UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, February 8, 1996
3B
Swimmers don't plan to relive last year's championship loss
Men's team aspires to sweet, elusive title at Valentine's meet
By Dan Gelston
Kansan sportswriter
Memories of last year's Big Eight Championships are still burned in the minds of the Kansas men's swimming team.
The Jayhawks finished last in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:19.71, more than two minutes behind first place finisher Iowa State.
Kansas finished second overall, just 10 points behind Iowa State. It was a disappointing finish for the Kansas men, who have not won a conference championship since 1979. Kansas swimming coach Gary Kempf has yet to win the conference as coach of the men's team.
Kansas gets a chance to redeem itself Feb. 14-17 in Oklahoma City. The chances of both the No. 21 men's team and No. 16 women's team winning are riding on the
work the teams are doing now.
The men will have had 11 days off before the championships begin, while the women haven't been in the pool since a Jan. 20 meet at Georgia.
Kansas has won 12 Big Eight women's championships with Kempf as coach, the latest in 1993.
Kansas sophomore Kristin Nilsen is looking forward to returning to the championships. Last year, she won the 200 and 400 individual medley and had a fifth place finish in the 200 breaststroke.
Nilsen doesn't think the long lay-off will hurt the team.
"The time off won't make a difference," she said. "We've been keeping up our speeds in practice. Our times have been strong."
Nilsen said the long layoff has its pluses and minuses.
"It's nice because it gives us time off from traveling," she said. "It gets exhausting after a while and we can get rested. But it's negative because we don't get the chance to compete and get our competitive edge."
ready to go for the championships.
"Physically, we're ready," he said.
"We're right where we want to be in that regard.
"We've got to find a way to keep our focus on what we're doing. But as the championship meet approaches, we're getting better with that."
Kempf said the team should be
Kansas sophomore Alan Kroll was on last year's last leg of the 400 medley relay at the championships.
He said last year's loss only would make the team more focused and determined this year.
"This team is really prepared," Kroll said. "Our mental attitude, our preparation has been really good."
Kroll said another key to victory was that the team members swim as well in the third session as they did in the first.
Kroll said the swimmers had put last year's disappointing loss behind them.
"At the beginning of the year, we talked about last year a lot," he said. "But now we're only focused on what's ahead of us and that's winning this year's championships."
Conference announces budget
OMAHA, Neb. — The Big 12 Conference offices will begin with a $480,000 budget for 1995-96, including a $200,000 salary for Commissioner Steve Hatchell, according to a copyrighted story in the Omaha World-Herald.
The Associated Press
Hatchell said yesterday that each of the conference's universities would pay $40,000 to fund the temporary, two-person office in Dallas. Hatchell estimated the office budget would increase to between $2.7 million and $3 million when league revenues begin funding it in 1996-97.
The Big 12, formed by the addition of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor to Big Eight members Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Missouri, officially begins operations in July, although it has scheduled a women's softball tournament in May.
Hatchell was commissioner of the Southwest Conference from 1993 until mid-1995. His work history also includes stops as an assistant sports information director at Colorado, a member services employee and assistant commissioner of the Big Eight Conference, and executive director of the Orange Bowl in Miami and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Chief executive officers of the member schools voted 7-5 last week to place the Big 12's permanent office in Dallas. The Big Eight headquarters had been located in Kansas City, Mo., since the league's inception.
Twenty to 23 people eventually will be employed in the conference
office, Hatchell said. They will oversee rule compliance and interpretation, tournament activities, the operation of specific sports, public relations and other duties.
Income will cover office expenses in 1996-97, he said, so no fees will have to be assessed to the universities.
Hatchell said his office's budget this year would have been higher than it was, but an acquaintance had given the Big 12 temporary office space this year. He said the conference also had access to free telephones and some free office equipment.
The budget for 1995-96 also covers accounting and legal services; meetings of Big 12 administrators, faculty representatives and athletic directors; some travel expenses and other costs.
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POTTER LAKE: LOCH NESS MONSTER'S WINTER HOME
Creature has eaten three dogs, already. Officials warn joggers of danger.
ALIENSINFILTRATING KU ADMINISTRATION
Officials reveal connections to extra-terrestrial powers
Exclusive photos not available anywhere else!