psp 14
daily nebrssksn
, f rtdiy, novcmber 13, 1970
' . spores
(
Cagers to debut Saturday
in annual Red-White game
. UNL basketball coach Joe Cipriano will
unveil his 1976-77 basketball squad this
Saturday in the annual Red-White clash.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 pjn. Admis
sion is free.
The Red-White game will be the Huskers
nly tune-up before they open the regular
season Nov. 27 against the University of
Iowa. ; . - ..
"The Red-White game will give us some
experience," Cipriano said. "We've had so
many injuries this year that one team will
have six players and the other will have
seven. Everyone is going to have to play a ,
lot."
Not in good shape
Cipriano said the Huskers are not in
good physical shape. He said he has never
seen as many knee injuries in one season.
Rickey Harris, Brian Banks, Carl McPipe
and Paul McDonald have been hampered
by knee injuries this fall.
Cipriano said Banks has missed about 15
days of practice with his knee injury.
"It hurts any team when you can't keep
your five best players together," he said.
Banks said, "I'm just afraid that I
might put out more than I should in the
Red -White game and hurt my knee again."
Banks is a 6 ft. 1 in. sophomore guard from
Hammond, Ind.
"I don't want to get hurt the week
before the season opens," he added. "If
I feel it (the knee) start to go I'm going to
get out of the game and rest it."
Banks said he thinks the team will be
ready to open the season against Iowa.
"Right now 1 think we will be ready to
play in a week and a half," Banks said.
"We still need to get more team oriented
and need to play together more. I think we
will be ready, if not, Coach Cipriano will
get us ready."
Yet Cipriano said he has not determined
a starting five.
Junior college players
"1 still don't think some of our junior
college players-that we feel have a chance
of playing for us-are working hard
enough," Cipriano said. v
Cipriano said his team still isn't ready to
start the season.
"We haven't put it together by a long
shot," Cipriano said. "We'll have to wait
and see how they react in "a game
situation."
Cipriano said Iowa has an advantage
over the Huskers because Big 10 Confer-,
ence teams are allowed to play three intra
squad games before the season where Big 8
teams are allowed just one intrasquad
game.
The Red team will include forward Bob
Siegel and Val Martin, forward-guards
Allen Holder and Terry Novak, centers Carl
McPipe and Curt Hedberg and guard Brian
Banks.' ""
The White team includes centers Rickey
Harris and Herman "Bo" Jackson, forwards
Stanley "Skeeter" Jackson and Mark
McVicker, and guards Eric Coard, Paul
McDonald and James Caldwell.
' ... '
The game also will be the team's first
formal appearance in the new UNL Sports
Complex. Banks said the new complex is
better than the Coliseum, where games had
been played.
"The complex has a lot better light
ing," he said. "It also has a nice jumping
floor, it has real good footing.
"The Coliseum floor was real slippery.
It seemed like I wore out a pair of shoes
every three days therer s
Cipriano said the move may mean the
team loses some of the home court advant
age it enjoyed in the cramped Coliseum.
But the degree of home court advantage
will depend on' how many attend games in
the new Complex, he said.
" ; .
c- - - -
" ' C. ) ' rj" . , . "!
fi 4 .. - 1 1
1 ' .. " Ulj '". J "
H - . . .. '
' i-
'J
! i
Photo by Tad Kb
Husker gymnasts wSI not be able to enjoy Thankspving with their families'"
unless their families are in Chicago. Wednesday UNL will face the University
of Illinois-Chicago Circle in a dual meet. On Friday,, the Huskers participate
in the Midwest Open in Chicago. Gymnastics Coach Francis Allen said the
Open is one of the biggest pre -season meets. Team scores are not kept at the
meet, Allen said, it is individual-only competition. ' -
hanks to football, Athletic Dept. is in
black aoai
By Pete Wegman
College football is big business. That's a statement
which should hardly shock anyone who follows inter
collegiate football these days.
Probably the best way to determine how "big" college
football is, is to look at athletic department budgets.
UNL offers a prime example of the size and importance of
football.
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1976, football
supplied the bulk of ihe UNL Athletic Dept's revenue,
generating about 95 per cent of the department's gross
revenue, according to Bill Fisher, Athletic Dept. business
manager and concessions director.
Of the nine intercollegiate sports supported by the
Athletic DepL, football was the only one to make a profit.
fourth and
tventy
S4.C03 last year
The Athletic Dept. made about $4 XX) in the last
fiscal year, according to the Athletic Dept's latest
financial report.
Total revenue for the "year was $4,562,352 while total
expenditures, capital outlays and debt retirement equaled
$4,558,561, for a net gain of $3,790. '
In the previous fiscal year, the Athletic Dept. had a net
deficit of $18344.
Last yt'T was a typical year for the department, Fisher
- s! , ..
For tJieOast three years we've about broken even,",
he said. "In fact, we've run pretty well on a break-even
basis ever since I've been here. Fisher became business
manager in 1961.
A sport -by-sport breakdown for the last two years
fcJows:
EaEfcssSssil
TrsA
1275
S333,7C3
2.SS3
1I7S
$4,225,153
22,3
5,134
Wrestling 2,043 13,821
Swimming 1,643 812
Gymnastics 2,638 4JB35
Tennis 332 824
Goh " 30 343
Women's athletics
' Expenditures
1373 1S7S
Football $3,333,511 $3,473,224
EackctbaU 324,747 423,453
Trade 174.CS5 213,449
Baseball 112.133 113,337
Wrestling 71JS32 79,143
SaTwnming 55,470 43,13
Gymnastics 51jC52 2,770
Tennis x 21,778 33,431
Golf 25237 24,431
Women's athletics ' 2523 CdJOZD
Hat Bewmue or Deficits)
1375 1378
Football $S20.122 S7ZSJSSB
Basketiiea (113,733) (1E3.7S2)
Trade 1153) (2D3JB33)
BeeebaO 1123,635) (113.123)
Wrestiini (63J33) (0.222)
Swimming (5322) (4773)
Gymnastics (43,015) (5735)
Tennis - (2174) (29.6S7)
Golf (24J54C) (24.143)
Women's athletics (25.033) COOO)
Fisher said basketball could break even financially in
the near future.
"They've sold so many season tickets (approximately
8,500 for the 1976-77 season). When I started here, we
sold only 400 season tickets for basketball.-"
Last year, the basketball squad competed in the 3,500
seat Coliseum. This season's schedule will be played in the
new 15,DG0-seat UNLSpons G-"spIex.
The biggest factor ia increasing expenditures has been
inflation, according to Fisher. However, he added that
the Athletic Dept. intentionally has spent at a rate greater
than inflation in the minor sport areas.
"Over the last five years, we've been putting a little
nrst-e muscle into our minor sports, he said. "We've been
ingnoring inflation, trying to improve the quality of the
sports."
Fisher said he doubted the Athletic Dept. would drop
any minor sports if a financial pinch occurred.
Vi'ou'J a"t den t bu i e t
"We're not really making a dent in c-r budget if we
cut sports like tennis and golf," he said. "However, it
would be disastrous to curtail football.
Past "Fourth d Twenty columns have mentioned
the myriad of NCAA regulations made in the name of
economy, which are in effect reducing college athletics
to a common level of mediocrity. What are Fisher's views
on the subject?
"The only place where it's (the regulations) noticeable
is in football," Fisher said. "The amount of grants-in-aid
has declined since the limit of 30 a year was put on,
but grants in the other sports have been increasing, so
there's no savings there."
Fisher attributed the balance in Big 8 Conference
football play this year to the NCAA equivalency rule,
which has standardized the number of scholarships given
in each sport.
"My own judgment is that the balance you're
finding now in Big 8 football youll find more in other
sports in the future, too, he said.
" Complex should fccresa revenue
Fisher said the new sports complex should increase the
Athletic Dept.'s gross revenue since attendance should
increase while the expenditures for maintainir.g the
complex are paid through a tax appropriation, rather than
by the department.
Fisher said two additional means for increasing gross
revenue-sponsoring a professional football exhibition
game each summer in Memorial Stadium and increasing
the stadium's size -are impractical.
"My understanding is there w21 not be a pro gime next
summer. We just couldn't make money on it,! he said.
"We've also been approached by people outside of the
Athletic Dept. who want us to build a VIP box, like the
press box, in the East Stadium," Fisher said. "However, I
don't know of anyone in the Athletic Dept. who is now
irleresled in increasing the stadium's size.
Copies of the Athletic Dept.'s budget can be obtained
Fisher's office in the South Stadium Office DiJg. '
Husker fans should keep in mind one fact: if football
is to continue to support the other minor sports, UN'L
must have a winning football program.
