Sports
Travis Heymg/UN
Nebraska guard Jamar Johnson goes up for a shot earlier this year
against Creighton. The Nebraska basketball team will play on television
a record 12 times this season.
Husker basketball success
means more games on TV
by i im rearson
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska men’s basketball team’s
success last season and their rise into the Top
25 this season has resulted in a record num
ber of televised games.
The Huskcrs will appear on television 12
times this season, including four games on
national television.
Nebraska will make its first ever regular
season appearance on ABC against Kansas
on Feb. 7. ABC will also televise the Husk
crs’ final regular season game against Okla
homa.
ESPN will feature the the Huskcrs twice
on “Big Monday.” Those games include the
game against Colorado in Boulder on Jan. 25
and the Oklahoma State game on Feb. 15.
Last year Nebraska appeared on ESPN
three times, compiling a 1-2 record.
Oklahoma spoiled the Huskers’ debut on
“Big Monday” last year when the Sooners
pulled out a 79-76 win in Lincoln. Nebraska
also lost against Missouri 87-61 on ESPN
last year, but the Huskers beat Creighton 90
85.
Even with the record number of televised
games, Gary Fourakcr, the athletic
department’s business and finance director,
said the Huskers revenue will not increase
drastically.
The money goes to the conference and
then is split up among the Big Eight teams,
Fourakcr said.
“It’s sort of like football, where the com
See TV on 9
Hot topics dominate
coaches’ agendas
at NCAA convention
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter
Athletic department certification, gender
equity and men’s basketball restrictions are all
at the top of many athletic directors’ agendas
around the country.
Those ace the key topics among the 160
other issues scheduled to be discussed at the
87th NCAA convention that begins today in
Dallas.
While the trio of topics is expected to be the
most noteworthy this week, economics should
prevail in almost all decisions, according to
UniversityofNebraska-LincolnChancellorGra
ham Spanicr.
“The overall theme that I sec in the issues is
fine-tuning of cost-containment measures,”
Spanier said. “There are modest changes that
affect almost every institution.”
As for certification of athletic departments,
a proposal is on the table requiring all Division
I athletic departments to be audited in a span of
every five or 10 years.
Nebraska is one of the institutions that has
had experience in the the certification process,
since UNL was used recently as part of a pilot
program during an NCAA study.
The certification issue, which is expected to
pass, will be beneficial if the kinks are worked
out from the pilot program, Spanicr said.
“This is probably the single most interesting
issue this year,” he said. “It was a fairly burden
some pilot program, but it will be simplified.”
Spanier also said the auditing process would
be a positive for schools because “it will ensure
a higher level of responsibility.”
Gender equity should be highly debated in
Dallas. One of the main issues will be the
scholarship limit for women’s basketball pro
grams. Some coaches are pushing for the limit
to be increased to 15 after 1995. Currently the
women’s programs are scheduled to reduce
-u
The overall theme that I see ip^
the issues is fine-tuning of cost- *
containment measures.
—Spanier
UNL chancellor
-f> -
scholarships to 13, equal to the eventual allot
ment allowed for men’s basketball teams.
Nebraska women’s basketball coach An
gela Beck said she supported bringing back 15
scholarships for women.
“I’m very much in favor of reinstating; with
gender equity, it will help the problem,” Beck
said. “Giving us another scholarship will help
give more players more opportunities.”
She said that if the support from the Ne
braska administration is any indication of how
the scholarship proposal will fare in Dallas, it
should do well.
“I think the University of Nebraska is pretty
positive about it,” Beck said. “Chancellor
Spanier and Athletic Director (Bill) Byrne arc
positive in dealing with gender equity issues.”
In issues concerning the men’s basketball
team, the regular season starling date is pro
posed to be moved from Dec. 1 to the Friday
following Thanksgiving. Another benefit to be
debated is whether to add the full-time assistant
that was taken away last season.
But one of the most controversial issues with
men’s basketball this week is the proposal to
delay a one-scholarship cut by two years until
1995.
Comhusker men’s basketball coach Danny
Nee said he wants to keep the extra scholarship
as long as he can.“Well, if they think they need
to cut a scholarship, I am sure that it won’t
really have an effect on a program,” Nee said.
“But what I see as a negative effect is that it
keeps one more kid from having a chance to
play basketball at Nebraska.”
N U baseball team ranked
No. 32 in preseason poll
Rating renews national
attention, coach says
By Derek Samson
Staff Reporter
After a five-year absence, the Nebraska
baseball team is back in the national spotlight.
The Cornhuskcrs arc ranked No. 32 out of
the nation’s 280 Division ! baseball teams by
Collegiate Baseball and arc now out to prove
that they arc worthy of the ranking.
Nebraska coach John Sanders, whose team
will open its season in February, said he was
pleased with his team’s return to the preseason
rankings.
“It helps revive the national attention,” Sand
ers said. “It was here before and we were close
in the Iasi few years, but we haven’t been rated
since 1988.”
“People out there think we’re good and we
think we’re good,” Sanders said. “Another
thing it docs is put some positive pressure on
us.”
Other Big Eight teams in the preseason Top
40 include No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 20
Oklahoma.
Despite fighting an extra recruiting battle
because of Nebraska’s weather, Sanders and
the Huskers have drawn even more national
attention with an incoming recruiting class
ranked 19th in the nation.
“We really like that we were 19th,” Sanders
said. “I think it’s very positive for us to start off
the year like this.”
“We have been projected to be a definite
See SANDERS on 9
Gymnasts to provide Nebraska sports highlight in 1993
Pardon me. Psst. Excuse me.
I don’t mean to bug ya, but did I
miss something?
You see, I watched 1992 Husker
athletics from the cheap seats.
And let’s face it — since I didn’t
watch from the luxurious, front-row
Daily Nebraskan box seats, I basi
cally missed most of 1992 in Husker
sports.
And just as surely as Tommie
Frazier missed Johnny Mitchell—or,
more appropriately, Husker hoopsters
missed their free throws — I know
you missed me last year.
But since you had the misfortune
of missing my biting observations last
year, I’ll offer a few extra points from
1992 and the beginning of this year.
And please fill me in if my rosy
perspective clouds over any of last
year’s disappointments.
I did happen to catch Nebraska’s
first athletic performance of 1993 —
the 27-14 Orange Bowl loss to Florida
Slate. Not bad, but not great. So what
else is new?
In spite of a tense touchdown
Tommie (who never quite touched
down when he arrived in his home
slate) and a few BBs from Byron
Bennett, Nebraska played well.
And criticize Charlie McBride’s
defense all you want, but the
Todd
Cooper
Blackshirts contained Seminole sen
sation Charlie Ward most of the night.
Now, come again, who was this
Marv Seiler guy? And why couldn’t
Nebraska keep that no-name in check
in 1992?
Speaking of checks, Derek
Brown’s decision to turn pro made
about as much sense as Mitchell’s
change of heart last year.
But unfortunately for Brown, he
won’t make quite as many cents as
Mitchell.
For those of you happy to see Brown
run for the money, think again. Not
only do the Huskcrs lose a quick
complement to Calvin Jones, but they
also lose a potential game-breaker.
And, on top of that, Nebraska most
likely will lose Jones a year early. Had
Brown stayed, Jones would have
wailed to show America his Heisman
moves during the 1994 season. Now,
watch quickly Nebraska fans — be
cause C.J. probably will say “sec ya”
after next season.
Husker hoopsters might be bid
ding adieu to any NCAA tournament
hopes this year if they don’t wake up
soon.
Even the ever-positive Danny Nee
hinted that the pollsters were dream
ing when they ranked Nebraska as
high as No. 17 before the bandwagon
drowned near the Pacific. Losses to
USC, Michigan and, worst of all,
Southwest Louisiana show Nebraska
has something to prove on the road.
And Nee is dreaming himself if he
See COOPER on 9
