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The University Daily Kansan
The Seattle Mariners, who own the best record in the Major Leagues, completed a three-game sweep of the Yankees last night in New York with a 7-2 victory.
Sports
Inside: The Kansas baseball team travels to Texas Tech this weekend for a threegame series
SEE PAGE 4B
Inside: The Kansas women's tennis team defeated Missouri in the Big 12 Championships, and the men start their tournament today.
FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2001 For comments, contact Shawn Hutchinson or Shawn Linenberger at 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
SEE PAGE 3B
Changing face of sports brought Frederick down Quality program didn't keep nay-sayers away
Terry Allen couldn't bear to watch his boss resign.
Instead, Allen sat near the rear of the auditorium, his head buried in his hands and the weight of the world bearing down on his shoulders. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and the weary eyes of the coach looked closer to those of a tired old man instead of a 43-year-old with much of his life ahead of him.
"It's because of all the headaches," Allen said of the resignation of Kansas Athletics Director Bob Frederick yesterday. "And if we just won more football games, then he just wouldn't have that headache."
Allen took a lot of the responsibility for yesterday's press conference, but contrary to what he believes, it's not his fault that Frederick resigned yesterday.
It's not baseball coach Bobby Randall's fault, either, or the pressure that came from the slicing of the men's swimming and tennis programs.
Frederick was strangled by the hand that fed him.
The Kansas Athletics Department lost a good man yesterday, and it was because college athletics — which Frederick loved so much 13 years ago
— had become too much like Major League Baseball and less like the classroom it used to be. The cold reality is that Kansas can't compete with the Kansas of Nebraska and Texas because of the lack of revenue sharing in the Big 12 Conference.
Somehow, that lack of sharing became Frederick's fault. He was blamed because the absence of money led to the axing of two sports. What wasn't talked about was how the cuts drove a stake right into the heart of Frederick, who toiled about the decision for months.
But despite all the revenue problems, Frederick stuck to his principles. If we can't win, he thought, then the least that we can do is compete with dignity.
That train of thought led to the hiring of Allen, Randall, Roy Williams and volleyball coach Ray Bechard good people with standards. What's so wrong about trying to churn out quality student-athletes when you know winning will be hard?
But Frederick's downfall started last spring, when two Kansas football players reportedly sexually assaulted a women's soccer player outside of the Yacht Club, 530 Wisconsin St. Outsiders thought that the denver
— particularly Frederick handled the situation poorly.
The vultures circled around Frederick, but what they didn't see — or care to see — was the effort he took so a similar incident wouldn't happen again. He worked tirelessly to patch up the department's reputation, started focus groups and made it clear that all student-athletes will obey a code of conduct.
So Frederick will now take his show to the School of Education, where he will teach full time. You got the feeling that he wanted to do the same at his post as athletics director.
What happens now? Allen admittedly is looking over his shoulder to see who the new athletics director will be. Whoever it is won't be as forgiving as Frederick has been to a losing coach from a Division I-AA program.
Suddenly, the entire department is in a state of flux.
The next athletics director will shape the future — or lack thereof — of Jayhawk athletics. The new guy will learn from Frederick's successes, and from his failures as well. But whoever it is should learn first by what a quality person Frederick is.
Flag is a Greenwood Village, Coke, junior in broadcast news
Bob Frederick and Chancellor Robert Hemenway answer questions from reporters about Frederick's resignation. Frederick announced he would be ending his 14-year career as Kansas athletics director at a press conference yesterday at Hodell Auditorium. Photo by Matt Dougherty/KANSAN
Frederick ends long career
Kansas athletics director looks back on 14 years at University
By Brandon Stinnett
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Now that Bob Frederick's tie-wearing days are finished, the University is left to reflect on his 14 years of service as Kansas athletics director.
Frederick, who announced his resignation yesterday in a press conference at Hadl Auditorium, plans to switch from suit and tie to jeans when his resignation takes effect on June 30.
"I will tremendously miss the people in the Athletics Department," Frederick said. "The coaches, the administrators, the support staff and, of course, the student-athletes."
Kansas' 12th athletics director in 1987, saw the University win 32 conference championships and one national championship in 14 years. In 1993, Kansas became the first NCAA school to win a bowl game in football, advance to the Final Four in basketball and qualify for the College World Series in baseball in the same year.
Frederick, 61, who became
"I am very proud of what we've accomplished during the past 14 years, but I'm even prouder of the way we did it," he said. "We operated our program honestly, with quality coaches, who recruited academically capable student-athletes, and with strong support from a competent and caring staff."
While at Kansas, Frederick maintained a commitment to academic performance and gender equity. Kansas ranked sixth nationally in the 1990s with 41 Academic All-Americans, and The Chronicle of Higher Education recognized the University as having the most female student-athletes in the Big 12 Conference in 1996, the same year Frederick was recognized as the NIT Man of the Year for his involvement with college basketball.
Frederick said he was leaving with nothing but positive memories despite scrutiny in recent months regarding the elimination of the men's swimming and diving and men's tennis programs. He did admit that recent hardships played a role in his decision
to resign.
"I'd be dishonest if I didn't say that that had some bearing on it because this has been a tough year," he said. "We had to make some tough decisions. I don't regret anything about the last 14 years. I know anytime when you make as many decisions as you have to as athletics director, those are subject to scrutiny and that's good."
With more free time, Frederick said he planned to enjoy the weekends, something he hadn't done since college.
"I'm looking forward to being out at the farm and spending more time with my family," he said.
After an eye defect changed his plans of attending the Air Force
Academy, Air Force assistant coach and Kansas alumnus Dean Smith urged him to walk on to the Kansas basketball team and Frederick came to the University in the fall of 1968.
He earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University.
His decision to resign was met with sadness from Kansas coaches.
"It's a sad day for me," said men's basketball coach Roy Williams. "It's the guy that hired me and has been loyal to me and has been important to me for 13 years. It's a guy who gave me a chance."
Frederick hired Williams to coach the Jayhawks in 1989.
"This is obviously a very difficult time. As a football coach, the realization is that had we been more successful maybe this wouldn't
Edited by Melissa Cooley
be transpiring. The thing about Bob Frederick is the guy just drips with integrity." —Terry Allen
I have very mixed emotions at this time. On one hand, Dr. Frederick is a teacher and he will continue to use his skills in the classroom. My other emotion is one of great
sadness. Dr. Frederick gave me a chance 13 years ago and I will always be indebted to him. —Roy Williams
"These are difficult times for athletics but Dr. Frederick always was concerned about the best interest of the student-athlete."
Marian Washington
'Hawks expect big crowd
By Brent Briggeman
Kansan sportswriter
The pitching and offense have not been a problem, but the Kansas softball team has one glaring weakness as it heads into the biggest series of the year—a lack of bleachers.
Jayhawk Field doesn't have enough seating to accommodate the number of fans expected for this weekend's series with defending national champion Oklahoma.
"We've put calls in to the city of Lawrence and other places," Bunge say. "We need to bring in extra bleachers to sit everybody. But it's a fun problem to have. I want this to be the biggest crowd in the history of Jayhawk Field."
"This is a big series," said coach Tracy Bunge. "We'll have great weather, we've been playing well and the defending national champs are coming to town."
In addition to local fans and Oklahoma supporters, more than 15 area high school teams have signed up to attend one or both games.
The expected crowd is a result of Kansas' recent play. After winning just eight of the first 20 games, the 'Hawks have turned their season around. Winners of 10 of their last 11 games, they're now 30-21 overall and 9-4 in the Big 12 Conference.
"We've been opening some eyes later," said left fielder Christi Musser. "Everybody looks Oklahoma as one of the top teams in the conference and in the country, now we've got a chance to say something about that."
No. 6 Oklahoma (38-7 and 12-2) has been dominant. Ranked second in the national preseason poll, the Sooners haven't dropped from the top 10 all season.
Overall, the Big 12 has brought out the best in Kansas. The Jayhawks are hitting .294 on the season, but .328 in conference play. Three Jayhawks — Leah Tabb, Leah Hanson and Dani May — are hitting above .400 against Big 12 pitchers.
Fortunately for the Jayhawks, they drew the Sooners at home. Kansas is 13-2 at Jayhawk Field this year and has won all five conference games at home this year.
Junior Jennifer Stewart is Oklahoma's staff ace with a 26-3 record and a 1.32 ERA. Three Sooner starters are hitting above .400 this season.
Freshman pitcher Kara Pierce has been effective for Kansas. Against Big 12 teams she is 6-2 with a 1.22 ERA. Pierce's 12-game winning streak will be on the line in the series.'
Of course, the Sooners have enjoyed success in the conference as well. They've outscored their last five conference opponents 52-1. Oklahoma is hitting .341 in conference play, while their opponents have managed a measly .214.
Despite the challenge, Bunge expects her team to come out energetic and relaxed.
"It's an exciting situation for our girls," she said. "All the pressure's on Oklahoma, they're expected to win these games. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose."
Tabb said the team's attitude wouldn't change.
rab said the team a attitude wouldn't change.
"This isn't a make-or-break situation," said Tabb, a junior right fielder. "We're looking at this like just like any another Big 12 series."
The teams will play at 1 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday at Jayhawk Field.
Edited by Doug Pacey
Fourth round pick pleases ex-Jayhawk
By Jeff Denton
Kansan sportswriter
A crowd of 20 people huddled in front of the television set in the Norris family living room last Saturday in Houston.
in the middle of the mob sacks Jayhawk fullback Moran Norris, the 250-pound man of the hour and future employee of the National Football League.
S six hours later, 95 names had been called in the first three rounds of the NFL draft — Norris was not one of them. As the watching party made its way out the Norris' front door, silence deafened his childhood home.
"I was mad," Norris said from the same living room Wednesday night. "Buffalo had shown interest in me as a running back in the second round. Jacksonville, the Giants, Carolina — they all had said certain things about drafting me. But the phone call never came."
Norris: Drafted in fourth round by New Orleans Saints
Norris couldn't sleep. He woke up six times in the middle of the night before finally dragging his body out of bed at 6 a.m. Exhausted and discouraged, Norris spent the next several hours on the phone between his Chicago-based agent Rick Smith and numerous NFL teams.
The fourth round would be his destiny, but first, Norris said he had to get out of the house.
See NORRIS on page 4B