wovford leaves athletic post for busin
pp
iver
Daily Nebra&an photo
Aleen Swofford, UNL women's athletic director.
By Hob Barney and Jim Hunt
Aleen Swofford, UNL women's athletic director for
the past two years will resign her position effective Tues
day to enter private business.
Husker athletic director Bob Devaney announced the
resignation Friday afternoon.
Swoffprd, who came to UNL in the summer of 1975,
will become a partner in Sports Resorts, a racquetball arid
handball business.
"A business opportunity like this only comes along
, once, but you never know," Swofford said. "I had to take
the opportunity."
Devaney said he asked Swofford to stay until the end
of the year, but Swofford said the business offer would
not wait.
Decide now
"I had to make the decision now," she said. "My
business partners said I had the money (to invest) and the
expertise for the job and I had to decide right now, so we
could get things going by October."
"It's a six month development and investment period
to get things going, and it was now or pass," Swofford
said.
Devaney said he did not ask for Swofford's resignation:
He expressed satisfaction with the job she has done as
athletic director.
Swofford said Husker women's sports have become
competitive nationally while she has been at UNL
"I think we have the best women's program in the
Big 8," Swofford said. "I. also think we have one of the
B ml n
monday, february 28, 1977 vol. 100 no. 83 lincoln, nebrsska
better budgets in the country, but we still have a long
ways to go."
Women's programs in the early 1970s each received
$25 in funding, Swofford said. In 1974 the women's
budget was increased to $60,000 and again was raised in
1975 to $132,000. .
The women's budget for the current year is $215,000.
Swofford also was instrumental in obtaining women's
basketball coach George Nicodemus from now defunct
John F. Kennedy (JFK) College in Wahoo.
Nationally competitive
"University of Nebraska sports is now competitive
nationally with primarily Nebraska people," Nicodemus
said Saturday. .
"Whatever is here was her drive that did it," he said
"Budget-wise it has been quite an improvement over what
was here when she came?'
' Nicodemus, who served as athletic director at JFK,
expressed interest in the UNL job when asked about it.
"I-have the experience," Nicodemus said. "It's another
matter if they would want a man for the position or not."
However, Nicodemus said he also wanted to continue to
coach basketball.
Time consuming
'Teople don't realize how much time the (athletic
director's) job consumes," he said. "When I was at JFK, I
would sometimes be at the office at five in the morning.
That was the only time you could get anything done."
Devaney said Jay Davis, women's sports information
director, will assume Swofford's position for the remaind
er of the school year.
Davis, who came with Swofford two years ago from
Texas, also expressed interest in the job as athletic
director. -
"Vm -pmg to apply for the position," Davis said. "My
evemu goal when I came here was to become the
woir.cr3 athletic director."
Swofford announced her intentions to resign at a staff
meeting a week and half ago, Nicodemus said.
Swofford said she would have no say in the selection of
the new women's athletic director.
City, county officials try
back door consolidation
By Mary Jo Pitzl
With one door to LB36 closed by the Nebraska Legis
lature last week, city and county officials now are ap
proaching the bill through the back door in' a second
attempt to consolidate Lancaster County and Lincoln
governments.
LB36 called for the formation of a committee to de
sign a plan to merge county and city services. It was kill
ed last week in the Legislature's Urban Affairs Committee.
At a Friday morning breakfast, representatives of the
Lancaster County Board of Commissioners and the Lin
coln City Council met with Lincoln mayor Helen Boo
sails and state senators Wally Barnett of Lincoln and
Jerome Warner of Waverly to discuss the future of a
county-city government merger.
Barnett introduced the bill, drafted by the County
Gty Implementation Commission (CCIC). CCIC is res
ponsible for initiating action to consolidate duplicate
services provided by the county and the city. Warner
opposed LB36.
The Friday moniig meeting resulted in a plan to
continue wprk on a county-dry merger. A voluntary
group was made responsible to ensure a committee be
appointed to design a charter for the merger.
The charter committee would be similar to CCIC.
Formation of the new charter committee is the "op
portunity to put the initiative of this (the merger) back in
nonprofessional hands " sdd city councilman Bob Jeam
bey. Besides Jeambey, other members of the voluntary
goup include city council members Sue Bsiley and Max
enney and county commissioners Bob Colin, Jan Gauger
and Bruce Hamilton. '
Bdlcy said the voluntary group wO be responsible for
deciding how to appoint members to the charter com
mittee. The committee will look at the consolidation
issue in detail, Bailey sdd.
The long-term goal of the voluntary group and the
committee it forms is to get the county-city merger pro
posal in a form the Legislature can pass, Bailey said.
LB 3 6 would haw required Legislative approval before
work could begin on the merger.
The proposal approved at the Friday morning meeting
would take the opposite approach and require a charter
for the merger to be designed before receiving legisla
tive review.
Colin said he hopes tfcl ack door approach to county
city government will reverse the "cart before the horse
situation posed by LB36. ,
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Glenn Harter is carried from the track after being pushed to the ground and spraining his ankle Saturday in
the 1 j0S3-yar4 run at the Big 8 Conference Indoor Track and Field Champioiips. See related story on Pae
10. '
Convict hsld arte
I ivy
pfronfi''UhEon
News: Gov. J. James Exon says the regents are cheerlead
ers for the university . p. 5
Eaterttisment: A Eallerina in Pennsylvanian company is
Inebriated" by her art p. 8
Spcrts: Frank Sands is named coach of NU crew ... p. 1 0
A Nebraska Fend Complex escapee was captured Friday
morning by police after juir.pLr.3 from a second story
window of the Ncbraa Union.
Jesse Rouse, who escaped Tuesday, was caught after a
UNL student reported to police that Rouse was hiding in
the Union.
ASUN candidate list
held for verification
Rekase of the names of candidates in the 1977 ASUN
election has been delayed until their applications can be
verified by the UNL administration office, ASUN Elec
tion Comrrisaoner Karen Tejcka sdd Sunday.
The filing deadline for ASUN Senate and executive
positions and college advisory board candidates was
last Friday at 4 pjn.
Tejcka said the adrnir&tratbn has to confirm that the
candidates are full-time students and are enrolled in the
ccllsge they-say they wish to represent.
The ASUN Elect ion Comiridon met Sunday niht to
review the nam:s, she said, and they will be sent to the
administration office this morning.
However, Tejcka said she did not know when the
names would be released.
. ASUN election rules state that candidates may begin
cp:paing today. Pesters msy be hung on campus bulle
tin beards but no classrooms may be usd for campaign
ing. Candidates may also campaign off campus.
Police said the unidentified student recognized Rouse
and knew he was an escaped convict.
Rouse, 23, of Oshkosh, is serving 16 to 20 years a the
penitentiary for the second degree murder of a police
officer in Garden County, said Officer Thomas l.'sson of
the penitentiary. .
UNL Campus Police Officer Dob Douty sdd, Campus
Police were dispatched to the Union and began searching
for Rouse.
Douty said he found Rouse in Udon 243. Douty was
accompanied by Frank-Kuhn, Union operations manager.
When Douty opened the door, he said, he noticed the
drapes moving. He said he found Rouse hiding behind the
curtain with a knife.
" surprised him almost as much as re surprised me,
Douty said. "Then he bailed out the window."
Rouse, who broke his ankle in the fall, was offsred
assistance by a student, Douty said. Douty ordered the
student away from Rouse, he said.
Rouse, wielding a knife, held off officers for 15 to
20 minutes, Douty said.
T?rne tnH rmTfr nffirr in pn nd cwt Kim
or he would stab himself, Douty said.
Roger LaPage, lis cob atant police chief manned,
to get the knife away from Rouse, police reported.
Rouse was treated at Lincoln General Hospital for his
broken ankle. Prison authorities add he is in good condi
tion. Rouse, who his been in the penitentiary since 1971,
will remain at Lincoln General under 25-hour supervision
until his doctors rtluK 1dm, police sdd.
