Kansas University’s football team made fans happy last fall when it played in a bowl game for the first time since 1995.
The Jayhawks might be winning some new fans — off the field — during the offseason.
“We love it when they come out here,” said Jean Lilley, executive director for Habitat for Humanity. “That’s a great group to have, and they did a great job. They were able to sheetrock ceilings without the lifts people normally use. It’s really hard to sheetrock ceilings because you have to hold it over your head and hammer it in, but they did it with no problem.”
The Jayhawks are becoming regulars on Atherton Court, where Habitat for Humanity has built 14 homes in three years. Last July, a group of 20 Jayhawks spent a Saturday putting up drywall at 1829 Atherton Court. On June 19, a dozen Jayhawks were at 1816 Atherton Court, working on ceilings in Habitat for Humanity’s 14th home in the neighborhood and 54th in Lawrence.
KU assistant coach Pat Henderson, who organizes the team’s community-service projects, said the team sent a smaller group on purpose this summer.
“We felt like it would be better to split into two groups so we’re not tripping over each other, and we’ll get more work out of smaller groups,” Henderson said.
The Jayhawks were scheduled to return to the same house July 17. That could be the team’s last project before players report to preseason camp Aug. 6, but Henderson thought the team had accomplished a lot in the offseason.
“I think the fact that it’s strictly on a volunteer basis — and we have a wide mix of players who volunteer — indicates it’s valuable for us,” he said. “The players get something out of it. The response has been good everywhere we go, and they want us to come back. It’s good for the community. It’s a win-win situation.”
The Jayhawks sent a group of 10 players to three retirement homes in March.
“That was fun showing them the season-highlight tape,” Henderson said. “We were well received. They got a kick out of it.”
About 50 Jayhawks participated in a new “Character First” program, which featured three two-hour sessions on campus with at-risk students from local middle schools. Players, coaches, trainers and other members of the athletic department talked to the youngsters about drugs, education and other important topics.
“The main message was that character is important, and it defines who you are,” Henderson said. “We’ll do it again next spring and try to make it better every year.”
The Jayhawks will deliver a similar message later this month during a stop at the Boys Club.
The daughters of Henderson and head coach Mark Mangino both got married last week.
Samantha Mangino, a December KU graduate who works for Educational Resources Inc. in Overland Park, wed recent Kansas State graduate David Hardy, who works for Commerce Bank in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.
“Samantha and David’s ceremony was beautiful and went off without a hitch,” said Mangino, whose vacation plans also included a trip to Washington D.C.
Henderson had to go a little bit farther to walk his daughter, Kelli, down the aisle. Her wedding to Oklahoma City University law student Jake Stoetzner took place in Jamaica.
“It was awesome,” Henderson said. “We had a ball.”
In addition to the usual wedding festivities, Henderson and his family went snorkeling, golfing, parasailing and deep-sea fishing during an eight-day stay in Montego Bay.
The only heartbreak on the wedding trip was experienced by Henderson’s son Jeff, who was close to reeling in a marlin after a 40-minute battle when their boat’s captain accidentally cut the fishing line.
“That was like losing the national championship on the last play of the game,” Henderson said of his son’s misfortune.
Kelli met her husband when he was an offensive lineman at the University of Tulsa, where Pat coached linebackers and served as defensive coordinator from 1997-99.
“He’s a good young man,” Henderson quipped, “but if I had coached him, he never would have dared to date my daughter.”
Hogan passed for 1,800 yards and 14 touchdowns as a high school senior at Sallisaw, Okla., in 2001 when he led his team to the Class 4A state finals. Hogan took a red-shirt season in 2002 and did not play as a red-shirt freshman last fall.
Mangino said the sophomore left the program on good terms and planned to transfer to a small school closer to home.
Hogan could not be reached for comment. His departure leaves six quarterbacks on KU’s roster: sophomore Adam Barmann, junior Jason Swanson, junior Brian Luke, senior John Nielsen, senior Kevin Long and freshman Marcus Herford.
Fans shouldn’t panic yet.
“The dates and times of basketball games haven’t been resolved,” associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said.
Tulsa lists the kickoff for the football game at Memorial Stadium as 6 p.m. on its Web site, but KU hasn’t yet announced the official game time.
“Last time I checked, it was our home game,” Marchiony quipped.
If the basketball team does play Sept. 4, Marchiony said KU likely would try to schedule the football and basketball games at different times to accommodate radio broadcasts.
No longer bumming from knee injuries, two of Kansas University’s top football players — Bill Whittemore and Banks Floodman — weren’t bashful talking with media members Friday about the success they think the Jayhawks can have this season.
“We’re looking good. I’m excited to see what we’re going to do,” Floodman told a handful of reporters Friday in Allen Fieldhouse.
“I think we’re unbelievably better,” continued Floodman, a red-shirt sophomore from Wichita. “I haven’t seen this team get along so well on and off the field. I’m finding that all the players are starting to interact with each other, supporting each other. I’m excited to see how much better we got and what we’re going to do.”
A great deal of the Jayhawks’ success could stem from the support of last season’s starting quarterback, the senior, Whittemore — who missed the final three games of the season after damaging the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in a 36-12 loss to Missouri Oct. 26.
“I don’t even wear that brace I was wearing anymore,” said a confident Whittemore, who sported a knee brace for precautionary reasons during his winter rehabilitation process and spring drills.
“I’m not planning on it,” Whittemore added about putting the brace back on. “They told me it was going to be my choice. I don’t know what they’re going to say. I’ll probably see a doctor before. But I can definitely run faster without it.”
That was true, considering Whittemore led the Jayhawks in rushing before his injury with 549 yards and 11 touchdowns in nine games, choosing more often to run over a defender than slide or run out of bounds like most quarterbacks.
In addition to his fearless running, Whittemore’s 1,666 yards passing and 10 TDs earned him the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year honor.
“I feel no difference in my knees,” Whittemore said, with a slight smile because he also had injured his right knee after his sophomore season at Fort Scott Community College.
Another Jayhawk that put up eye-popping numbers last season was Floodman, albeit the linebacker’s eight tackles in the first half of the Iowa State game were his only tallies of the year, because he tore his anterior cruciate ligament covering a punt with less than three minutes left in the second quarter against the Cyclones. But after nearly a year of rehab, a beefed-up Floodman — who weighs nearly 15 more pounds than last season at 230 — is ready to collect the reward for his hard work.
“It’s fine,” he said about his knee. “In the spring it got a little sore, a little tired. But that was the end of that. Basically, I haven’t had any problems with it this summer. It hasn’t even gotten sore. Now it’s feeling a lot better and not getting sore at all.”
In addition to their own successful rehab and training, Floodman and Whittemore said they were excited about the upcoming season because of the influence of the new recruits and junior college transfers have had on the program.
“The motivation is exciting,” Whittemore said. “When people are running, people are chatting around, bouncing around. We got a bunch of new guys and they expect to win.”
Such sentiment Floodman promised would be displayed prominently in KU’s Aug. 30 home opener against Northwestern.
“After losing like last season, you get a lot of peeved-off guys on defense, including myself who really just don’t want to lose anymore,” Floodman said. “They’re basically going to do what they can and give their all to not lose anymore. That’s basically the gist of it.
“We just don’t want to lose anymore, I don’t want to lose anymore, and we’re not going to lose anymore.”
Two Kansas University football players Tuesday pleaded “no contest” in Douglas County District Court to charges of misdemeanor theft of lost or mislaid property.
Running back Reggie Duncan and quarterback Mario Kinsey were ordered by Judge Jack Murphy to serve one year of supervised probation. Murphy could have ordered them to serve a year in jail.
In return for the pleas, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office agreed to drop a second charge of unlawful use of a credit card against Duncan and two counts of unlawful use of a credit card against Kinsey.
Duncan and Kinsey were charged in September with stealing a Kansas University coed’s purse after she left it unattended on a bench outside Bailey Hall on the KU campus. The incident occurred June 12.
Assistant Douglas County Dist. Atty. Trent Krug said he had been prepared to present evidence that Duncan and Kinsey then used the credit cards to pay for gas at an Amoco station and to order pizza delivered to their Jayhawker Towers apartment.
“I would like to apologize for my actions,” Duncan said, as he stood before Murphy. “They were very stupid.”
Kinsey declined Murphy’s offer to make a comment during the sentencing, but Murphy had a comment for him.
“It wasn’t a very smart move,” the judge said of Kinsey’s actions on June 12.
Duncan still has a case against him pending in Lawrence Municipal Court. He is currently in a diversion program he entered in March after being charged with misdemeanor theft for allegedly shoplifting at Super Target, 3201 Iowa.
Municipal Court Prosecutor Tom Porter has filed a motion to revoke that probation because of Duncan’s involvement in the purse theft. A hearing has been set for 8 a.m. Jan. 10.
Two Kansas University football players Tuesday pleaded “no contest” in Douglas County District Court to charges of misdemeanor theft of lost or mislaid property.
Running back Reggie Duncan and quarterback Mario Kinsey were ordered by Judge Jack Murphy to serve one year of supervised probation. Murphy could have ordered them to serve a year in jail.
In return for the pleas, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office agreed to drop a second charge of unlawful use of a credit card against Duncan and two counts of unlawful use of a credit card against Kinsey.
Duncan and Kinsey were charged in September with stealing a Kansas University coed’s purse after she left it unattended on a bench outside Bailey Hall on the KU campus. The incident occurred June 12.
Assistant Douglas County Dist. Atty. Trent Krug said he had been prepared to present evidence that Duncan and Kinsey then used the credit cards to pay for gas at an Amoco station and to order pizza delivered to their Jayhawker Towers apartment.
“I would like to apologize for my actions,” Duncan said, as he stood before Murphy. “They were very stupid.”
Kinsey declined Murphy’s offer to make a comment during the sentencing, but Murphy had a comment for him.
“It wasn’t a very smart move,” the judge said of Kinsey’s actions on June 12.
Duncan still has a case against him pending in Lawrence Municipal Court. He is currently in a diversion program he entered in March after being charged with misdemeanor theft for allegedly shoplifting at Super Target, 3201 Iowa.
Municipal Court Prosecutor Tom Porter has filed a motion to revoke that probation because of Duncan’s involvement in the purse theft. A hearing has been set for 8 a.m. Jan. 10.
Two Kansas University football players Tuesday pleaded “no contest” in Douglas County District Court to charges of misdemeanor theft of lost or mislaid property.
Running back Reggie Duncan and quarterback Mario Kinsey were ordered by Judge Jack Murphy to serve one year of supervised probation. Murphy could have ordered them to serve a year in jail.
In return for the pleas, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office agreed to drop a second charge of unlawful use of a credit card against Duncan and two counts of unlawful use of a credit card against Kinsey.
Duncan and Kinsey were charged in September with stealing a Kansas University coed’s purse after she left it unattended on a bench outside Bailey Hall on the KU campus. The incident occurred June 12.
Assistant Douglas County Dist. Atty. Trent Krug said he had been prepared to present evidence that Duncan and Kinsey then used the credit cards to pay for gas at an Amoco station and to order pizza delivered to their Jayhawker Towers apartment.
“I would like to apologize for my actions,” Duncan said, as he stood before Murphy. “They were very stupid.”
Kinsey declined Murphy’s offer to make a comment during the sentencing, but Murphy had a comment for him.
“It wasn’t a very smart move,” the judge said of Kinsey’s actions on June 12.
Duncan still has a case against him pending in Lawrence Municipal Court. He is currently in a diversion program he entered in March after being charged with misdemeanor theft for allegedly shoplifting at Super Target, 3201 Iowa.
Municipal Court Prosecutor Tom Porter has filed a motion to revoke that probation because of Duncan’s involvement in the purse theft. A hearing has been set for 8 a.m. Jan. 10.
Two Kansas University football players Tuesday pleaded “no contest” in Douglas County District Court to charges of misdemeanor theft of lost or mislaid property.
Running back Reggie Duncan and quarterback Mario Kinsey were ordered by Judge Jack Murphy to serve one year of supervised probation. Murphy could have ordered them to serve a year in jail.
In return for the pleas, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office agreed to drop a second charge of unlawful use of a credit card against Duncan and two counts of unlawful use of a credit card against Kinsey.
Duncan and Kinsey were charged in September with stealing a Kansas University coed’s purse after she left it unattended on a bench outside Bailey Hall on the KU campus. The incident occurred June 12.
Assistant Douglas County Dist. Atty. Trent Krug said he had been prepared to present evidence that Duncan and Kinsey then used the credit cards to pay for gas at an Amoco station and to order pizza delivered to their Jayhawker Towers apartment.
“I would like to apologize for my actions,” Duncan said, as he stood before Murphy. “They were very stupid.”
Kinsey declined Murphy’s offer to make a comment during the sentencing, but Murphy had a comment for him.
“It wasn’t a very smart move,” the judge said of Kinsey’s actions on June 12.
Duncan still has a case against him pending in Lawrence Municipal Court. He is currently in a diversion program he entered in March after being charged with misdemeanor theft for allegedly shoplifting at Super Target, 3201 Iowa.
Municipal Court Prosecutor Tom Porter has filed a motion to revoke that probation because of Duncan’s involvement in the purse theft. A hearing has been set for 8 a.m. Jan. 10.
Two Kansas University football players who were suspected of stealing a student’s purse in June and using her credit card to make purchases will have a trial setting next month in Douglas County District Court.
A district court judge scheduled the trial setting for Nov. 19 for Mario Kinsey and Reggie Duncan. Both are charged with misdemeanor theft and criminal use of a financial card.
Kinsey and Duncan were summoned to appear in court Wednesday. Neither appeared personally in court, but both were represented by their attorneys.
Attorneys for both players say their clients plan on applying for “diversion.”
However, Duncan’s attorney Ron Schneider says he doesn’t know if Duncan is eligible.
Both Duncan and Kinsey still need to go through the booking process at the Douglas County Jail. The bond for each is set at $500.
A Kansas University soccer player says KU football coach Terry Allen discouraged her from pressing sexual battery charges against two of his players.
She didn’t immediately go to police about the February incident, she said, because Allen promised he would punish the players in an “appropriate way” if the woman didn’t press charges.
– according to the woman who filed a sexual assault complaint against two KU football players
“The only punishment they got was they had to run stairs at the stadium one day,” she said Tuesday. “That’s all I was worth.”
She went to the police April 26, two months after the alleged battery. Lawrence Police made the report public Tuesday.
Police Sgt. George Wheeler said officers were investigating but that neither football player had been arrested.
Allen was on the road recruiting and unavailable for comment. Doug Vance, a spokesman for the KU athletics department, declined to comment.
Lynn Bretz, of the KU Office of University Relations, said university administrators had little information about the incident.
But, “I’m sure there will be an investigation to see what exactly happened here,” she said.
The athletics department has a “family atmosphere,” Bretz said. “I have to believe they did the best they could under the circumstances.”
David Ambler, vice chancellor of student affairs, said because the alleged crime occurred off-campus the woman was right to report the matter to city police.
“When a crime is committed off-campus normally the university wouldn’t take any action until disposed of in the courts,” Ambler said, “unless there is some evidence the alleged assailant was some danger to the university community.”
He said there are some noncriminal sanctions the university could apply, if some violation of the faculty or student code were proven, but the woman first would need to file a complaint with the dean of students.
“I’m guessing now that we probably have not been made aware of this in the dean of students office,” Ambler said, “So, until we have a complaint filed by the student or information coming out of the court case, probably we wouldn’t take any action at this time.”
The woman gave the Journal-World a copy of her written statement to police.
According to her statement:
Early Feb. 27, she was leaving The Yacht Club, 530 Wis. Two football players, acquaintances from the athletics department, approached her in the parking lot. They were drunk. She was sober.
One grabbed her around the waist, lifted her into the air, and ignored her requests to leave her alone. He put her face down on the hood of a truck and wouldn’t let her up.
The players fondled, spanked and taunted her. She fought to get free then turned to confront them.
“I remember telling (one of the men) that what he just had done was one of the most disrespectful things to do to a woman, but he just laughed at me,” she said.
She told Mark Francis, KU women’s soccer coach, about the incident Feb. 29. They met with Allen on March 2.
She told Allen her story. He gave her two options:
Go to police and press charges.
“But he stressed that pressing charges would be a very unpleasant experience and encouraged me not to do so,” she said. “But if I did go to the police, I had to tell him so, because then he would not punish these guys that hard, since the criminal justice system would do it instead.”
Promise Allen she wouldn’t press charges and let him handle the punishment.
The woman agreed to the latter. April 18, she learned the players had been punished with extra sprints.
Frustrated, she met with KU Athletics Director Bob Frederick on April 25.
“He was very upset and he told me that he would call the police and see what they had to say,” she said.
Frederick could not be reached for comment.
The next day, she gave her statement to police.
She said she seeks counseling, doesn’t like to be around the athletics department and has decided to drop summer classes.
“It hurts me that these guys have not been punished at all for what they have done to me,” she said.
It is Journal-World policy not to identify victims of sex crimes nor accused perpetrators until they are convicted.
