up for Mason.
"It's a tough conference. When I was at Kent State, we recruited the athletes that weren't recruited by the Big Ten (Conference)." he said. "Recruiting in the Big Eight means we have the ability to land the top-notch players from the entire country."
"I can't worry about things I can't
Besides success in the recruiting wars and on the playing field, Mason said he would emphasize the academic tradition that Kansas has built. Under Valesente, the team had been able to raise its overall grade point average from 2.04 to 2.57. Mason promised more of the same.
"The number-one ingredient in the success of a football program is its academics," he said. "The academic well-being of the student comes first. This University represents the philosophies I stand for."
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Department head works to educate others,self about Latin American area
Special to the Kansan
By Ben Johnston
The summer after Charles Stansifer graduated from Garden Plain High School in 1949, he went to work doing odd jobs for the Santa Fe railroad.
Looking back on that summer, Stansifer, now director of Latin American Studies at the University of Kansas, believes the experience changed the course of his life.
There, for the first time, he met people who spoke a foreign language. His co-workers were Mexican-Americans who spoke Spanish.
"When I went to work for the railroad, I knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn't know what I wanted to do." Stansifer said. "I had an idea of studying a language, but I didn't know which one. I while I worked for the railroad, I gained an appreciation for their culture and way of life and a curiosity about what it was like where they came
Since that summer, the main pursuit in Stansifer's life has been learning about and educating people about Latin America. He has taught at several universities, including two in Latin America. He talks regularly to a U.S. senator, a U.S. representative, university gatherings and church groups about his views on policies that affect Latin America.
"The principal purpose of any Latin American educator," Stansifer said, "is to knock down negative stereotypes about Latin America.
He said recently that the biggest problem he faced in educating people about Latin America was that few Americans understood the region and its people.
"Americans are constantly bombarded by the problems of Latin America. They are persuaded that Latin Americans are more violent, lazier and less skillful in government than Americans. But if you study Latin America as I have, you find that the level of intellectual investment is comparable to that of our own and is admirable."
"After I got to Wichita State, I really began to enjoy school and learning about Latin America," he said. "I found it so enjoyable that I never wanted to leave."
Stansifer said that since the time he first arrived at Wichita State University in 1951 after spending a year at Southwestern College in Winfield, he knew teaching was what he wanted to do.
Stansifer said he was encouraged by his parents to go to college. He said that even though his family was poor, his parents did what they could to help pay for his education.
"I was inspired by my parents, who believed the way out of our poverty was through education," Stansifer said.
Stamiser's wife, Mary Ellen, said that to pay for his education, Stamiser worked at several jobs while he was a graduate.
After he got his master's degree, Stansifer went to Tulane University in New Orleans so he could learn from William J. Griffith, a professor of Latin American history who Stansifer said was one of the leading Latin American scholars in the United States.
"He has taught more Latin American historians than anyone in the United States, and he seemed to believe I could be a good historian." Stansifer said.
Griffith left Tulane to become director of Latin American Studies at KU in 1970 and stayed until he retired in 1974. After Griffith retired, Stansifer became director of Latin American studies at KU.
See STANSIFER, p. 5B, col. I