SportsWednesday Swim cut not fault of Title IX Title IX found its way to Lincoln last weekend at the expense of the Nebraska men’s swim ming pro gram. The phrase “bound to Samuel ««■* MClNfiWOn happen snuggles its way conve niently into this scenario. As budget constraints found their avenues of threatening NU’s Athletic Department with cost overruns, or, even worse in Bill Byrne’s eyes, the possibility of los ing self-sustaining status, NU moved swiftly. You know the outconie. It wasn’t a pretty one with swim mers, parents and yes, even the state media casting less than a glowing eye toward Byrne's finan cial planning. But another, disturbing by product came out of Monday’s {ness conference. It was the sense that Title IX, the law that guaran tees opportunities for women athletes, was going to hamper NU’s Athletic Department in cut ting costs. In _ fact, as other IfanNU coach worries about his small sport, he ought to look elsewhere than Title IX for the blame. coaches m men’s gym nastics and tennis pro grams seemed to indicate in news stories, it would destroy their sports as well. For all the times Byrne and others have touted women’s ath letics, he used Title IX as a hamstring Monday. It was cheap. He basically pitched that the women’s swimming program would have been cut if it wouldn't have brought on a civil-rights law suit. Let’s consider those last three words. In the process of guaran teeing opportunities to women who attend institutions that receive federal funding, Title EX, which covers a whole lot more than sports, morphed into a civil rights issue. It was signed into law by no less than the Nixon admin istration - not men of the Great Society or Kennedy idealism, but of a conservative stock. Its time had come years ago. Title IX is imperfect But it has led millions of women and girls to . athletics. Before it women’s ath letics were akin to sorority pas times in college. Starting with a lawsuit against Brown University in the early 1990s, Tide IX gained some spurs. It put athletic department’s feet to tire fire, so to speak, in supplying women and men with equal opportunities and finances. And since many schools have football programs that eat up fimding and scholarships, the law requires college administrations to balance out the equity by offer ing more women’s sports and scholarships. Ifs not a trend. It’s die law- a mostly good one. Had Nebraska dropped women’s swimming, yes, it would have been sued. And, yes, it should have been. - How does a law achieve any thing without enforcement? Is it Title DCs fault NU insists on run ning a football program? Is it the law’s fault it doesn't take into account how much football “earns’’ for NU because, guess what college athletics aren't sup posed to be business? If an NU coach worries about his small sports program losing funding, he ought to look else where than Title IX for the blame. He ought to point to football, a sport that claims it needs 85 scholarships when die NFL plays more games with 45 active play ers. He ought to point to useless Devaney Center renovations, which haven’t increased atten dance or winning. He ought to point to Barry Collier’s big, fat contract, which pays a boring man to play slow basketball. He ought to point to an athlet ic support staff so large it has three or four marketing kids in the ' I Please see Tllli IX on 7 r- . V I Gymnastics team worried about cuts BY KRISTEN WATERS Three days after Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Byrne announced that the men’s swimming and diving teams would be cut many are wondering what sport, if any, will be next to go as the Athletic Department tightens its collective belt ' Nebraska men’s gymnastics Coach Francis Allen thinks he knows the answer to that “Unless something drastic happens in the next six years, men’s college gymnastics is doomed,” he said If mot’s gymnastics at Nebraska eventu ally disappears, it may be more because of the nationwide demise of the sport than a cost-saving measure by Byrne. As school after school drops men's gym nastics to save money, it becomes mote and more likely NU will follow suit “There are 22 men’s gymnastics pro grams out there, and every year a few more go," Allen said. “This year it was James Madison and Michigan State that cut their programs for next year. “If a few more schools go, it could become a landslide.” At a Monday afternoon press confer ence, Byrne said more schools were drop ping sports to save money, particularly men’s gymnastics. “Expenses are out-racing resources, and people are looking for ways to cut," Byme said. “The men’s gymnastics champi onships has virtually become an all-comers meet because there are so few teams.” Byrne denied any sport besides swim ming and diving would be eliminated in the immediate future, but said it was hard to tell what would happen down the road. "It's hard to speculate because I didn’t know we'd have the increase in the budget bill that we had,” Byrne said. “For us to con tinue to balance our budget is a must” The men’s gymnastics team lost approx imately $435,000during the athletic depart ment’s last fiscal period, which ended June 30,2001. The team cost die athletic depart ment more money than all but three men’s sports - baseball, track and cross country and wrestling were the top-three drains. But those sports aren't in as much dan ger nationally as gymnastics is. It’s this specter of a national snuffing out of men’s gym that has Allen worried. “As long as there is representation from schools and competition between schools, there is a reason to keep it going,” Francis said. “But if there is no competition, then there is nothing.” However, to the gymnasts, keeping the program running as others fold is still worth the cost Because there are no professional gymnastics teams, college is one of the few ways gymnasts can compete at a higher level “I’d be furious if they took away gym,” sophomore Jeff Kelly said. “Most of the guys out there have trained five days a week or more since they were 6. It's just not right to take that away.” LEFT:Buck Better Field, which has been the home of Nebraska base baB for 22 years, is in its final sea son. The Huskers witl be moving to its new stadi um, Haymarket Park, either at the end of this season or the beginning of the 2002 season. BELOW: Buck Better Rekft press box will be replaced by a larger, updated press box at Haymarket Park. Buck stops after2001 season ■It may be Nebraska's worst facility, but the Comhusker baseball team will still miss Buck Beftzer Field's charm. BY JOHN GASKINS In an open prairie field just west of die 1-80 overpass that leads into down town Lincoln lies the scaffoldings of what will become the immaculate home of Nebraska baseball, Haymarket Park. Lincoln residents, Husker fans and especially those within the budding pro gram continue to rave about the new, $32.6 million facility. The ambiance of a plush, mini-major-league ballpark with Memorial Stadium and the Lincoln sky line in die background is eagerly antici pated - a place for players and fans to be proud of. The palace of a new, powerful kingdom. On the other side of that overpass, in the shadow of the awe-inspiring Memorial Stadium, lies the bastard child of this powerful athletic department’s facilities - NU baseball’s current home, BuckBdtzer Field A place that has all the ambiance and charm of a junkyarcLThe old dog will be put to rest after this sea son. When the Huskers and their fans say goodbye to the Buck this summer, they'll say goodbye to a place that had its own, er, charm and plenty of stories. Granted, its mostly screwed-up charm and screwed-up stories. Yhe Buck is better known for making several bloopers videos via a home run ball that smashed the window of a moving car than for any great game dr quality. But, for some reason, some Huskers will be a little sad to say goodbye. “In a way, we will bliss it," junior infielder WiU Bolt said. “Any time you leave a field, it’s a little bit sad. It’s the only field we’ve known here, and we've had some good times and good success here." Besides die familiarity, fan-friendli ness and some memorable wins die last couple ofyears, it is hard to imagine what there is to miss about the Buck - a (dace one local sports columnist said made the near College World Series-caliber Huskers look like “Pavarotti performing at die Royal Grove.” From the lovely view of the dirt v mound, parking lot, energy plant and nearby trains behind the field, to pot holes in the outfield caused by the foot ball team, which practices there, to a ramshackle press box that is so rickety it - shakes like an earthquake when the crowd goes wild, the Buck is more of a tortured battlefield than a baseball field. *** Every ballpark has its trademarks. Fenway Park has the Green Monster. Wrigley Field has the ivy wall. Buck Beltzer Field has “the bounce of the Buck.” Besides the cold weather, it is what the Huskers consider their biggest home-field advantage. “Our field is a unique case,” eight Please see BELTZER on 7 David McGee/DN' • Basketball off season doesn't mean time off BY BRIAN CHRtSTOPHERSON Nebraska basketball Coach Barry Collier lives a tidy exis tence, from his well-kept office to his clean-shaven face, which sits above his tucked-in dress shirt. There is no surprise then that he runs a tidy, detailed “off-sea son" program. Players already have found out slacking off, even in late March, shows up like a dirt spot to Collier. This March, it's lift, condition and an NCAA-allotted two hours of “highly intense” workouts under Collier's watch. “(Collier) gives us choices,” Cary Cochran, the Nebraska sen ior-to-be guard said. “You're not obligated to come in and work during the off-season, but you’re also not obligated to be a part of this team next year, so you really are obligated.” Cochran likes it that way. He said it’s different than it used to be under Coach Danny Nee of two seasons ago, a coach who really didn’t make lifting weights and conditioning mandatory. "My nature is to really work hard,” Cochran said. “I believe in outworking people.” So does Collier. The Cochrans of the world are the type of play ers Collier embraces. He needs players with work ethic because of NCAA regula tions. Collier isn't granted much opportunity to see his players’ off-season improvements until the magical first practice day. Collier dislikes this rule. “In the off-season, it’s as though the coaching staff goes into this dark room and comes out on Oct 15 and sees how their team has improved,” Collier said. “In the end, it falls on each player to make individual improve ments.” However, Collier is still able to track lifting and conditioning with limited gym hours. Collier uses this time to die fullest Lifting is being especially tar geted by Collier this off-season with the loss of Kimani Fffiend Please see CONDITION on 9 Improving tackling key in spring BY DAVID DIEHL It is said the Nebraska foot ball team has a commitment to excellence, not to being average. But average is how Nebraska Defensive Coordinator Craig Bohl rated his defense’s tackling in last Iwskte: hrt iHi| riwwi year's 10-2 NtftHMfcadtiajctrps campaign. The some times-shoddy tackling has led NU coaches to make the funda mental a focus in the four weeks of this year’s spring practice. Overall, Bohl said he would give the tackling of last year’s defense a ‘C’ grade. “To play championship style defense, you can’t be average," Bohl said. “We need to be excel lent tacklers, and that’s probably one of the biggest things we need to improve on and are addressing here in the spring." The problem was more cost ly than allowing an extra yard here or a first down there, Bohl said. “I think it was the difference between winning 12 games and 10 games," he said. v*' The tackling problems may have shown up on the score board last sea son. Nebraska allowed 19.6 points per game, the highest aver age an NU defense had given up since 1958. In its defense, the Blackshirts did replace eight starters from its 1999 squad. That included one of the best tacklers in Nebraska his tory, rover Mike Brown, who is second on all time NU tack ling charts. This spring, NU returns nine aeienaers wno started at least four games in 2000. “Tackling was a problem for us,* cornerback Keyou Craver uNRIe Pluto Defensive Coordinator Craig Bohl says the Blackshirts need to recommit themselves to above-average tackling this spring and during the 2001 season. Please see TACKUN6 on 9 V.