Graduating senior I
excels at billiards I
By Ted McCasun
Staff Reporter
He would get a graduation tassel
for pool playing if there were such a
thing.
Instead, Mark Butt will walk the
stage May 9 as both a UNL finance
graduate and the fourth-place win
ner in this year’s premier collegiate
billiards tournament.
Butt was one of 16 national
finalists who competed in the
Association of College Unions
International Billiards Tournament
held on April 17 and 18 in Green
Bay, Wis.
In order to compete there, he
had to win a tournament at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
and a regional tournament at
Kansas State University.
“Players that compete at that
level represent the best at the colle
giate level,” said Marv Buysman,
recreation manager of the Nebraska
Union.
These outstanding players voted
to award Butt the Sportsmanship
Award for the tournament.
“I try to show respect to my
opponents,” Butt said.
The players did not know each
other going into the Green Bay tour
nament, so they felt a little intimi
dated, Butt said.
Several professional billiards
players have played in the tourna
ment in previous years, including
19-time World Artistic, Trick and
i-—
I worried more
about pool than
school
Mark Butt
UNL graduate
Fancy Shot Champion Paul Gerni,
Buysman said.
Butt’s pool-playing prowess did
n’t begin until 1992, when he played
billiards as a resident at Abel
Residence Hall.
He picked the sport up quickly,
he said.
“It almost became an addiction,”
he said. “I worried more about pool
than school.”
Butt sharpened his skill by chal
lenging good local talent.
“For as small as Lincoln is, there
are quite a few good players,” he
said.
Butt said he does not aspire to
play billiards professionally.
“It’s very tough to make it,” he
said, even for some of the best play
ers in the region.
However, he plans to continue
participating in local tournaments
and leagues indefinitely.
Participation in the sport is not
limited by age or gender, he said.
“It’s been an enjoyment to play,
and I will continue to play until I am
dead.”
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