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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 1987)
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Grad Finance Program 90 Day Defered Payment Low Down Payment No Prior Credit All '87 Grads Qualify* Come By or Call Today for Details * Subject to credit approval m BUD WARD m Voikswagen-Porsche + Audi “The Dealer With A Heart” 1912 Texas Ave. 693-3311 Under the water tower in College Station Page 10/The Battalion/Wednesday, May 6, 1987 u Sports & Tt Houston, Rice try to mend program Cougars try to rebuild after period of struggl By Doug Hall Assistant Sf/orts Editor Second in a five-part series With the exception of South ern Methodist, probably no other athletic department in the South west Conference has suffered as much turmoil as the one at the University of Houston. After the 1985-86 basketball season, Coach Guy Lewis, who led the Cougars to the NCAA Fi nal Four in 1983 and 1984, re tired in favor of less recruiting and more golf time. Following the 1986 season, Head Football Coach Bill Yeo man also retired. Yeoman had led UH to four Cotton Bowl appear ances since 1979 (an impressive statistic considering UH began competing in SWC athletics in 1976) and compiled a 2 l 1 - 135- 10 record since 1962. Unfortunately for the Cou gars, the circumstances were not favorable. In 1986, the Cougars finished 1-10 and were sur rounded by talk of NCAA investi gations, slush funds and illegal recruiting practices condoned by Yeoman. Lewis was replaced by former Lamar University Coach Fat Fos ter and Yeoman was replaced by Texas A&M graduate and former Washington Redskin Head Coach Jack Pardee. Rebuilding is a term that comes to mind when discussing UH ath letics. The baseball program is cur rently under the direction of Coach Bragg Stockton, who took over for Rolan Walton after lead ing the Texas Christian and San Jacinto Junior College baseball programs. In his first year, Stockton has led the Cougars to a 36-20 record (1 1 -10 in conference) and a slot in the upcoming SWC tournament. In 1986, the Cougars finished fifth in tiie SWC with an 8-13 conference record. Much like Arkansas’ and Bay lor’s track programs, UH has gained a large amount of noto riety for its golf program led by retiring Head Coach Dave Wil liams. Since taking the job in 1952, Williams has won 15 NCAA championships, over 325 tourna ments, produced over 50 All- Americans, and won nine SWC ti des since 1974. A list of Cougar golf alumni reads like a Who’s Who in golf. Keith Fergus, John Mahaffey, Bruce Lietzke, Phil Rodgers and Ed Fiori are just a few. But William’s success couldn't stop the student body f rom pro testing against the athletic depart ment Iasi fall when it wasrelJ dial the department,(liie[o|| eral million dollar shortfair <|uested an inc tease in « service fees. At one point, the studenul called for the universityloj'l the athletic department. However, Rudy DavalotlB first-veai athletic director I the- (ioitgars are on the ten producing an outstanding partment with their Sti'/urB budget raised through revenues, student servkt and donations. "1 feel comfortable withij tion m whit h we are ho it Davalos said. “I'm pleased the total coaching staff,andi t ially Pardee and Fosk wouldn’t trade those twofu two in the country." Ric k Rivers, UH’ssprtsi mation director, said that si addition of Pardee and and the predicted turnara the two main revenuespor Cougars should lie solid again. A£ the tl with lowec Hous atterr ond c lin til zera outs. Tr Eriks I H()l jump si H|ud ha Owl athletics inundated with losing program ■me tc flKnckcO ItjHight. c ^Ind a By Doug Hall Assistant Sports Editor It’s tough on a school’s athletic department when its claim to fame is having a player from the opposing football team jump off the bench and tackle its star foot ball player as he raced unopposed down the sideline with the ball. But such is t he case if you are a member of the Rice University athletic department. In the 1954 Cotton Bowl against Alabama, Rice’s star run ning back Dicky Moegle was blaz ing down the Alabama sideline for what looked to be a sure touchdown when the Tide’s Tommy Lewis jumped off the bench to make the tackle. Moegle was awarded the 95- yard score, and Rice went on to win its third and last Cotton Bowl. Since then the Owls have made the trip to Dallas only once, and that resulted in a 20-7 defeat to Navy in 1 958. In fact, since 1959 the Owls have had'only three winning sea sons, and since 1980 their record is 16-59. Meanwhile, three differ ent head coaches have yet to turn the program around. Unfortunately for Rice fans, the Owls lack of athletic prowess does not end on the football field. It has been 17 years since Rice "-VS- But according to Jerry Berndt, Rice’s first-year head football coach and athletic director, the athletic department at Rice is not in any way down and out. Berndt’s four wins this season are the most Owl victories since 1980 when they were 5-6. “Our athletic department is definitely on the upswing," Berndt said. “We’re received much more readily now and are a far more integral part of the University it self.” won the Southwest Conference Championship in basketball and since 1972, Owl teams have fin ished no higher than sixth. Fi nally, after five seasons of sub- .500 records, Head Coach Tommy Suits resigned midway through the 1987 season. In baseball, although they tied Texas A&M for second place in 1984, the Owls have never won a SWC title. To emphasize his point, Berndt quoted Rice statistics indi cating almost 90 percent of the student body bought tickets or at tended games over the past two football seasons. But if there is one other statis tic in which Rice stands out, it’s the fact that its 3,600 students comprise the smallest Division I school in the nation. “If there is anything that makes Rice unique, it’s that we’re the smallest Division I v iyyKBA se the country,” Berndt said. 1 di< the same time we havet><finish' major college football schre'Beored ()l>\ H>usl\. the smdents^S°' llts * terested in Owl athletics.kl 1'Jf s Berndt said, ‘it's just tkH ; 33 lei numbers are so small.” Bheacl 1 But what Rice might kw ' 1 he mimbeis. ii idten niakesupBp 11 nie. enthusiasm. 11 there’s an'aB° <K I i' about that, then vou m vshosg have seen the MOB (MmB Owl Band) during halftinit(^p :iins ' football games doing “freeze," the “twist” or ik train.” Because Rice is a privatt tut ion, officials there wouli disc lose the size of the ai budget. I lowevet, withonlv si udents si/,- ol I < * \. I s W-M -Ih , A’ 1 ; probable that the moneyj"jM lienlm to the athletic depaitmentis s< ' ((m< l- parable to the football teas tories somewhere neaHiifl S<mu ^■ dK ^ 1 Th u rsda y: SM U and ifl " ° 11 1 d n ■nd wt Bollowii ■luh an jeering I “I wa llxpecte ■omedi I The roughlv oneten 1,1 ^ le NBA loses one of its brightest stars as Erving retires from the game Cowboys'piiDe used steroid! tak By Hal L. Hammons Assistant Sports Editor A page of basketball history saw' its final line filled Sunday, as Julius Erving, “Doctor J,” closed out his il lustrious career. He went out with a bang in the fi nal game of a five-game series with 1 the Mil- Viewpoint Bu"k's k He scored 24 gotten such rousing send-offs in ev ery pro basketball city in the coun try? This year, as the Sixers made their rounds through the NBA, Fans across the nation took time out from cheering for their own team.to cheer one particular man, even one on the opposing team. When Erving was taken out of the game Sunday, every Buck fan in the arena stood and applauded, giving the master showman one final points, including a three-pointer thrown in as a going-away present in the final minutes. He even con verted another graceful layup in tra ffic for two points and a f ree throw, just like he does in all the NBA high light films. But his team lost. That was not the way he wanted it to end. Truly, if justice was to be served, the Philadelphia 76ers would have come from behind to beat the Bucks on the way to an NBA title. But it was not to be. Much to the chagrin of Dr. J fans everywhere, NBA banners are not necessarily won by the players who deserve it most, but by the teams that play the best. It would have been a fitting cli max to the career of one of the greatest players — no, make that one of the greatest people— in the his tory of the game. In a sports world full of people that are admired as heroes and role models, Erving stands out as one of the few that really deserve the honor. Fans and peers alike respect him, not only because of his amazing exploits on the court, but also be cause of his character off the court. Who else in the game could have ovation. True to his competitive nature, Erving did not come out until the game was completely out of reach. Every other Sixer starter already had been taken out, giving Erving a few more precious moments to play the game he has loved for so long and played so well. How many others have contrib uted so much to the game? Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar per haps? But even these players take a back seat to Erving in my book. Why? One simple reason, and yet the most important reason of all: he made the game fun to watch. Night after night, game after game, The Doctor provided enter tainment for fans of all ages, colors and genders. Even fans of the team he was in the process of jumping over or swooping around found it difficult to keep from dropping their jaws, shaking their heads in wonder and secretly hoping he would do it again the next time down the floor. He almost single-handedly kept the ABA alive long enough to merge with the NBA. Fans did not mind that the caliber of basketball might not be quite so high if they could see “that skinny guy with the big Afro” thumb his nose at Isaac Newton and all of that gravity garbage. Then he joined the NBA and brought his brand of ball to the big audiences and, more importantly to NBA executives, network television. Ratings jumped as high as Erving himself, and kids across the country began to spend their Monday eve nings trying what they saw their new-found idol do Sunday af ternoon. A star was born. And through it all, Erving re mained the same. While other su perstars tried to ignore or hide from their fans, The Doctor always seemed to find time to shake a hand or sign an autograph. When he left the Mecca floor Sun day afternoon, he saluted the Mil waukee crowd by raising the game ball that had been given him, thank ing the fans there and fans across the nation for allowing him to spend 16 years of his life being paid for playing a game he would have played for free. Every one of those 16 years saw. Erving elected to the All-Star team of the league he was in at the time. And perhaps that is deceiving, since his last two or three selections may not have been merited. But then again, that’s another tribute to the man’s popularity with the masses. Despite having a less- than-distinguished year, the fans found it easy to look past the player and vote for the man. A class act and a deserving role model. Oh yes, and also an incredible bas ketball player. Probe begun on UTEP player’s death EE PASO (AP) — Authorities launched an investigation in connec tion with the death of University of Texas-El Paso basketball star Her- nell “Jeep" Jackson, the chief of po lice said Tuesday. The probe by the Special Investi gative Croup began Monday “be cause of information the depart ment received . . . concerning the situation,” Scagno said. SIC includes officers from intelli gence, vice, narcotics and other spe cialized units of the police depart ment. Scagno said he did not know when the investigation would conclude. Jackson, 23, collapsed May 2 dur ing the second half of a charity bas ketball game at the Fort Bliss mili tary facility on the outskirsts of El Paso. He had been playing lor five minutes, sat at the bench and fell to the floor shortly before 3 p.m. Jack- son was declared dead at Beaumont Army Medical Center at 4:09 p.m. Scagno would not comment on whether the information police re ceived involved drugs. “I can’t go into this right now,” Scagno said. “This is all preliminary stuff.” A preliminary autopsy was incon clusive. There were “no visible signs of damage to the heart that could be seen with the naked eye,” Manuel Diaz, chief investigator for the El Paso County medical examiner’s of fice, said after a three-hour autopsy Sunday. Samples of blood, urine and tissue were being processed but results of those tests were not expected for a week. before trials ED IV reg S searan rvith f)< urned |oaI as r .cln ion n the < al pla) The even hurscl Stefai DALLAS (AP) —Dann nan, the Dallas Cowboys'll in last week’s NFI used steroids for several help him regain weighthei ter getting ill in Japan. Noonan, a 6-foot-4,,2 defensive tackle from Ni was among 20 players who positive for anabolic stci the NFL scoutingcombineil nary, officials said Mogdav I But Cowboys Presideg|,| en jq Sc hramm said he was m l and wlr cerned and was confidfinlol them nan’s steroid use would n ers scon factor in the tackle’s career as the E “We have always beenvfe; ton a p ( that would not be any pj'back to with Danny Noon;m."Sd ' Stefai said. ..blanket i Noonan told the Dallar winning ing News his steroid use] Km. ti upon his return from die. victory 'apan Bowl all-star gaW^losses. ended by Jan. 28, the da)I 330 players arrived inlndif lis for the league’s mosi f taut scouting session. “I had never tried M lore,” he said, adding dial lost 15 pounds after getlit Japan. “1 was weighing about • ter the Japan Bowl andi build back up for the coil Noonan said from lincolnf Steroids are chemical pounds that can be usedi' j much as 15 to 20 perceni r | mal body weight and In?I mass. 1 hey are regarded I creasingly dangerous proj the NE'E. The leaguehasj ally for a player usingsterj Steroids can have dai'l internal side effects lil ( l blood pressure, heart disci liver tumors, and can caul sonality changes. The NFL tested collegdj for steroids, controlMI stances and alcohol for4 time t his year. Noonan said he didnij he would be tested forstei'j The league will tesi'l players for steroids for time in this summer’s ,f camp physicals. The Cowboys and the'' I NEE teams were notifiedi |1 | 24 letter of the 29 pla'fip had Dunked the drug 1^1 combine 1 I I Wen ■ zernia Stefan \