University of Kentucky - Kentuckian Yearbook (Lexington, KY)

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x 803 SOUTH WILDCAT WAGON WILDCAT COUNTRY ] GET ON THE WAGON

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 Customized Wildcat items delight «f fans - and rake in tjBig Blue Bucks 4! m co Bim % BL ' . '7-‘y 12 Big Blue Paraphernalia entuckians loved the University of Kentucky. That was evident by an in- spection of the shopping bags belong- ing to the people of the com- monwealth. Other universities' names were presented in tradi- tional ways: on sweat shirts, T-shirts, sock hats, jackets and notebooks. Still other universities' fans went a step farther with stadium blankets, bumper stickers, um- brellas and spare tire covers. But UK fanatics found themselves hungry for unique blue and white paraphernalia, and area merchants found ways to make the products available. Sandra Harrison realized the market existed and on February 1, 1982 opened The Kentucky Corner. The establishment was devoted to items relating to the University and the state. We have a screening process for T-shirts and we had done lots of Kentucky T-shirts. We opened the store because we knew what the people wanted, said Har- rison, co-owner. Despite the store's location in the exclusive Mall at Lexington Center, Harrison attempted to keep the prices within the average student budget. The locale was pivotal to success during basketball season due to its proximity to Rupp Arena. We will kind of cater to the games, said Harrison. In the summer we'll phase out basketball stuff and have bluegrass souvenirs. Intense rivalry between UK and the University of Louisville prompted Jerry Lewter of Frankfort to devise the Archrival Basketball” board game. It provided a continued on page '14 Kentucky Corner's Sandra Harrison displays UK products she selected for the newly-opened establishment. —Photo by Leigh Anne Stephens The Wildcat Wagon, maintained by 803 South, shuttles fans to and from UK athletic events. —Photo by Leigh Anne Stephens

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Big Blue Bucks venue for state fans to create the controversial contest under potential game conditions. We figured that UK and U of L would be in the top five and since they don't play, we thought it might be in- teresting to match up the two, said Lewter. An elaborate process using past years' statistics determined how the actual players, based on the 1982 teams, would react in certain situations. For beginning players, UK wins more often (about 3 of 5) because the starting line up shoots better foul shots, said Lewter, but U of L actually has an advan- tage in that their bench can shoot foul shots better. Lewter planned to update the game annually and ex- pand the concept to include the other schools in the Southeastern Conference. But no other school in the country has their own game, said the self-proclaimed dyed-in-the-wool UK fan. During the 1976-77 academic year, UK athletics led to another first in the na- tion. The Cats' Pause was the initial weekly newspaper to concentrate on the athletic activities of a single univer- sity. By 1982, the number had mushroomed to 25, predominately in the southeast, We're no different than a daily newspaper except with more detail and we don't push advertising, said Oscar Combs, publishei of The Cats' Pause. It s pretty difficult outside Lexington to get in-depth news about the teams. It was my philosophy that it would make a financial success. Combs stressed, however, that he didn't start the publication to make money. I left a job in Hazard mak- ing approximately $75,000 a year. I think that speaks for itself. I didn't care if I made money, but I didn't want to lose money either. The paper's circulation reached beyond the state boundaries and had a heavy concentra- tion of subscribers in the southern parts of Indiana and Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Michigan and Califor- nia. Combs attributed the outgrowth to people who continued on page 16 Ron Gilbert models brown corduroy pants embroidered with Wildcat heads. The pants were available at D.J. Showalter. —Photo by Leigh Anne Stephens Even the University adopts a Wildcat head motif for its 1981-82 park- ing stickers. —Photo by Leigh Anne Stephens The rear portion of Associated Printing Co. sports an inspirational message for Wildcat teams. —Photo by Leigh Anne Stephens Linda Knapp presents an ice cream cake designed for an NCAA Final Four bid. —Photo by Leigh Anne Stephens