The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 20

C4 SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2001 SPORTS THE SALINA JOURNAL Dunn Competitor's task is battle to become starter FROM PAGE C1 followed by bed time at midnight or 1 a.m. "You're really dedicated to what you do a lot of studying, a lot of communicating and contacting people in the streets," Dunn said. "Knocking on doors, teaching. "Mentally it's overwhelming, spiritually it's overwhelming. But that's what helps you grow.

When you have to pay a price like that, you're going to see the results." For Dunn, who last year became the top single-season passer in junior college history, the results on the football field were not immediate. He spent one year as a backup at Ricks before exploding for 4,351 passing yards and 42 touchdowns last season as the starter His mission this spring is to try to beat out sophomore Ell Roberson, last year's backup, for the K- State quarterback job. "I think I'm capable," said Dunn, who at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds has been described as a prototype drop-back passer with deceptive mobility "We have great quarterbacks here. I think that's one reason why they recruited me, to come in and help this team. "Whether it be Ell, Jeremy (Milne), myself or even Jeff Schwinn I think everyone of us has the opportunity to start in the fall." Naturally, Dunn wants to be the starter when the Wildcats open their season Sept.

8 at Southern California. "As a competitor, of course you want to compete for the starting job and play and to help your team contribute to be the best," he said. "But you also have to respect the consequences. "If you don't do your part, you know you're not going to be able to start. I think they give you a fair shake here at Kansas State." Though Roberson arrived at K- State from Baytown, Texas, in the fall of 1999 with much fanfare, he enters this spring with limited game experience.

And Snyder, a strong proponent of in-house competition, does not want anyone to win the quarterback job by default. "We haven't had the opportunity to see Marc Dunn yet, so that remains to be seen," Snyder said. "(But) I think Marc has given us every indication that he is certainly going to make it a battle." Roberson, a two-year veteran in the K-State system, started the spring as No. 1 on the depth chart. And if he fulfills the promise he showed in high school, or in last year's spring game when he electrified the crowd with a pair of long touchdown runs, Roberson could be tough to beat.

But Dunn's career has been all about patience and comebacks. Before becoming a starter at Ricks, he first had to regain his football form. The biggest problem was finding time to stay in shape. "You get one day, what they call a preparation day, during the week," he said. "The other six days of the week, you're working.

"On that one day I got out and threw and did as many pushups and situps as I could. I came back pretty thin. But it serves a better purpose as far as (being) mentally strong." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints suggests its members take their missions between the ages of 19 and 25, though it is up to the individual whether to go at all. Dunn opted to go after high school, rather than interrupting his football career once he got to college. "It's a personal choice," he said.

"I just thought for me it was the best thing I could do. Someday football is going to run out for me. "Whether it be academics, whether it be a mission or whether it be getting married or doing other things, you've got to be prepared for the believe what I learned at that point in time in my life, the mission was the right thing for me to do." Although he was recruited by some Division I programs out of high school, none of them were willing to wait two years while he completed his mission. Ricks, an LDS-affiliated school, was a natural choice. It also was where he met his wife, Elizabeth.

But while Ricks was a good fit for him, Dunn said going the junior college route has its drawbacks. "You have to keep proving yourself," he said. K-State offensive coordinator Ron Hudson expects Dunn to prove himself again. It is up to Roberson to hold him off, much as Jonathan Beasley turned back a challenge from Roberson last year. "I think if Ell Roberson does the same thing (as Beasley), so be it.

That would be good," Hudson said. "But Marc Dunn is very competitive. He's been in big games at that level. He knows how to throw the football." One advantage of playing at Ricks was the Vikings' complex offense. Dunn insists the playbook was every bit as thick as K-State's.

He also is confident that he can handle the option, which in recent years has emerged as a key ingredient in the Wildcat attack. "I'm pretty quick on my feet and also I can throw the ball," he said. "I ran the option in high school, so I've had an association with both the option and a complex passing game. "The option here, I think is great for breaking down defenses and certain things they can attack you with. I think the option is very vital to having a successful offense.

Especially the way we run things around here." BIG 12 SWIMMING AND DIVING Buskers, OU try to fill voids Nebraska must replace entire right side of its offensive line By DOUG ALDEN Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. Nebraska has more than just a few holes to fill in its offensive line this spring. The entire right side from the center on over will be new starters next fall. One of them gets to follow a consensus Ail- American at center "We've got a lot of young guys coming into the mix," said left tackle Dave Volk, one of just two returning starters on the line. Volk, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound junior, and left guard Toniu Fonoti (6-4, 340) are linemen back from last fall's starting five, which led the Huskers to the national rushing title.

The Cornhuskers would have three linemen back, but Ail-American center Dominic Raiola left school a year early for the NFL draft. Juniors Matt Shook (6-2, 300) and John Garrison (6-4, 285) are sharing time at center with the No. 1 offense and coach Frank Solich hopes one of them can emerge as the starter Senior Jon Rutherford (6-3, 300), out this spring as he recovers from knee surgery, backed up Raiola last season until he was injured in November Rutherford will be back in the fall, but he also has experience at guard and tackle and could be a valuable asset in either of those positions on the right side if Shook or Garrison can handle the load at center So far, Solich has liked what he has seen from all of his young linemen. "They're aggressive guys," Solich said. "I think that they have made good progress early on.

We're happy with the way they've developed so far. They've got to keep coming, of course." On the right side, the Huskers lost guard Russ Hochstein, a three-year starter, and two-year starter Jason Schwab at tackle. Dan Wadrop (6-5, 330) has been working as the No. 1 right tackle and Wes Cody (6-2, 295) and Jon Dawson were the top guards until Dawson tore a knee ligament Monday The Huskers definitely lack depth on the line this spring, but that is providing some of the younger players a chance to work out with the top offenses and get experience before fall camp. National champion Sooners ook for Heupel's replacement By The Associated Press NORMAN, Oklahoma's spring practices the past two years have been spent with Josh Heupel honing the offense at quarterback.

This year, it's somebody else's turn. When the defending champion Sooners began spring workouts Wednesday the coaches were watching to see which of three players emerges to take Heupel's place. The frontrunner is Nate Hybl, who was Heupel's backup last season. The other candidates are Jason White and Hunter Wall. Hybl will be a junior in the fall.

White will be a sophomore. Wall, a freshman, was redshirted in 2000. "I feel pretty good about all of them," offensive coordinator Mark Mangino said. "All three are in tremendous shape, they're stronger than they've ever been, they're quicker than they've ever been, and they've all worked hard in the offseason on their own, watching tape and studying our offense." All three are big and have strong arms. But it was Heupel's knowledge of the offense that played a major part in him finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting and leading Oklahoma to a 13-0 season.

He rarely called a wrong audible at the line of scrimmage or got surprised by a blitz. "Those type of kids don't come around that often," Mangino said. "However, we believe the quarterbacks we have are fine players that can execute our system, and that's all we're looking for" He said it's possible one of the three candidates will set himself apart from the others during the spring. "But it wouldn't surprise me if the competition didn't continue into two-a-days, which would be fine," he said. The other points of emphasis during the spring will be filling as many as three spots on the offensive line and finding the replacement for Torrance Marshall at middle linebacker Left tackle Frank Romero, left guard Howard Duncan and right guard Mike Skinner return on the offensive line.

But Duncan may wind up at center, which would leave three positions up for grabs. Mangino said replacing Bubba Burcham at center is his top priority. As many as five players will compete for that spot. Sport's future unclear following recent cuts Conference championship's fate at question after KU, cuts programs By JOHN MAHER and SUZANNE HALLIBURTON Cox News Service AUSTIN, Texas There is no March madness at swimming's version of the Final Four in the Big 12 Conference, just anger, bitterness, sadness and uncertainty This month both Kansas and Nebraska suddenly jettisoned their men's swimming and diving programs despite more than 75 years worth of tradition, leaving only four of the Big 12 schools still competing in the sport. The ranks are so depleted the Big 12 is questioning whether it can continue to stage a conference championship.

"I'm angry It bothers me that athletic directors will cut a program for money," said University of Texas swim coach Eddie Reese, whose teams have won 22 straight conference titles. "They're wiping us out in one fell swoop." "This was the 80th year of swimming at Nebraska and it pains me to know there's not going to be an 81st," said former Nebraska swim coach Cal Bentz after Nebraska eliminated a men's sport for the first time in almost 100 years. Bentz's men's teams won 15 straight Big Eight titles from 1980-94. "We seem to be the flavor of the month, added Doug Dickinson, the Kansas coach and former UT swimmer and graduate assistant coach. "That's the way it's been across the country If there's a (financial) need, drop swimming." The Kansas program produced 27 AU- Americans in its 76 years, and the Jay- hawks were the Big Eight Conference champions from 1968-75 and in 1978 and 1979.

Unless a desperate, daunting, last- ditch effort to fund the program succeeds, it is now history Iowa State coach Trip Hedrick said the losses of Nebraska and Kansas are especially hard because they were the only NCAA Division I college swimming programs.in those states. The league's swim coaches will meet next month to talk about how to save swimming in the conference. The Big 12 is considered a strong force nationally behind the Pacific 10 and Southeastern conferences. UT is the two-time defending NCAA champion, and this year, the Big 12 had three teams finish in the top 25, with Texas 11th and Iowa State 24th. But there's fear Iowa State wUl be the next to go, as budget problems and Title IX concerns have caused schools across the nation to cut or consider cutting men's swimming and diving programs.

Hedrick, who called Big 12 swimming a "house of cards," said, "I think it's not very good. We should know sometime this week, but we're fighting an uphill battle." Hedrick called his swimmers in Tuesday and told them to cover their bases, to start actively looking at other schools to which they could transfer "It was pretty sad," he said. "The prospect of having a close-knit family dissolved and never be together again is pretty humbling." "It's horrible. It's nauseating what's happening to our culture and our sport," said Washington swim coach Mickey Wender, whose own program barely escaped the guillotine this summer "I think men's swimming is an endangered species. I would not be the slightest bit surprised if my children did not have the opportunity to compete in the sport, just as they probably will not in men's gymnastics and wrestling.

We're foolish to think that we're any sport there's got to be a critical mass of schools competing. We're seeing that number dwindle right before our eyes." "The whole thing really hurts swimming on the international level and on the national level," Reese said. Men's swimming programs have been on the wane for decades. In the old South- "We seem to be the flavor of the month. Thats the way its been atwetic budgets and across the country.

If there's a (financial) need, drop swimming." Doug Dickinson Kansas coach west Conference, Baylor dropped the sport in 1963. In the Big Eight, Oklahoma did the same in 1965. According to NCAA figures, in the 1981-82 season 181 of 277 Division I schools, 65.3%, had men's swimming teams. In the 1998-99 season only 152 of 321 Division I schools, 47.4 percent, had men's swimming. "People feel like if they're not the best, then why bother.

Well, you can't have the top of the pyramid without the base," said Texas coach Mel Nash. It is not only the base of the pyramid that has been weakened, however In 1994 UCLA, which produced Tom Jager and accounted for 16 Olympic gold medals, dropped its program. A year ago Miami, which produced 26 Olympians and seven gold medalists, dumped its men. Nebraska, fueled by its Big Red football machine, has a $39 million annual budget. Kansas, renowned as a basketball school, has a $23 million budget.

That wealth, however, seems to be part of the trend in cutting teams. The Women's Sports Foundation has fielded so many questions about the 1972 Title IX act and the demise of men's non- revenue sports that it now has a position paper that says, "In tuality a school's decision to cut a men's team is more likely to be made at Division I institutions with the largest is usually made to insure that men's basketball or football can continue to maintain a much too high standard of living trying to 'keep up with the Joneses' in Division rich schools are really saying that the status of being in the most highly competitive division is more important to them than keeping all their sports teams." Title IX, which promotes equality between men's and women's teams, has resulted in the creation of a many women's athletic teams, few of which earn a profit or break even. That can tax an athletic budget, but so too can the arms race in the men's revenue-producing sports of basketball and football. Indoor facilities and state-of-the-art weight rooms have become the rage in football and top football and basketball coaches can now pull down $lmillion or more in annual salary "All of sports is out of hand, money- wise," Reese said. "I feel like we're out of hand and we have to hit bottom before we can get better" Reese said his swim program, the current NCAA champion, has an operating budget of about $550,000.

Nebraska has a similar budget while Dickinson said the one at Kansas was $400,000. Hedrick said Iowa State's swimming budget was slightly less than $300,000. "I've been here 12 years and this has been the third serious threat to the program," Hedrick said. "We had it in 1991 and 1994. Every time you go through it, it sets you program back at least two years.

In the state, it will set you back longer than that." Hedrick said Iowa State is looking at a budget shortfall and a 10 percent tuition increase next year that will increase scholarship expenses. He said the athletic department has also estimated that it would take an additional $4-5 million a year to be on a level playing field in most sports in the Big 12. At Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick said he's looking at $688,391 worth of red ink this year He offered a plan to the KU Swimming and Diving Task Force to come up with $740,000 in cash and an additional $1.36 million in pledges by June 30. They would also be required to raise $10 million by June, 2006 to endow the program. "I think that's demeaning.

Your 70 years or IQO years of history are for sale?" Hedrick said. "They've taken our sport and then they want $12 million to give it back," said Ron Nugent, a former Olympian and head of the task force of ex KU swimmers. Dickinson said, "Part of what the alumni is bringing up is the fact that we weren't asked, 'can you trim No one gave us the opportunity to raise money It was swimming, tennis, you're done." Hawaii poised to lose bowl games By The Associated Press HONOLULU The operator of the Aloha and Oahu bowls said it is all but certain that the two football bowl games will be relocated to the West Coast. Fritz Rohlfmg, executive director of Aloha Sports said Friday that the company is applying for certification for a venue change that would move the Oahu Bowl to Seattle and the Aloha Bowl to San Francisco. Any change would be subject to NCAA approval.

"It's sad to see the Aloha Bowl move, but it makes sense from a business standpoint and the overall good of college football to be played in a venue that can provide fans and financial support," Rohlfing said. A formal announcement is unlikely until NCAA officials approve the certification papers, he said. "We think we'll be a success, but it's not a done deal yet," he said. Pac-10 spokesman Jim Muldoon said Aloha Sports has one year left on the agreement with the conference. So, you love an alcoholic! Al A Non is for men Thursday nights 8 p.m.

1600 Rush 823-1646 "If they are successful in moving one or both games to the mainland, we wouldn't have any problem with that," Muldoon said. The Oahu Bowl was introduced in 1998 as a Christmas Day doubleheader with the older Aloha Bowl in Honolulu. TIME TO ENROLL Get The Latest Stuff Ages 8-17 Site: KWU, Salina 30TH ANNUAL Kansas Premier Boy's Girl's Sports Camps 'Boy's Basketball 'Girl's Basketball 'Girl's Volleyball TlieSkiUBmldeis" I For Info: Ask Your Coacl. Or Call 827-6229 DOOR PRIZES PIN PRIZES FREE LUNCH PROVIDED Phi Beta Psi 1st Annual Men's Women's Benefit Doubles 18 Hole Golf Scramble Saturday, May 5, 2001 River Bend Golf Course 4701 S. Ohio, Salina (2 IM miles south of Schilling Ohio) $25 Per Person $10 cart fee for 2 persons (or bring your 6wn) 1st 2nd Place for both Men's Women's Division.

Check-in: 7:30 a.m., Start: 8:00 a.m. Please list team members, phone numbers and mail to 2027 Lewis, Salina, KS 67401, or cal 785823-2435. Make checks payable to Phi Beta Psi Sorority. Entry deadline April 30. If you don't have a full team, we'll put teams together.

All proceeds go to local cancer patients cancer research. DOOR PRIZES PIN PRIZES FREE LUNCH PROVIDED.