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

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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

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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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ssues Athletes’ future holds DRUG te tcvic . by Jerry Buck THE ISSUES Administrator’s View - NAIA New Policy - Funding - Step in Right Direction - Random Testing - KSC Program - Individuals Protection Athletes View - Play Naturally - Fairness - No Testing - Own Choice - Being an Example Legal Aspects - Exploration Era - Constitutional Factors - Public’s Health and Safety - Athletics a Privilege - No Simple Answer Death can be the end result of it. The deterioration of body, mind and soul is its mark, while giving only a short-lived “high.” Drugs, one of the most common problems of today’s society, are soon to be dealt with by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the KSC athletics department. Through the awakening of the sports world, by the drug related deaths of prominent professional stars Len Bias and Don Rogers, action to educate athletes about drugs is being taken. The NAIA announced last summer that all colleges belonging to the association must adopt drug education and screen- ing programs for its athletes. Al Zikmund, KSC athletic director, said he and other staff members had an- ticipated this and were not surprised by the move since the professional and NCAA schools had similar policies. “It was only a matter of time before the NAIA jumped in,” Zikmund said. “I had contacted our coaches for their in- put and feelings along with our trainers and our team doctor, L. R. Smith.” But like all big projects, the drug ed- ucation and testing had certain prob- lems to ovecome to start the program. The main problem, according to Zikmund, will be financing. “I, along with other athletic direc- tors are concerned with the costs; we have heard so many variables, it’s frightening,” he said. “We have to find some kind of funding.” Zikmund said there have been esti- mates of testing costs ranging from $30 to $500 per athlete, depending upon what specific tests are made. Through general consensus of Al Zikmund most KSC coaches, the drug education and the testing is a good step in the right direction. Zikmund said KSC coaches have been involved in athletes’ drug ed- ucation for years and have stressed it in the manuals given players before the season starts. “I think testing is fine and I don’t be- lieve in athletes taking drugs,” said Ro- sella Meier, KSC volleyball head coach. “Drugs and sports don’t mix.” The 480 NAIA institutions submitted philosophy statements outlining their positions on drug abuse and described their methods of education and screen- ing athletes on the problem. The educa-