Last time Kansas University hired an athletic director, then-football coach Terry Allen was fired five months later near the end of his fifth-straight losing season.
Women’s basketball coach Marian Washington wasn’t going to consider any similarities between Allen’s fate and her current situation after Lew Perkins was named AD Tuesday.
Washington, who has 551 career victories and seven conference titles, has been honored numerous times for her success, including a lifetime achievement award from the Black Coaches Assn. earlier this month. Over the past three seasons, though, her Jayhawks have gone just 28-60, finishing no better than ninth in the Big 12 Conference.
“I can’t think like that,” she said about her job security. “I have to definitely believe in myself, and lots of times you have to have outside people help reinforce that you’re doing good things and that lifetime achievement award helped that.”
After spending 13 years as the AD at the University of Connecticut, Perkins could be an insider who helps Washington and the women’s basketball team turn into a cash cow for KU.
UConn’s women’s basketball team made a profit of $911,228 in the 2001-2002 season, while KU’s team operated at a loss of $1,048,336.
“We’ve had a lot of success at Connecticut, and I’m probably the strongest supporter of women’s basketball in the country,” Perkins said. “Women’s basketball has to be a revenue sport here. I am not just talking about gate receipts, they have to be in fundraising as well as corporate sales.
“Everyone has to have a successful program, but nobody wants to pay for it.”
Obtaining financial support from sources other than ticket sales will be essential if the women’s basketball program is to become a revenue sport. The Jayhawks finished last in the Big 12 in attendance last season and next-to-last in 2001-02.
  Photo Gallery Lew Perkins’ opening statements See the official KU news release.Washington ‘thrilled’ with Perkins.Transcript of Lew Perkins’ press conference. |
Washington said she thought the team was well marketed, even though fans didn’t show as much support for the women’s program as the men’s.
“This to me is the greatest basketball community in the country, but there’s room for both,” she said.
While continued improvement on the court — the Jayhawks went from five victories in 2001-02 to 11 last season — should help create interest and revenue, Washington wasn’t sure wins would equal money or support.
“We certainly have to be successful again, but we’ve had that success and didn’t have the results,” she said. “I don’t think that people appreciated the program when we had All-Americans and success here. I just feel very fortunate that we have a leader who has demonstrated his support for both men’s and women’s sports.”
Under Perkins, UConn created three new women’s sports — ice hockey, lacrosse and rowing — and added more than 30 scholarships for female athletes. Beside basketball, Connecticut’s 11 women’s sports averaged $24,731 in revenues, compared to a $11,330 average for KU’s nine teams.
A history like that pleases Washington.
“I’ve always felt there were a few women’s sports that could be profit-generating sports,” she said. “Finally, I’m hearing it from someone who’s going to lead us. That attitude is going to be a huge difference.
“I’m thrilled and look forward to working with him.”
