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Bob Oevaney in bronze? A 20-foot long football at
Memorial Stadium?
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Nebraska's back-to-back national football
championships-football sculpture.
The Women's Division of the Omaha Chamber of
Commerce has commissioned sculptor Louis Martin of Omaha
to execute a bust of Devaney. Martin has already
photographed the Husker coach arid later Devaney will sit for
him.
An even larger sculpture is being planned by Omaha artist
Henry F. Menke. Menke would like to build a 20-foot long
metal sculpture of a football, which would sit outside the east
side of Memorial Stadium.
"Coach Devaney has done so much for Nebraska and we
want to help say thank you," Lorraine Borman, president of
the Women's Division, said.
Borman said the bust of Devaney, which will be executed in
epoxy and painted to represent bronze, will be presented to
Devaney next fall and then will be temporarily displayed at
the Nebraska Historical Society. "Present plans call for it to be
displayed permanently in a trophy area when Nebraska gets a
new f ieldhouse," Borman said.
Menke said the purpose of his sculpture "was to honor
football players and coaches of the past, to serve as an
immediate tribute to the Devaney decade and to inspire others
in future years."
The outside of the football sculpture will be composed of
bronze plates, which will serve as plagues to honor each year's
team' and achievments. The lettering will be horizontal and
people will be able to rotate the football by hand so all the
names can be red from the ground.
Menke said the sculpture will take nine months to complete
and estimated the cost at $37,000. The Omaha artist is now
undertaking a fund raising campaign to raise the money.
gory seocrest sports
v.
There have been some disgruntled
rumblings among Nebraska fans about the
Husker basketball team, which lost its last
four games to finish in a tie for fourth with
Kansas in the Big Eight. Some are even
suggesting that Husker Coach Joe Cipriano
should be fired.
The discontent comes despite the fact
that Cipriano recorded his third straight
winning season this year with a 14-12
record. It is also interesting to note that the
Huskers' fourth place finish in the
conference was the spot predicted for the
team before the season started.
Part of the basketball discontent could be
attributed to the fact that Bob Devaney has
spoiled Nebraska sport fans. Although it's an
unfair comparison, Cipriano 's 14-12 record
looks pretty puny compared to a national
championship. To be appreciated in
Nebraska it appears that you not only have
to win, but that you have to win big.
But so much for the past. What will next
year's basketball team be like? Cipriano says
he is intensifying his search for junior college
talent since he is losing four of his five
starters. However, the Husker coach cited
several factors which could strengthen the
Nebraska basketball program next year.
First, he said, "we have some people in
our program now that maybe a lot of people
are underestimating." Secondly, he indicated
the recent NCAA ruling allowing freshmen
to compete in varsity basketball "should
really help us since we'll lack so much
experience next year." Finally, Cipriano
predicts the Husker recruiting pitch will be
strengthened as a result of the passage of a
bill in the Nebraska Legislature permitting
"accelerated" . construction of a new
basketball arena.
In our age of poor race relations, it is
interesting to note that the Nebraska
football team has never been plagued by
racial strife. This record can be attributed to
Coach Bob Devaney 's excellent rapport with
all his players and his employment of black
assistant coaches.
When Bill Thornton, the Huskers' only
black coach, resigned recently to become
backf ield coach with the St. Louis Cardinals,
Devaney did the obvious. He replaced
Thornton with another black coach-Bill
Myles, one of the leading high school
coaches in the Kansas City area. Although
some people might charge tokenism,
Devaney's move appears to be a sincere
effort to recruit a good coach while retaining
good race relations on the team.
The Huskers' success in black-white
relations was spotlighted earlier this year
when Jerry Tagge and Johnny Rodgers were
honored by the 100 Per Cent Wrong Club in
Atlanta as college's best illustration of how
black and white athletes can get along. Last
year's winners were Nebraska's Jeff Kinney
and Joe Orduna.
Hopefully, the Huskers can keep up the
good record.
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PAGE 12
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
FRIDAY, MARCH 17. 1972