Reverberations from that February incident of alleged sexual assault involving two Kansas University football players won’t go away.
Nevertheless, the KU Athletics Corp. board has given the the athletics department a ringing endorsement for the way it has handled fallout.
In its first meeting of the school year, the KUAC board applauded the steps athletics director Bob Frederick has taken to try to prevent more incidents.
“I think it’s been absolutely superb,” said David Ambler, vice chancellor of student affairs and an ex-officio board member after initiating the motion. “It makes me very proud the way it’s been handled.”
Ambler is an Indiana University graduate and, he said, “I’ve been embarrassed by my alma mater’s athletics department for 29 years.”
Since the KU incident, Frederick has brought in violence counselors.
“The major emphasis,” Frederick said, “is on not being a bystander, to get young people to get involved and prevent violence from happening.”
Frederick has also conducted a retreat with the department’s head coaches to emphasize being proactive on violence and gambling.
“We emphasized that they talk to the student-athletes on a daily basis about violence and gambling,” Frederick said.
Ben Walker, KU student body president and also a KUAC board member, said he believes many students are aware of Frederick’s response to the February incident, but added there “are still some people upset.”
A group called Delta Force plans to distribute material prior to tonight’s UAB-Kansas football game pinning the blame on football coach Terry Allen.
“I think the main problem,” Walker said, “is that the publicity has been on (Delta Force) actions, and that isn’t fair.”
Frederick, too, thinks Delta Force is taking the wrong tack.
“We respect their right to express their opinion,” Frederick said, “but what they have distributed is not fair and not accurate. Terry Allen has taken a lot of flak he doesn’t deserve.”
Echoed Ambler: “I don’t think the attack on Terry Allen is justified.”
In other business Friday:
Chief financial officer Susan Wachter said 18,644 season football tickets have been sold in all categories. She didn’t have last year’s total, but said this year’s figure “is more than we budgeted.”
Don Green, faculty representative to the Big 12 Conference, reported on league discussions on the NCAA’s proposed revisions of rules on amateurism. “This is a major change across the board,” Green said, “and my sense is people are all over the map on this.”
Scott McMichael, director of the Williams Fund, reported donors gave $4.6 million to the athletics department during the last fiscal year. That’s $300,000 more than KU received in Big 12 disbursements.
Gale Sayers, a new board member, wondered if KU was doing everything it could do to lure fans to Memorial Stadium. Frederick replied: “I wish I had a good answer. We’ve gone in every direction on promotions. We committed a half a million dollars to promotional efforts. It’s been very frustrating.”
Frederick reported he has met with the KU Endowment Association about acquiring association land at Lawrence Avenue and Clinton Parkway to build a track-soccer complex.
