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Antone Oseka
Texas Tech.:
How not to
run a school
Dear student athlete at Texas
Tech University:
You don’t need to go to class.
You don’t need to study. All you
need to do is perform on the athlet
ic field.
We’ll cover for you, we’ll make
sure that no one checks for eligibil
ity until after the season is over and
you’re through playing here. Trust
us, no one will ever know.
Now, hit the weight room, not
the classroom.
Sincerely,
The Administration of Texas
Tech
OK, so maybe it’s not that
spelled out. Maybe it’s a little more
subtle. Perhaps it’s an understood
rule among the athletes in
Lubbock, Texas. If you perform on
the field, the program will take
care of the grades. It’s probably not
going to be found on a memo cir
culating around to the coaches in
the Texas Tech Athletic
Department.
But it could be. Over the last
six years, 76 ineligible athletes
have performed on the field or
court for Texas Tech. Who knows
how many others got away without
being noticed?
The most publicized one, of
late, was Byron Hanspard, the star
running back of the Red Raiders
who was sprinting toward the
Heisman Trophy instead of run
ning to take his final exams.
Everyone was ready to accept
that Hanspard made a bad individ
ual choice. During Big 12 media
day at the end of July, Tech coach
Spike Dykes raved that Hanspard’s
case was not indicative of Tech’s
program.
lean, ngni.
Seventy-six athletes over six
years indicates a major problem
for the Big 12 university. The stu
dent in student athlete comes first
for a reason. Texas Tech is sup
posed to be a Division I institution
with standards that all students
must follow. They are not an athlet
ic trade school. It seemed as if
Tech’s previous stance was also a
simple one: Star athletes don’t
need the added stress of going to
class like normal students.
Most universities check their
athletes’ grades every week or two.
Nebraska checks each athlete’s
grades every two to four weeks.
Most times, the checking is han
dled by the coaches. An athlete
who is not going to class or not tak
ing the exams is not going to get
by.
It’s a simple policy someone
should send to Texas Tech.
Oseka is a senior news-edito
rial major and a Daily
Nebraskan senior reporter.
Huskersi
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Assignment Reporter
Two matches against unranked
Big 12 Conference foes Iowa State
and Missouri allowed Nebraska vol
leyball coach Terry
t to experi
with his
last week
When the
(13-2
and 4-0 in
league) play
to No. 22
tonight
renn at 7:30 at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center, Pettit will
have his first true chance to analyze
the results.
The Buffaloes (8-4 and 4-0) are
one of three teams to remain unde
feated in conference action this sea
son, and they present a formidable
challenge for Nebraska.
The fifth-ranked Huskers have
not faced a ranked opponent in nearly
three weeks.
“They’re a team that will definite
ly be in the NCAA tournament,”
Pettit said. “They could beat any
given team on any given night.”
Pettit said the Huskers will use the
offensive changes they made last
weekend against Colorado tonight.
In the first of two changes, Pettit
has opted to move right-side hitter
Lisa Reitsma to the middle of the
court during the past few matches,
better utilizing her attacking and
blocking ability, he said. The switch,
employed when 6-foot middle block
er Katie Jahnke is on the court, has
created increased opportunities for
outside hitters Jaime Krondak and
Mandy Monson.
The second court switch was a
necessity. Sophomore defensive spe
cialist Nikki Henk, who transferred to
NU this season after a year at the
College of Charleston, has stepped
into an increased backcourt role.
Henk has stepped up because Renee
Saunders, who played primarily a
defensive role for the Huskers,
injured her foot in a physical educa
tion class and will miss six weeks.
“We’re fortunate Nikki Henk has
become such a nice player,” Pettit
said. “She’s an exceptional passer.
Nikki can fill the gap for Renee. The
problem is, who will fill it for
Nikki?”
Middle blockers Jahnke and
Megan Korver, who contribute main
ly at the net, have started to play the
full rotation. Pettit also mentioned
sophomore defensive specialist Kim
Crandall as a possible substitute.
Crandall, who has seen action in
just 11 of NU’s 48 games this season,
hopes to see her playing time
increase, she said.
“It’s frustrating not to play a lot,”
Crandall said. “But being a back row
specialist, I understand that you only
get 12 subs a game. But I knew if I
was patient, I’d get the chance.”
Pettit said he expects a large
crowd for tonight’s match. Two years
ago, in NU’s only contest at the
Devaney Center, the Huskers secured
the NCAA record for the largest sin
gle-match crowd with 11,529.
“Some people are hesitant to
come down to a match not knowing if
they can get in or not,” Pettit said, “so
it’s really a concession to our fans to
know that once a year, we’ll play at
the Devaney Center.
“Our success rate is probably
higher in the coliseum. But if we have
a good crowd there, we’ll play well.
I’d be surprised if we didn’t.”
i_iMl_
Lane Hickenbottom/DN
AMMAN GREEN rushed for 193 yards against Kansas State Saturday,
the second-best performance in his career. Green has rushed for 534
yards this season, which leads Nebraska and ranks eighth in the
nation.
The
i
Powerful running returns
I-back to freshman form
By David Wilson
Senior Reporter
Plagued with injury last season,
Nebraska I-back Ahman Green fell
short of expectations, which left
many fans questioning his toughness.
But Green didn’t get mad. He just
kept running hard.
“It makes me wonder what people
are watching,” said Green, who
rushed for 917 yards in 10 games last
year. “Because I know when Pm out
on that field, Pm running as hard as I
can.
“I had close to 1,000 yards with
an injury. You don’t pick up 1,000
yards running soft. That’s all I’m
going to say about that.”
If putting up big numbers means a
back is running tough, then Green
hasn’t been weak this season for the
Huskers.
Through four games, the junior
has scampered for 547 yards and is
averaging 6.4 yards per carry. The Big
12 Conference rushing leader also
ranks second in the conference with
seven touchdowns.
Though he has been carrying a
bigger load for the Cornhusker
offense this season - averaging 21
carries per game - Green is not the
lone tough back.
Bull-headed running by quarter
back Scott Frost and fullback Joel
Makovicka has inspired Green to run
harder, Green said.
Frost ranks sixth in the Big 12 in
rushing with 370 yards (6.6 yards per
carry) and Makovicka has carried the
Please see GREEN on 10
Osborne steers clear of overconfidence
By David Wilson
Senior Reporter
Former statistics teacher and cur
rent Nebraska football coach Tom
Osborne said Tuesday that NU fans
might not want to make their Orange
Bowl reservations just yet.
With only one ranked team (No.
25 Colorado) remaining on their reg
ular schedule, it may appear that the
4-0 Comhuskers are on a cakewalk
straight to Miami.
But mathematics tell a different
story, Osborne said.
“What you do is find out die prob
ability of winning nine straight
games if your odds of beating some
body are four out of five, and then the
next game four out of five,” Osborne
said. “By the time you play nine
games, the odds of not winning all
nine are very, very high.
“And yet, people sometimes
assume that since you would be
favored against most everybody else,
you would play, it’s automatic you’re
going to win all of the games.
Mathematically, it doesn’t work out.
But hopefully it will wolk out for us
anyway, mathematics aside.”
Rather than figuring complicated
probability equations, Osborne said,
many Nebraska fans have gone ahead
and planned their winter vacations.
“Some of the mind-set of our state
may be just a little bit unrealistic,”
Osborne said. “I’ve heard of people
already buying tickets to Miami and
that’s really scafy as a coach - to real
ize that people £et that focused on
something that’s that far down the
road.”
Executive Travel president Steve
Glenn said that Husker fans have
shown a lot of interest in an Orange
Bowl package, which will be avail
able from the Lincoln travel agency in
two weeks.
“Everybody assumes we’re going
to win them all,” Glenn said.
Fans have also shown interest in
traveling to the Big 12 championship
game in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec.
6, Glenn said.
Osborne said he hopes his players
won’t assume the Miami-or-bust
mind-set of the Husker fans just yet.
After defeating two ranked oppo
nents, Osborne said, it would easy for
third-ranked Nebraska to slack off.
But that’s when the team captains
come into play.
“One of my responsibilities is to
make sure guys don’t lose focus,”
senior defensive tackle Jason Peter
said. “Myself and Grant (Wistrom)
and Aaron (Taylor) and Vershan
(Jackson) - we’re keeping on every
body’s back and making sure when
we go out there to practice that every
body is working toward the same
go^l. And that’s to win week after
week and eventually be undefeated
and play for it all.
“It’s important that we keep
improving. The teams that we’re play
ing, they’re certainly not at their
respective schools just hanging out.
They’re out there practicing. Now
with us beating everybody so far,
we’re everybody’s big |game.
Everybody wants to try to knock us
off.”
