Antone Oseka
NU schedule
bashers lack
a foundation
Would everyone please leave
Nebraska’s non-conference sched
ule alone!
NU has tried to schedule good
teams, but they just didn’t want to
play here. ‘Nuff said.
It’s not the worst Husker non
conference schedule in history; it’s
not even the worst non-conference
schedule in the Big 12 this year.
At Big 12 media day in July, the
Texas media made it obvious they
thought NU’s non-conference foes
left a lot to be desired. Take a look
in your own state before you criti
cize out-of -state teams, or at least
give the guise of being objective.
Did they even consider R.C.
Slocum’s career-saving schedule at
Texas A&M? Here’s a team that has
as much national prominence as
Nebraska, with a schedule that fea
tures Sam Houston State (toughie),
Southwestern Louisiana (to whom
the Aggies LOST last year), and
that huge battle against rival North
Texas (which will be played on neu
tral turf in Irving’s Texas Stadium).
This coming from an Aggie team
that is supposed to challenge for the
Big 12 championship.
Texas A&M was also one of the
teams that dropped its contract with
Nebraska when the two teams
joined the Big 12 Conference.
Then, what about Kansas
State’s non-conference schedule?
The Wildcats play Northern Illinois
on the road, Ohio in Manhattan and
Bowling Green in Manhattan. A
few years ago, Nebraska was criti
cized for playing Northern Illinois,
but it’s OK for K-State.
This season, Nebraska was
scheduled to play Arkansas, which
backed out when the Razorbacks
joined the Southeastern
Lonlerence. ihe Huskers also had
tentative contracts Southern
California, Utah State and
Arkansas State. All backed out.
The only teams that would fill
those gaps were Akron and Central
Florida.
At least Nebraska plays
Washington. The Huskies will pro
vide a good test for Nebraska, even
if the preparation lacks a little with
the Zips and the Knights.
Also, let’s face it. This isn’t the
worst Husker non-conference
schedule in history.
Remember 1990? The stellar
NU non-conference schedule fea
tured Baylor, Northern Illinois,
Minnesota and Oregon State. NU
suffered the consequences later that
season, losing to Colorado,
Oklahoma and Georgia Tech.
If you want great non-confer
ence foes for the Huskers, just give
NU a little time. In a few years,
Iowa and Notre Dame appear on the
schedule in the same season.
But they have time to pull out,
too.
Oseka is a senior news-editor
ial major and a Daily Nebraskan
senior reporter.
NU loses Kiptarus, Maiyo
By Sam McKewon
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska men’s cross
country team has been dealt two
severe setbacks with the loss of
two of its top three runners, seniors
Jonah Kiptarus and Philip Maiyo.
Kiptarus, who was supposed to
return to Nebraska this fall after
taking the spring semester off to
help his family in Kenya, has not
reported for fall practice and can’t
been located, Coach Jay Dirksen
said.
Dirksen said the last time he
are slim to none, and slim is on his
way out of town. ”
Kiptarus finished second last
year at the NCAA Championships
and was a preseason favorite to win
the NCAA title this season. Last
season, Kiptarus became the first
ever Husker to win the District 5
title.
Maiyo, also a native of
Kapsabet, Kenya, is also out for
the year because of knee surgery
he underwent Friday.
The loss of Kiptarus and Maiyo
takes Nebraska from a team look
ing to contend for a top-five
national finish to a team that will
have to adjust quickly, Dirksen
said.
“We have gone from top-10
team to a team that will probably
be in the middle of the confer
ence,” Dirksen said. “You don’t
just lose a guy that was second in
the nation and a guy that was third
in our lineup and expect to be
strong.”
The loss of Kiptarus and Maiyo
will put more pressure on senior
Cleophas Boor and freshman
Jeroen Broekzitter to fill the void.
Boor, a senior, finished third
last season at the NCAA
66
The chances of Jonah running for us this
year is slim to none, and slim is on his way
out of town
Jay Dirksen
NU cross country coach
Championships. Broekzitter, a
freshman from Utrecht, the
Netherlands, will compete with
NU for the first time this season.
“Cleophas and Jeroen have
really run as well as they can so
far,” Dirksen said. “Cleophas is
one of the two or three best in the
nation still, and Jeroen is in the top
25 to 50 runners around the coun
try. So we’re going to be solid at
one and two.”
Dirksen has to figure out who
will run at the third, fourth and
fifth spots for the Huskers.
Dirksen said his team would be
better off trying to make the best of
the 1997 season.
“I’m figuring that if anybody
redshirts, it will only be one guy,”
he said. “You’re better off - if you
have a good team - to go with it
then to try and make a guess on
next year.”
The team’s fate for the 1997
will be determined by runners who
had not anticipated to play a big
role this season, Dirksen said.
‘We really don’t have a lot of
choices at this point,” Dirksen
said. “We need guys who really
didn’t expect to be in big meets to
step up and run their best.”
No matter how well the team
rallies, Dirksen said, the damage
has already been done for the 1997
season.
“There’s no way we can replace
the caliber of runners that Jonah
and Philip were, no way,” Dirksen
said. “The potential for this team
has changed.”
talked to Kiptarus was July 13 by
phone from Kenya. At the time,
Kiptarus said he would return for
his senior season.
Kiptarus was supposed to fly to
the United States from Italy on
Aug. 15, but he never arrived.
Attempts to contact him in Italy
and at home in Kapsabet, Kenya,
have failed.
“We have no idea where Jonah
is right now,” Dirksen said, “and
we really don’t think he has the
right papers to get in the country if
he could come back. The chances
of Jonah running for us this year
Osborne
defends
schedule
By David Wilson
Senior Reporter
Nebraska football coach Tom
Osborne has been criticized for
scheduling home games against
Akron and
Central
Florida to
open the 1997
season.
But the
Cornhuskers
didn’t really
have another
choice.
“It’s gotten
Osborne harder and harder
to get people to
come in here,” Osborne said. “Some
of it is conference realignment; some
of it’s just basic philosophy.”
In recent years, Osborne said, the
Michael Warren/DN
ASSOCIATE HEAD ATHLETIC ftainer Doak Ostergard tapes the wrist of Mike Rucker. Ostergard’s main respon
sibility before football practice is to make sure the players are taped.
> • - V '
Ostergard aids NU athletes
nusKers nave naa 10 ngni nice maa
to keep some good teams on their
schedule.
“I had head coaches call me and
say, ‘We don’t want to play you,”’
Osborne said. “I said, ‘Well look,
we’ve got a contract and we don’t
want to play you either, but we’re
going to play you.’ If we would have
let all the people out of their con
tracts that wanted out, we’d have had
a real problem.”
Nebraska had originally sched
uled Arkansas to play in Saturday’s
season opener, Osborne said, but die
Razorbacks had to back out when
they joined the Southeastern
Conference. Southern California was
then tentatively scheduled, but no
contract was ever signed. Osborne
said Utah State and Arkansas State
were also penciled in before Akron
agreed to play the Huskers in
Lincoln.
In the second-game slot on Sept.
Please see SCHEDULE on 8
By Nate Odgaard
Staff Reporter
During spring practice,
Nebraska I-back Dan Alexander
made a big enough impression that
both coaches and fans were expect
ing big things this fall from the
freshman.
'• k But one day after the spring
game in which Alexander rushed
nine times for 89 yards and two
touchdowns, NU trainers discov
ered Alexander had tom the anteri
or cruciate ligament in his left knee.
For many athletes, an ACL
injury requires at least a year of
recovery.
But through Alexander’s hard
g- . . - - - . .
work and the work of Nebraska
trainer Doak Ostergard^ Alexander
has been able to practice during the
fall camp and could play as soon as
NU’s Sept. 13 game against Central
Florida.
“I wouldn’t say I’m the key per
son,” said Ostergard. “It .takes a
combined effort frdm everybody -
doctors, the training, room and
strength staff.”
Alexander’s recovery is one of
the fastest Ostergard has ever seen.
Ostergard was named NU’s
head football trainer in July, but he
has been a part of the Huskers’
recovery team for nine years.
After earning his master’s
degree in 1989 from NU, Ostergard
worked with reconditioning injured
basketball players for two years.
Since then he has worked with foot
ball players.
Nebraska head athletic trainer
Jerry Weber said Ostergard’s expe
rience made him an obvious choice
for the job.
“With a program like ours, you
want someone who knows the sys
tem, the coaches and what their
expectations are and how to deal
with the athletes appropriately,”
Weber said. “He’s got a good rela
tionship with everyone he has to
deal with.
“I don’t think there is any ath
lete who doesn’t feel they can’t
work with Doak on a daily basis,”
he said.
Please see OSIERGAKD on 8