Strange that Haskell Indian Nations University, a school with financial woes, would be featured in a story in the Wall Street Journal.
Even stranger, the article was about football.
A WSJ writer went to several Web sites that rank all 703 colleges with football programs, combined the points and opined that only one school in the country had a worse program than HINU last fall.
No, it wasn’t KU.
It was Gallaudet, a school for deaf people in Washington, D.C. The Bison lost all four games they played against NCAA Div. III schools.
“Maybe we should schedule them,” quipped Phil Homeratha, Haskell’s interim athletics director.
Perhaps Haskell should. The Fightin’ Indians, coming off an 0-11 season, have been in over their heads ever since the school switched from the NJCAA to the NAIA three years ago.
Lack of money is Haskell’s primary problem. The school is funded by the U.S. government and, as Homeratha noted: “Sept. 11 put all government stuff on hold, including our budget. It’s not just football. It’s the whole school.”
Not that Haskell had much of a football budget before the 9-11 terrorist attacks. When longtime athletics director Jerry Tuckwin retired last year, he remarked that $24,000 was not enough money to field a competitive football program.
The Indians’ coach last season was Graham Snelding, a youthful, enthusiastic former Haskell player whose plans were bigger than the budget. Snelding was so optimistic he scheduled 11 games, seven on the road. Today Snelding is a park ranger in Oklahoma. He left, he said, because he could make more money as a ranger.
Snelding departed in November and was quickly replaced by uh, well, nobody. Quickly is not an adverb used in government-funded operations. Homeratha said they’ll begin advertising the position next week, set a deadline of about six weeks and hopefully have a new coach by June.
“We’re going to try to upgrade the position,” Homeratha said. “I’ve requested we go for someone with a masters degree and with coordinator experience on the college level.”
Such lofty expectations sound like pie in the sky. Even Homeratha concedes that “with the money we offer, we can’t get a Division One coach.”
According to Snelding, his annual salary last year was $28,000. Homeratha says Snelding was paid in the $32,000 range. Whatever, those figures are closer to poverty level than they are to what most football coaches earn.
Money isn’t the sole problem facing Haskell football and HINU athletics in general. The school’s four-year programs are limited. Homeratha, for instance, would like to see the school adopt a health and physical education curriculum. They’ve talked about a PE program, but the wheels turn slowly when they’re clogged with red tape.
Meanwhile, Homeratha, despite his interim title, has been given the go-ahead to cut back on HINU’s football schedule. The Indians will play nine games this fall instead of 11 and 2002 will be the school’s last year in the Central States Football League.
Haskell in the CSFL was roughly equivalent to Kansas University being in the NFL.
Haskell’s catch-phrase last season was “The Start of Something Big.” In actuality, it was the end of something big. HINU has taken a second-look at its football program and realized if you bite off more than you can chew you risk being swallowed.
Homeratha, also the women’s basketball coach, and a couple of other athletics department personnel have taken steps toward contacting potential future Native American prospects. That’s something.
“I feel at least we’re not behind in recruiting,” he said. “But until we get our program stabilized we’ll be on the bottom.”
Or next to the bottom as long as Gallaudet fields a team.
Strange that Haskell Indian Nations University, a school with financial woes, would be featured in a story in the Wall Street Journal.
Even stranger, the article was about football.
A WSJ writer went to several Web sites that rank all 703 colleges with football programs, combined the points and opined that only one school in the country had a worse program than HINU last fall.
No, it wasn’t KU.
It was Gallaudet, a school for deaf people in Washington, D.C. The Bison lost all four games they played against NCAA Div. III schools.
“Maybe we should schedule them,” quipped Phil Homeratha, Haskell’s interim athletics director.
Perhaps Haskell should. The Fightin’ Indians, coming off an 0-11 season, have been in over their heads ever since the school switched from the NJCAA to the NAIA three years ago.
Lack of money is Haskell’s primary problem. The school is funded by the U.S. government and, as Homeratha noted: “Sept. 11 put all government stuff on hold, including our budget. It’s not just football. It’s the whole school.”
Not that Haskell had much of a football budget before the 9-11 terrorist attacks. When longtime athletics director Jerry Tuckwin retired last year, he remarked that $24,000 was not enough money to field a competitive football program.
The Indians’ coach last season was Graham Snelding, a youthful, enthusiastic former Haskell player whose plans were bigger than the budget. Snelding was so optimistic he scheduled 11 games, seven on the road. Today Snelding is a park ranger in Oklahoma. He left, he said, because he could make more money as a ranger.
Snelding departed in November and was quickly replaced by uh, well, nobody. Quickly is not an adverb used in government-funded operations. Homeratha said they’ll begin advertising the position next week, set a deadline of about six weeks and hopefully have a new coach by June.
“We’re going to try to upgrade the position,” Homeratha said. “I’ve requested we go for someone with a masters degree and with coordinator experience on the college level.”
Such lofty expectations sound like pie in the sky. Even Homeratha concedes that “with the money we offer, we can’t get a Division One coach.”
According to Snelding, his annual salary last year was $28,000. Homeratha says Snelding was paid in the $32,000 range. Whatever, those figures are closer to poverty level than they are to what most football coaches earn.
Money isn’t the sole problem facing Haskell football and HINU athletics in general. The school’s four-year programs are limited. Homeratha, for instance, would like to see the school adopt a health and physical education curriculum. They’ve talked about a PE program, but the wheels turn slowly when they’re clogged with red tape.
Meanwhile, Homeratha, despite his interim title, has been given the go-ahead to cut back on HINU’s football schedule. The Indians will play nine games this fall instead of 11 and 2002 will be the school’s last year in the Central States Football League.
Haskell in the CSFL was roughly equivalent to Kansas University being in the NFL.
Haskell’s catch-phrase last season was “The Start of Something Big.” In actuality, it was the end of something big. HINU has taken a second-look at its football program and realized if you bite off more than you can chew you risk being swallowed.
Homeratha, also the women’s basketball coach, and a couple of other athletics department personnel have taken steps toward contacting potential future Native American prospects. That’s something.
“I feel at least we’re not behind in recruiting,” he said. “But until we get our program stabilized we’ll be on the bottom.”
Or next to the bottom as long as Gallaudet fields a team.
Strange that Haskell Indian Nations University, a school with financial woes, would be featured in a story in the Wall Street Journal.
Even stranger, the article was about football.
A WSJ writer went to several Web sites that rank all 703 colleges with football programs, combined the points and opined that only one school in the country had a worse program than HINU last fall.
No, it wasn’t KU.
It was Gallaudet, a school for deaf people in Washington, D.C. The Bison lost all four games they played against NCAA Div. III schools.
“Maybe we should schedule them,” quipped Phil Homeratha, Haskell’s interim athletics director.
Perhaps Haskell should. The Fightin’ Indians, coming off an 0-11 season, have been in over their heads ever since the school switched from the NJCAA to the NAIA three years ago.
Lack of money is Haskell’s primary problem. The school is funded by the U.S. government and, as Homeratha noted: “Sept. 11 put all government stuff on hold, including our budget. It’s not just football. It’s the whole school.”
Not that Haskell had much of a football budget before the 9-11 terrorist attacks. When longtime athletics director Jerry Tuckwin retired last year, he remarked that $24,000 was not enough money to field a competitive football program.
The Indians’ coach last season was Graham Snelding, a youthful, enthusiastic former Haskell player whose plans were bigger than the budget. Snelding was so optimistic he scheduled 11 games, seven on the road. Today Snelding is a park ranger in Oklahoma. He left, he said, because he could make more money as a ranger.
Snelding departed in November and was quickly replaced by uh, well, nobody. Quickly is not an adverb used in government-funded operations. Homeratha said they’ll begin advertising the position next week, set a deadline of about six weeks and hopefully have a new coach by June.
“We’re going to try to upgrade the position,” Homeratha said. “I’ve requested we go for someone with a masters degree and with coordinator experience on the college level.”
Such lofty expectations sound like pie in the sky. Even Homeratha concedes that “with the money we offer, we can’t get a Division One coach.”
According to Snelding, his annual salary last year was $28,000. Homeratha says Snelding was paid in the $32,000 range. Whatever, those figures are closer to poverty level than they are to what most football coaches earn.
Money isn’t the sole problem facing Haskell football and HINU athletics in general. The school’s four-year programs are limited. Homeratha, for instance, would like to see the school adopt a health and physical education curriculum. They’ve talked about a PE program, but the wheels turn slowly when they’re clogged with red tape.
Meanwhile, Homeratha, despite his interim title, has been given the go-ahead to cut back on HINU’s football schedule. The Indians will play nine games this fall instead of 11 and 2002 will be the school’s last year in the Central States Football League.
Haskell in the CSFL was roughly equivalent to Kansas University being in the NFL.
Haskell’s catch-phrase last season was “The Start of Something Big.” In actuality, it was the end of something big. HINU has taken a second-look at its football program and realized if you bite off more than you can chew you risk being swallowed.
Homeratha, also the women’s basketball coach, and a couple of other athletics department personnel have taken steps toward contacting potential future Native American prospects. That’s something.
“I feel at least we’re not behind in recruiting,” he said. “But until we get our program stabilized we’ll be on the bottom.”
Or next to the bottom as long as Gallaudet fields a team.
Strange that Haskell Indian Nations University, a school with financial woes, would be featured in a story in the Wall Street Journal.
Even stranger, the article was about football.
A WSJ writer went to several Web sites that rank all 703 colleges with football programs, combined the points and opined that only one school in the country had a worse program than HINU last fall.
No, it wasn’t KU.
It was Gallaudet, a school for deaf people in Washington, D.C. The Bison lost all four games they played against NCAA Div. III schools.
“Maybe we should schedule them,” quipped Phil Homeratha, Haskell’s interim athletics director.
Perhaps Haskell should. The Fightin’ Indians, coming off an 0-11 season, have been in over their heads ever since the school switched from the NJCAA to the NAIA three years ago.
Lack of money is Haskell’s primary problem. The school is funded by the U.S. government and, as Homeratha noted: “Sept. 11 put all government stuff on hold, including our budget. It’s not just football. It’s the whole school.”
Not that Haskell had much of a football budget before the 9-11 terrorist attacks. When longtime athletics director Jerry Tuckwin retired last year, he remarked that $24,000 was not enough money to field a competitive football program.
The Indians’ coach last season was Graham Snelding, a youthful, enthusiastic former Haskell player whose plans were bigger than the budget. Snelding was so optimistic he scheduled 11 games, seven on the road. Today Snelding is a park ranger in Oklahoma. He left, he said, because he could make more money as a ranger.
Snelding departed in November and was quickly replaced by uh, well, nobody. Quickly is not an adverb used in government-funded operations. Homeratha said they’ll begin advertising the position next week, set a deadline of about six weeks and hopefully have a new coach by June.
“We’re going to try to upgrade the position,” Homeratha said. “I’ve requested we go for someone with a masters degree and with coordinator experience on the college level.”
Such lofty expectations sound like pie in the sky. Even Homeratha concedes that “with the money we offer, we can’t get a Division One coach.”
According to Snelding, his annual salary last year was $28,000. Homeratha says Snelding was paid in the $32,000 range. Whatever, those figures are closer to poverty level than they are to what most football coaches earn.
Money isn’t the sole problem facing Haskell football and HINU athletics in general. The school’s four-year programs are limited. Homeratha, for instance, would like to see the school adopt a health and physical education curriculum. They’ve talked about a PE program, but the wheels turn slowly when they’re clogged with red tape.
Meanwhile, Homeratha, despite his interim title, has been given the go-ahead to cut back on HINU’s football schedule. The Indians will play nine games this fall instead of 11 and 2002 will be the school’s last year in the Central States Football League.
Haskell in the CSFL was roughly equivalent to Kansas University being in the NFL.
Haskell’s catch-phrase last season was “The Start of Something Big.” In actuality, it was the end of something big. HINU has taken a second-look at its football program and realized if you bite off more than you can chew you risk being swallowed.
Homeratha, also the women’s basketball coach, and a couple of other athletics department personnel have taken steps toward contacting potential future Native American prospects. That’s something.
“I feel at least we’re not behind in recruiting,” he said. “But until we get our program stabilized we’ll be on the bottom.”
Or next to the bottom as long as Gallaudet fields a team.
