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touts y to take over NEUMANN from page 20 Josh Henson - transferring for reasons unrelated to Neumann’s resignation. Denke said he was looking at Northern Iowa, while Henson is going to Pennsylvania. Neither wrestler was aware of Neumann’s situation. The same could be said of most of the Husker team, none of whom knew about Neumann’s resignation before it was announced to the media at 5:21 p.m. Many expressed shock at the develop ments. “Damn, man,” Ati Conner said. “I mean, what do you say? I can’t believe it happened. That man is the main reason I came here.” Said Husker Charles, N^Torry, who was reached at NU captain Brian Snyder’s home: “He’s a good coach and a good man. That’s all there is to it” As for Vering: “He was a great coach who cared about his wrestlers, on the mat, off the mat. He is a great family man.” Very few of the wrestlers had spoken to the coach in more than a week, some not since Nebraska’s end-of-the-year banquet April 8. Snyder said he had spoken to Neumann on Monday on the phone, but the coach’s job status wasn’t among the topics. “I can talk to Coach on a personal level,” Snyder said. “We’re friends in that way, so we can talk about things outside wrestling.” As a captain, along with Vering, Snyder said both knew slightly more about the situation than their teammates. But the junior knew no specifics. Bob Houser, president of the Husker wrestling booster club and longtime Neumann friend, said Neumann’s resig nation was in no way connected to the booster club. Houser said he had spoken with Neumann early Tuesday but didn’t know the severity of the proceedings until he was informed Neumann had resigned. “I’m sorry to see that it came to this. Tim and I are good friends. We will remain good friends,” Houser said. “We had a nice visit on Tuesday. We never discussed the possibility (of a res ignation). I am overwhelmed by all of this.” . - In his 15 seasons, Neumann had established an impressive resume as Comhusker Coach. A native of Peshtigo, Wis., Neumann wrestled at NU during die 1979-80 sea son before transferring to Northern Michigan. He joined the Husker staff in 1983 as an assistant under Bob Fehrs. ^ He was a great coach who cared about his wrestlers, on the mat, off the mat. Brad Vering NU captain Neumann took over the program in 1985 as the interim coach, then was made official coach one year later. During his tenure, Neumann coached four national champions: Kelber, 126-pounder Tony Purler in 1993, heavyweight Tolly Thompson in 1995 and Vering this sea son. Neumann, 42, was Nebraska’s all time winningest wrestling coach with his 199 wins and was a three-time Big Eight Coach of the Year. In 1990, Neumann was named the National Coach of the Year after guiding NU to a 21-2-1 record and a fifth place national finish. Senior editor Samuel McKewon contributed to this report. . Price wants a chance at Olympic greatness PRICE from page 20 high school coach suggested she look at the university to compete as a thrower. “Our initial response was no, because her marks weren’t as good as the others we’d seen,” Colligan said. But she persisted, and after viewing a video Price submitted, Colligan changed his mind. “You could just see an explo siveness and athleticism,” he said. When she arrived, Colligan said he would help her with her discus if she would attempt to throw the hammer. Learning a completely differ ent throwing technique took time, a lot of work and a lot of falling down. “I fell down a lot and bruised my knees,” she said. “Sometimes I got really dizzy.” But Price kept improving by throwing and lifting weights about four hours a day. Although the transition to the hammer throw was difficult and sometimes frustrating, Price said she was pleased with Colligan’s decision. “I’m just happy to be here and throwing whatever (weight) will make this the best team,” she said. Said Colligan: “She wouldn’t even touch the disc now.” Price said her highlight from her freshman year was scoring at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship meet, which is right about when Colligan saw his young thrower in a whole new light. “We had suspicions about her potential up until that point,” he said. “That’s when we realized she was maybe even better than we thought.” Price kept moving forward, earning All-American honors in 1999 as well as placing 10* in the NCAA championship meet with a throw of 189-6. Although Price had a record breaking season last year, Colligan said he thought this year could be even better, as her train ing is designed for her to peak at the beginning of June. “She’s way ahead of where she was at this point a year ago,” he said. Price has until Sept. 11 to reach the 213-3 mark. And if she doesn’t qualify? ‘ “I’ll be training for 2004,” she said. ATTENTION CLASS OF 2000 www.unl.egrad2000.com : M I • f *.v - Daily .' Nebraskan egratfojliiii CDjogtrak.com ====^==^=======^=====^=========^===============sr=============s==^========s====s====^^====================rr=======zss=======s= KC owner welcomed into league HOUSTON (AP) - While baseball owners postponed a decision on realignment until June, they unani mously admitted David Glass to their club, approving his $96 million deal to buy the Kansas City Royals. “Everybody respects David Glass a great deal,” Arizona Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo said after Monday’s vote. Glass took over as Royals chair man in September 1993, shortly after the death of founding owner Ewing Kauffman. under Kauitman s succession plan, the team was offered for sale to Kansas City-area individuals and com panies, with the money earmarked for charity. “It’s been a long time coming,” Glass said. “I’ve already raised the cash. Thank goodness I didn’t have it in the Nasdaq.” Owners, who also approved a plan on how to handle disasters such as a team plane crash, needed just 40 sec onds to approve Glass. In November 1998, the Royals’ board accepted a $75 million offer from lawyer Miles Prentice, but com missioner Bud Selig convinced owners not to approve that deal when it came up for a vote in September. Glass, who had withdrawn from the lengthy bid ding process when he feared the Kansas City area didn’t support him, then made his offer. “1 know that Ewing Kauffman wanted me to wind up owning the team. He said that to me more than once,” said Glass, who in January retired as chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. To buy the Royals, Glass sold about 2 million shares ofWal-Mart last month, raising nearly $111 million, according to papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He wants his 41-year-old son, David, to help run the team. “Hopefully, long after I’m no longer around, our family will still be involved with die Royals,” Glass said. His purchase is set to close April 28 or May 1. He wants the Royals front office to know there won’t be major changes in the way the team is run.