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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1986)
Wednesday, April 2, 1986 Daily Nebraskan Page 7 ri wires. b 'i Wmof s a hi seamslh minimum By Chuck Green Senior Reporter One down, one to go . . . Last Thursday's announcement naming Danny Nee as Nebraska's men's basketball coach ended only half of the Cornhuskers' search for leader ship in the basketball program. With the April 9 national letter-of-intent signing date approach ing, the Husker women's team is still without a coach. Kelly Hill, the women's coach for the last three seasons, was informed March 6 that her contract would not be renewed for another year. Barb Hibner, Nebraska's interim women's athletic director, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that she has received about 70 applica tions and 45 resumes and letters of reference for the job since it became available three weeks ago. "Applications have been flowing in since the day it was announced," Hibner said. "We'll go through the applications and the references and try to get the best person we possibly can for the job. We should know more within about 10 days." Hibner said she has spoken with athletic directors and colleagues of certain coaches to get assessments, but Nebraska isn't looking at any particular coach. The job opening, Hibner said, was advertised in the NCAA News, a weekly newsletter sent to major colleges and universities, and in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The need for a coach was also expressed at last week's women's Final Four in Lexington, Ky., Hibner said. Hibner said the deadline set by the Nebraska athletic department for hiring a new coach is April 18, nine days after letter-of-intent signing day. She said Nebraska's recruiting effort isn't likely to suffer heavily from the situation of not having a coach. "By NCAA rules, we're allowed 15 scholarships in any given season," Hibner said. "Anyone who knows the structure of our team knows that we have 13 players coming back from last season, so we may not need to carry the full 15 scholarships." The 1985 Huskers had no seniors on their ros.ter. Hibner said that in the last few years, Nebraska has not had 15 scholarship players on the team, and the players who are being recruited by Nebraska have "been informed in honesty of the (coaching and returning players) situation." Hibner also said the applicants for the coach ing job don't seem to be concerned with the recruiting situation. "The deadlines don't seem to be a deterrent," Hibner said of the singing date. "The individuals who have contacted us for the position are not at all concerned with this matter." Though Hibner declined to mention any names of coaches who have contacted Nebraska about the women's coaching position, she did indicate the desire for a coach who will win games for the Huskers. "I think the bottom line here at Nebraska is winning," Hibner said. "In the last five years, our team has finished seventh (in the Big Eight) three times, sixth twice and third one time, which was five years ago. One of the most impor tant qualities we're looking for is an individual who has the potential to win. We also want someone who is innovative, constructive, dedi cated, perceptive someone with good public relations and good rapport with the players, someone who is committed to the rules and someone who is an overall program builder. We wa it a total concept coach, a coach with a mis iion. I'm opt imistic we can find a coach to fit these requirements." Hibner said she's also optimistic about the future of the women's basketball program at Nebraska. "I'm nothing but optimistic about the pro gram here, not only the women's basketball pro gram, but the Nebraska athletic program in gen eral," she said. "We have a total program here, and I feel we can overcome any failures we suffer here. With the applications we have received, I feel pretty good. We just have to do what we have to do, and go forward and try to overcome failures we've had in the past. "If I wasn't optimistic, I wouldn't be here myself." Baseball player has no regrets about transfer By Jeff Apel Senior Reporter Most of the names and faces have changed, but Nebraska's Mark Kister said he still won't have any problems preparing for today's game against Wichita State. Kister, a Cornhusker junior, spent his first season of collegiate baseball with the Wichita State Shockers. But after surviving one of the Shockers' grueling, 90-game schedules, Kister said he thought it was time for a change. "I knew I wanted to transfer after my freshman year," he said. "The only thing that was holding me back was the fact that I would have to spend a year as a redshirt I didn't know if I wanted to sit out." Kister said that after he weighed his options, he decided to leave the Shockers and return to his home state, Nebraska. At first, he had some problems making the adjustment from one major college baseball program to another, largely because he couldn't play during his first season here. But after settling down and earning a split last year of the starting catching ., .. if I f J I , :l ""V V V t :-. V f V. " Nebraska's Mark Kister gets set to put the tag on a Kansas State player Saturday at Buck Beltzer Field. Kister will get to renew David CreamerDaily Nebraskan old acquaintances today when the Cornhuskers play Wichita State. Kister is a Wichita State transfer. duties with former Husker catcher Bill McGuire last season, Kister said that he has been able to concentrate on his career as a Husker. "I've never had any regrets about transferring here," Kister said. "The only thing I didn't like about it was that redshirt year, but even that wasn't as bad as I had anticipated it to be." Today, Kister will have a chance to show his former team what it lost when the 15-6 Huskers face the 19-4 Shockers in a nine-inning game. Game time is 2 p.m. Although most of his teammates from the 1983 Wichita State team that he played on are gone, Kister looks forward to facing the No. 1 1 Shockers because it will be the first time he has played third base against his former teammates. Nebraska baseball coach John San ders elected to move Kister to third last fall to let Burt Beattie return to catcher. "I had played third a little in my career, so I only had about eight months to prepare," Kister said. "It's coming along pretty well because a lot of the reaction type things are similar between catching and playing third base." Kister said he sees his move to third base as a positive one since it will increase his usefulness in the eyes of major league scouts. As a junior, he will be eligible for the major league draft at the end of this season. But a possible professional career, one which he has always dreamed about since he was a youngster, is on hold until the end of this year's Nebraska season. "My major league career is going to take care of itself," Kister said. "I can't sit around and worry about it, or it might affect how 1 play this season." Athletes must meet minimum academic requirements i5ew N rtdair. Iscui potemnal player Ssst By Jeff Apel Senior Reporter Darwin Snyder captured the atten tion of several major college football programs last fall when he finished second in the state in rushing yardage. But Snyder won't be playing football for any Division I schools this fall because of "academic standards im posed by the NCAA this year. Under these standards, titled Propo sition 48, all freshman athletes in Div ision I must meet or exceed three aca demic requirements to be athletically eligible their first year of college. The requirements include 11 core courses in English, math and natural or social sciences, a minimum Grade Point Average of 2.0 for these core courses; and a minimum score of 15 on the ACT or 700 on the SAT. Although Snyder was able to meet both of the core course requirements, he was ruled temporarily ineligible to play because he didn't meet the ACT or the SAT requirement. Snyder still has a chance to play Division I football this fall by re-taking either test and getting the necessary score. UNO football coach Sandy Buda said, that because of cases like Snyder's, many college football coaches are upset about Proposition 48. "I don't like the rule at all," Buda said. "Just because athletes partici pate in a sport, they're supposed to have completely different standards. It's discriminatory." Buda said that UNO was interested in signing Snyder, a senior from Winne bago High School, to a letter of intent. But when Maverick officials checked his academic standing, they found that although he ranked high in his class, he had not scored well on the ACT. "Everyone has students who don't score well on standardized tests but who do well in school," Buda said. Proposition 48 discriminates against minority groups that traditionally haven't scored well on either the ACT or SAT test, he said. Nebraska track and field coach Gary Pepin said he agrees with Buda's anal ysis of discrimination. Pepin said the Cornhusker track and field team will have to alter greatly its recruiting methods to get academically eligible athletes and still remain com petitive. Pepin said that in the past he has relied on foreign athletes to help insure that the men's and women's track squads are competitive. But with the new academic stand ards, Pepin said that foreign-born citi zens could be gone from both of his squads. "I think it is very unjust that a for eign student has to have the same score on both the ACT and the SAT as an American," he said. "The tests are directed at Americans, so it puts them (foreign born citizens) at a decisive disadvantage." Pepin said that the pool of potential Division I track athletes already has been reduced dramatically by Proposi tion 48. In an event such as the men's sprint hurdles, he said, 75 percent of the ath letes Nebraska was recruiting were suddenly ineligible by the standards. "I think the NCAA is taking a step in the right direction to make sure that athletes are properly prepared for school," Pepin said. "But, I question the tests because I have seen a large amount of average high school stu dents who went to college and got their degrees. Now, they are eliminated." Nebraska Athletic Director Bob Devaney said he is uncertain about Proposition 48 because of the effects it may have on average students who are excellent athletes. Devaney said that he always has abided by the theory that Nebraska should give an exceptional athlete who is a fair student a chance at earning a college education. But now, the Cornhuskers no longer will be able to give those student athletes a chance. "Educators didn't realize how many people Proposition 48 would affect, Devaney said. "It affects college football because it cuts down the pool of recruits and all but eliminates the average student athlete in Division IA athletics," he said. He said the last time the NCAA tried similar standards in the late 1960s, many colleges adjusted athletes' class standings to keep them eligible. See PROPOSITION on 8