University of Nebraska Kearney - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Kearney, NE)

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Recruiting: C ur coaches are doing a heck of a job I 1maintaining KSC’s national notoriety.’ — Zikmund Like many other American colleges and universities’, KSC takes the recruiting of its athletes very seriously, according to Allen Zikmund, director of athletics. KSC receives funding through the athletic association and private donations to carry out the task of recruiting. “Since funding is so limited, we don't mass recruit,” Zikmund said. “We must carefully select our athletes. Our coaches are doing a heck of a job maintaining KSC’s national notoriety in spite of the limited funding.” According to Tom Kropp, men’s basketball recruiter, KSC cannot offer a full-ride scholarship to an athlete be- cause of the limited funds. “The best we could offer a student would be $900, Kropp said. Kropp said he tries to sell the prospective students on the college, as well as basketball and the benefits that come with it. “I want to impress the athlete on the college first,” Kropp said. “If they come just to play basketball, then we don’t want them.” Apparently prospective athletes are coming for more than just the athletics. According to an article published in the Kearney Daily Hub, “Seven out of eight KSC basketball players earn their degrees.” “Our goal is to see our athletes graduate, Kropp said. “Playing basketball is just something they participate in along the way.” Brian Sandfort, a Holdrege freshman, practices layups the day before KSC’s game with UNO. Sandford is a guard for the Lopers. 24 I I .

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communist ideology, supported by the Soviet Union. The North Vietnamese be- lieved they were fighting for their na- tional survival. We tend to define that contest as though it were a super power contest ’ Magstadt explained. We see it as the United States versus the Soviet Union, using Vietnam as the battlefield. It was actually a civil war between the North and South. He said the question was not wheth- er or not Vietnam should be free or com- munist, but whether or not it should be tt T here was a ready- made formula for massive protest be- cause those fighting the war would be college age ... When the protest really got going, you had an army of college students demonstrating in and around the Capital. I was there and saw tre- mendous demonstrations.” — Magstadt divided or united. Ho Chi Minh was seen as the sym- bol of a reunited Vietnam, making it inde- pendent from the western powers, he said. The Vietnamese saw the United States as just replacing the French, which represented an extension of that past colonial dependency. He said the government of Saigon before its fall was not what many per- ceived it to be. We were defending a de- mocracy in Vietnam, but that was a transparent falsehood because South Vietnam was not a democratic govern- ment, Magstadt said. Itwas a dictator- ship and a corrupt government. The South Vietnamese government was bankrupt and the North Vietnamese recruited many South Vietnamese. Many of the guerillas who fought for the North were from the South, he said. ... democratic societies operate at a distinct dis- advantage in a contest against dictatorships. ” — Magstadt Magstadt said there will always be a gigantic question mark that hangs above the Vietnam Conflict. There is a serious question concerning whether the conflict was moral and just. This is the first time in history that we fought a war that raises that ques- tion, he said. It continues to haunt us. The other question is 'Was the war worth it?' We didn’t win our objective, he said, and the war cost us 55,000 lives and many other lives were hindered. Vietnam was, without a doubt, the most morally and politically disruptive, in terms of an international war,” he said. There were no victory celebrations be- cause there was no victory; the war nev- er climaxed but just zonked out because we pulled out of Vietnam in stages. It went out with a whimper. “The American people were disap- pointed with the end of Vietnam,” he said. As a result of that, the soldiers weren’t given a big reception when they came home. They were expected to re- sume life as though nothing had hap- pened. Magstadt said he believes Vietnam veterans deserve as much tribute and recognition as any other soldier of any other war. Some risked and others gave their lives, and they weren’t the ones who decided to go to war, he said. He also believes the system of drafting soldiers to go to Vietnam was unfair. “Those with affluent family back- grounds and higher incomes were the ones being deferred, he said. The na- tional lottery was designed to do away with that. The way the draft worked was unequal and unfair. Magstadt said he was not drafted because he was attending graduate school. I was from a small town in South Dakota and they had no problem filling their quota. I checked in with my draft board at home and they told me that as soon as I finished my requirements for aPh.D., I would be drafted. I said, ’okay.’ I was never contacted after that and I don't know why,” he continued, It was an unfair system, there's no doubt about that. Had Magstadt been called for mili- tary service in Vietnam, he said he would have gone. He mentioned that he was not enthusiastic about the Vietnam Con- flict but he would have served the coun- try nevertheless. He said because he did not serve, he feels a sense of guilt. “To have been eligible for the draft in those years and not have been called, leaves a certain sense of guilt, Magstadt said. “I did nothing to avoid the draft. There were many others my age who went in my place; some of them didn’t come back and others came back maimed. Magstadt said he would not consid- er Vietnam as one of the brighter chap- ters in American diplomacy. Because of Vietnam, we've learned to look before we leap. T o have been eligible for the draft in those years and not have been called leaves a certain sense of guilt. I did nothing to avoid the draft. There were many others who went in my place; some of them didn’t come back and others came back maimed. ” — Magstadt Platoon: KSC student per- spective on the diary of a Vietnam vet On Dec. 19, 1936, the film Platoon opened et box offices across the nation. By the weekend of Jan. 9-11, 1987, Platoon av- eraged more than $22,000 in 74 theaters which was the highest per-screen take of any new film, according to Time Magazine This diary of one man's experience in Viet- nam is predicted to be one of the hottest films of 1987. Following ere some KSC stu- dents' first thoughts after seeing the film. “The hell my dad went through k” — Tom Bernard, Imperial freshman ,And to think they were only 17 years old” — Ray George, Bayard freshman It meant so much to many people but they never let anybody know about it— they just kept it inside. ” — Jason Kosmicki, Alliance freshman “I really had an empty feeling, ” — Doug While, Hutchinson, Ken. freshman Wow, they really went through a lot ” — Beth Montgomery, Lincoln freshman It was a wonder more men didn't crack while they were in Vietnam. ” — Carter Siebke, Casper, Wyo. sopho- more Now I know why people act the way they do after they were in Vietnam — Pam Woodward, Lincoln freshman How terrible it realty was. ” — Jim Collins, Alliance freshman I didn't realize there was so much fighting amongst the soldiers, and that they killed women and children over there. — Kris Tynan, Fairbury junior Each day they risked their lives to de- fend a position, but yet they weren’t allowed to go out and win the war ” — Todd Wardyn, Litchfield freshman 23

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s PORTS i Academics a priority graduation seen as athlete’s true goal by Loretta Young The desire to work on academics is the first characteristic Claire Boroff, head football coach, looks for in his re- cruits. “An athlete must have good charac- ter and pride, Boroff said. “Of course, athletic ability is important, but it’s not any good if you can’t work with it.” Kropp believes his players must have a good attitude as well as athletic ability to work effectively on the team. “If the athlete has a bad attitude, chances are he probably won’t work very well, Kropp said. “If the athlete has a good attitude and the potential of players at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln draws many prospective stu- dent-athletes away from KSC. However, the walk-on policy for basketball at KSC appears to be its strength as two-thirds of the recruits for this sport are walk- ons, Kropp said. Some of the coaches believe re- cruiting has gone through several trends in the last five years. “I think the colleges and universities are becoming more competitive,” Boroff said. “The schools are making big com- mitments to its athletes at each level.” Kropp believes KSC specifically has concentrated its efforts on stressing the importance of education. “We are definitely concerned with a student-athlete’s academic ability,” Kropp said. “It’s education before bas- ketball. When we recruit, we recruit a student-athlete. Zikmund said he feels the coaches and recruiters have been developing a recruiting trend of their own in the last few years. “These people work hard and make personal sacrifices for their teams,” Zikmund said. “I think the quality of these teams proves that point.” think the colleges and universities are becom- ing more competitive. The schools are making big com- mitments to their athletes. ’ — Bo- roff developing into an excellent athlete, his chances are better that he will succeed. ’ ’ KSC rarely recruits athletes out of the state, and as a result, competition for players on the state level can become in- tense, Zikmund said. The walk-on policy for football Allen Zikmund, KSC athletic director and Tom Kropp, men’s basketball recruiter, review strategies tor an upcoming game. s 25