Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1992)
-Sports 0 Sports coverage deal nears final phase By Jeremy Fitzpatrick Staff Reporter The familiar “Touchdown!”cry of KFAB radio announcer Kent Pavelka will continue to be heard for at least three years if the NU Board of Re gents accepts a recommendation from UNL to renew the station’s contract. Jack Goebel, vice chancellor for business and finance, and Kim Phelps, assistant vice chancellor for business and finance, announced Monday that the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln was recommending the Omaha raJio station’s football and basketball con tract be renewed. “We have now completed the pro cess of phase one and phase two, and arc prepared to negotiate with the finalist,” Goebel said. “That finalist is I - KFAB radio.” KFAB offered UNL a three-year deal worth $825,000 in the first year. The second and third year amounts will be adjusted according to the con sumer price index. KFAB will also pay 10 percent of gross receipts related to the contract in excess of $2,025,000 in the first year. UNL’s recommendation will be submitted to the regents at its Oct. 9 meeting. They must approve the choice of KFAB and give UNL ap proval to negotiate a final contract with the radio station. “This is a recommendation to the board of regents for their approval for us to begin the negotiation process with the finalist,” Goebel said. KFAB beat out Omaha station -44 We feel (a mixed con tract) has real potential, and it’s a potential we can develop in the near future. —Goebel vice chancellor for business and finance -—>» - KKAR in phase twfrbf the negotia tions. WOW, another Omaha station, was eliminated after phase one. Phelps said KFAB’s agreement to all of UNL’s contract requests led to the station being recommended for the contract. three-year contract. KKAR had re quested a five-year deal. “In the final phase ... the univer sity wished for the term of the contract to be three years,” he said, “with the university having the right to extend for an additional three years.” “That was a major point of differ ence,” Phelps said. ’’ Goebel said the time element was important for three other reasons. “I think it is important to nolo that there arc a number of factors that come into play with three versus'fivc years,” he said. The first, he said, was that the College Football Association’s me dia contract expires in 1995. “At that point wc have no idea what the future will hold in terms of the media,” he said. The second factor, Goebel said, is that UNL secs a potential in the future for a mixed contract of both radio and television. A shorter radio contract would allow UNL greater flexibility in negotiating a new deal, he said. “We feel (a mixed contract) has real potential,” he said, “and it’s a potential we can develop in the near future.” Another factor, Goebel said, is that the radio business is undergoing a weak period. He said a short contract would allow UNL to renegotiate the contract if the radio industry was strengthened. Performance, team’s attitude please Osborne By Jeff Griesch Staff Reporter After watching his team suffer its first defeat of the season to Washing ton on Saturday, Comhusker coach Tom Osborne said he was pleased with his team’s performance. Osborne also said he was optimis tic that his team could rebound this Saturday against Arizona Slate. “I thought we played very well,” Osborne said during the Big Eight coaches’ teleconference Monday. “We executed well, wc played hard, and we played defense very well.” “Wc played much better this year than wc played last year,” Osborne said. “Wc were ahead 21-9 and then wc just collapsed in the fourth quar ter, and wc gave up over 600 yards in total offense.’’ Osborne said he liked his team’s attitude after the loss, and thought they would bounce back against the Sun Devils. “This team has a lot of character,” Osborne said. “We were posiliveabout our performance and they reacted in a positive way too.” Osborne said the Huskers must be ready if they were going to move the ball on a stingy Sqn Devil defense. Arizona Slate shut out Louisville 19-0 on Saturday, allowing only 18 yards in total offense while piling up nearly 100 yards in sacks. The Sun Devils finished second in the Pac-10 in defense last season be hind Washington, and this year they may be even belter under new coach Bruce Snyder. Snyder led California to a 10-2 record, a Citrus Bowl win and a final No. 8 national ranking last season. This season, Arizona Stale opened witha31-7 loss to Washington before beating Louisville. “They do quite a few of the same things offensively as last year, but defensively they’ve changed to a Washington style,” Osborne said. “Defensively they have a chance to be the best we play.” Jayhawks performance causes odd excitement There iscxcitcmcnton the Univer sity of Kansas campus. Excitement is nothing unusual for Jayhawk fans. From late November and into March, the campus is abuzz with speculation on just how far the basketball team will advance in the \(' \ But wail a minute, this is Septem ber, so what would anyone in Kansas be excited about? Basketball practice hasn’t even started yet. This week the Jayhawk football team cracked The Associated Press ratings at No. 24. It’s the first time Kansas has appeared in an AP football poll since Oct. 11, 1976, when the Jayhawks were No. 20. Kansas has opened with a 3-0 record. This past Saturday, the Jayhawks beat Tulsa on the road 40 7. Only a week earlier, Tulsa traveled to College Station, Texas, and gave No. 5 Texas A&M all it could handle before falling to the Aggies. iviayoc mu success 01 isansas is a surprise to Ians of other Big Eight teams, but to Big Eight coaches, it comes as no surprise. In the weekly Big Eight coaches teleconference, Kansas was men tioned by two coaches who arc no strangers to the rankings. Kansas is 3-0 this year, ths best start aver under fifth-year coach Glen Mason. A year-by-ysar look at Mason and his records at Kansas: Big Eight YEAR RECORD Finish 1988 1-10 7th 1989 4-7 6th 1990 3-7-1 4th 1991 6-5 5th See HYTREK on 8 *---““---"T-Erik Unger/DN Erick Strickland runs sprints with the Nebraska basketball team. Strickland, a freshman basketball recruit from Omaha, also plays baseball in the Florida Marlins’ system. Bo Jackson Jr.? Baseball roots reroute Strickland to Florida By Jeff Grtescn Staff Reporter Before he sets fool on the basketball court as a Comhuskcr, Erick Strickland has already become a household name for sports fans throughout Nebraska. A schoolboy star out of Bellevue West, Strickland was a standout football, baseball and basketball player. He got offers from NCAA Division 1 schools in all sports before signing with Nebraska to play basketball. Then his summer plans changed. In June, Strickland signed a contract to play professional baseball in the Florida Marlins organization. His contract called for $55,000 over five years with a $15,000 signing bonus. He was forced to give up his basketball scholarship to play professional baseball, but the Marlins arc paying for his education. Strickland began his pro career at a baseball school before moving to the Marlins’ Rookie League team in Kissimee, Fla. Living by himself was an education for 19-year-old Strickland. - “It was a real learning and maturing experience for me,” he said. “It really prepared for life here ai college. Strickland also learned that baseball was not all glamour. He started many of his days at 6:30 a.m. with a trainer, then did individual drills before taking • batting practice. Players contin ued working until noon, and then would play against other Rookie League teams. His days usually didn’t end until 6:30 p.m. “It was a lot of hard work,” Strickland said. “And the coaches expect to tell you once, and then you do it.” Strickland began the season See STRICKLAND on 8
