Multimedia Reporting (Adler-Utsler)

Southeastern Louisiana football coach Mike Lucas left Hammond, La., on Friday afternoon with 57 able-bodied football players in tow. By the time Lucas and his team returned home late Saturday night, only 50 remained unscathed.

What horrible plight befell the Lions during those 32 hours? The Kansas Jayhawks.

The bigger, stronger and faster Jayhawks spent Saturday evening dismantling the Lions in a game that was over before the visiting team stepped off of the bus. The disparity of talent between the two squads was evident on the scoreboard, which read 62-0, and the training room, where seven Lions recuperated from their injuries.

“We’re a very young team and we have a program in its fifth year,” Lucas said. “We tried to come up here and not get demoralized, but when your best defensive lineman breaks his arm – he’s just lying on the sideline, yelling, with all of the other kids looking at him – it’s a bad scene.”

But the gap between Kansas and Southeastern Louisiana is not measured best in terms of total yards, points, pounds or inches. Millions of dollars separate the wealthy athletics departments at larger schools such as Kansas and the lower-budget departments at smaller universities in the vein of Southeastern Louisiana.

The small schools, often in need of some financial help, are turning to their more well-established counterparts for a little assistance. By traveling to play games against major-conference opponents, lower-tier Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) programs are earning up to $300,000 each weekend of the football season. The more affluent schools from the FBS face restrictions when scheduling non-conference games against fellow FBS teams. But FBS programs are allowed to schedule FCS teams without being required to repay the smaller school with a visit in the next season.

Southeastern Louisiana pocketed $275,000 to fly north to Lawrence, lose and return home seven players short. To Kansas, which, according to the U.S. Department of Education, brought in an approximate total of $23 million last year, $275,000 is not a massive chunk of change. But for an athletics department that earned about $1.9 million last year, last weekend’s winnings represent a significant sum. Especially considering the school’s athletics department spent $450,000 more than it brought in last year.

“We are certainly not dependent on the guarantees paid to us,” said Dr. Joel Erdmann, Southeastern Louisiana athletics director. “They do help create opportunities for all of our other athletic programs that may not bring in as much revenue as a sport like football, but the money is not the sole reason the games are scheduled.”

The Southeastern Louisiana football program pulled in about $1.2 million last year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The payout from last weekend’s Kansas game alone would account for about one-fourth of that total. The fact that three of Southeastern Louisiana’ s four non-conference games are against Division I FBS schools suggests the Lions are not earning the lion’s share of their revenue through ticket and merchandise sales.

“Playing up,” or playing higher-level teams in return for financial compensation, is not a phenomenon exclusive to Kansas. Across the nation, it has become a common practice in major college athletics, most notably football.
Schools everywhere are adding payout games to their schedules with the idea in mind that the games affect both participating programs positively. The big school that coughs up $250,000 easily recoups that and more by selling 40,000 tickets for $50 each and sends the fans home happy after an easy victory. The small school that comes to visit usually loses the game but also emerges a winner by potentially making enough money to fund its women’s basketball program for an entire year.

“You’ve got to schedule with the best interests of the program in mind,” Kansas associate athletics director Jim Marchiony said. “The key is to schedule for success. Bringing smaller teams in usually is a win-win for everyone involved.”

Kansas is one of many football teams that scheduled with success in mind this season. The Jayhawks’ non-conference slate includes three small-conference FBS teams, Central Michigan, Toledo and Florida International, and FCS foe Southeastern Louisiana. The games, which will most likely end with Kansas on top, will cost Kansas just over $1.1 million in all. If Kansas sells 40,000 tickets to each game, the school will bring in $2 million even before adding in merchandise and concession sales.

There is one possible drawback to this scheduling philosophy. If Kansas should lose to one of its four non-conference opponents, the team could lose respect from fans and be second-guessed by media. But during the tenure of Kansas coach Mark Mangino, the Jayhawks have never lost to an FCS opponent and have handled small-conference FBS teams with relative ease.

“I don’t mind playing one FCS team each year,” Mangino said. “And a lot of those teams are willing and eager to do it because it helps subsidize their programs.”

Smaller programs must find funding for non-revenue programs like volleyball, tennis and softball somewhere, and major-conference schools are often replete with funds they are willing to part with to ensure an easy victory. For the athletic director at a school such as Southeastern Louisiana, the decision to put New Mexico State, Kansas and Tulane – three sure losses – on the schedule is an easy one.

“Playing upper-level teams is really positive in two different ways,” Erdmann said. “In one way it’s positive because it generates some revenue through the financial guarantees. In another way it’s good because it can be a good experience for the players.”

Erdmann said the Southeastern Louisiana campus was full of excitement the week leading up to the football team’s trip to Kansas and the players’ adrenaline was pumping in anticipation of playing in a venue like Memorial Stadium.
After Saturday’s game, the $275,000 paycheck did not improve the mood of the Lions’ coach.

“You just hate to lose players, and we have five guys who are questionable for next week and two who are out for the season, including our best defensive player.” Lucas said. “It’s really not worth it. It’s not worth a nickel to lose a kid like that for the season.”

Lucas’ frustrations are most likely not over. Chances are, he will endure another drubbing in order for his school to enjoy a windfall when the Lions visit Tulane Sept. 22.

Worth it or not, the practice of scheduling payout games seems here to stay. Three weeks into the 2007 season, 47 of the 119 FBS teams have faced a foe from the FCS ranks. Thus far, the smaller schools have lost 45 of the 47 games – on the field, at least.

In the event of a fire, a few precious seconds could represent the difference between life and death. The importance of responding quickly to emergency calls is something Lawrence firefighters realize, and something they hope to improve upon in 2008.

While most fire departments measure response time using a raw average time, the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire/Medical Department is shifting to a new method of measurement. The new, more precise way of gauging response time is called “fractile response time measurement” and could help the department arrive at emergencies more quickly and achieve international accreditation later this year. Instead of measuring effectiveness by computing a raw average response time for all scenarios, the department has started taking into account the exact locations of emergencies relative to its stations and evaluating its efficiency while taking factors such as distance and traffic into account.

“As part of our improvement process, we’re looking at each piece of our response procedure,” Division Chief Bill Stark said. “We’re specifically looking at three things: the alarm processing time, our turnout time and our travel time.”

The alarm processing time is the amount of time it takes the 911 dispatch center to get in touch with the fire department. The turnout time is the time between the notification of the fire department and when the fire truck leaves the station. The travel time is measured from the time the truck pulls away from the station to when it arrives at the scene of the emergency. The way the fire department measured response time in the past merely clocked the time from 911 call to arrival at the scene. The fractile response time measurement breaks the total time into alarm processing, turnout and travel phases and provides more accurate information than older methods.

The department could improve the most in the turnout phase, Stark said. While the alarm processing period is dependent upon the dispatch center and the travel time can change depending on traffic and the location of the emergency, turnout time rests squarely on the department’s shoulders. Stark said the department could not expect firefighters to man trucks 24 hours per day, but possible changes in fire station design could expedite the department’s average turnout time.

“Traditionally, chiefs put trucks on one end of the building and living quarters on the other,” Stark said. “We’re looking at putting the trucks in the center of the building, closer to everything, so we can get to the trucks and out the door quicker.”

The department hopes to have a complete assessment of its fractile response time finished by November, when it is scheduled to undergo testing by an international fire accreditation service. But whatever immediate steps the department decides to make will be without the help of a new ladder truck.

The department currently has two engines and one ladder truck that exceed the recommended age and wear threshold. In the 2008 budget, the city approved the replacement of the two engines but denied funding for a new ladder truck. Each engine will cost $840,000, which will come entirely from property taxes, according to the Lawrence city budget. The ladder truck would have cost over $1 mil – a cost the city cannot afford at the moment.

“It really extends beyond our control,” Stark said. “We always want our trucks replaced once they are past a certain point, but it all boils down to money and how much the city is willing to spend.”

There are several reasons for the city’s budget shortfall. Pay raises in the department coupled with a loss of grants cut the funding pool a bit, but the biggest drain on the department’s available resources was a reduced tax base, Lawrence Budget Manager Casey Liebst said.

“This year there were no program improvements included in the budget because we’re facing some pretty significant revenue issues,” Leibst said. “We just don’t have the resources we thought we’d have to spend. We haven’t been able to grow on the expenditure side because we’re not growing our revenue fast enough.”

The department’s new-found focus on in-depth measurement of response times is part of its recent decision to apply for accreditation. In order to achieve accreditation, the department must meet specific response time criteria – criteria measured by fractile analysis. If the department achieves accreditation, it could see immediate benefits. Accreditation could help the Lawrence-Douglas County department become more goal-oriented, forward-looking and well-organized, according to Commission on Fire Accreditation International Program Manager Rick Black.

Even before making improvements in anticipation of accreditation, the department has been working efficiently, said Leibst. The city chose to devote funds brought in by property taxes to improving the Lawrence transit system instead of funding the fire department because it received high marks on a recent citizen survey. Leibst said the department brought in “stellar ratings” that encouraged the city to spend its money on more pressing needs.

Stark said the department was pleased with its performance but could always stand to improve response times. Purchasing two new fire engines should provide the building blocks for improvement, and performing an in-depth survey of fractile response times could give the department the information it needs to streamline its performance and snip seconds from its response times.

“We’re continuing to study and improve on each piece of information,” Stark said. “Ultimately we want to bring our percentage up and get to 9 of 10 cases in time. We’ll never get to 100 percent – that’s impossible in our business – but we’d like to lower our times.”

Krysten Boogaard’s legs are blotched with black and blue, her arms covered with a smattering of grape-sized bruises. Such is the body of a college basketball player.

Boogaard spends her days hustling from class to workouts to practice to tutoring sessions and finally to sleep before repeating the cycle. Such is the life of a college basketball player.

When speaking of her role models, she bypasses the common heroes. Hoopsters such as Michael Jordan and Lisa Leslie don’t mean nearly as much to the 19-year-old as four hockey players do. Such is the source of inspiration for a college basketball player raised in a hockey-centric family in the heart of Canada.

“I look at the way my brothers focus on what they do and how hard they work,” Boogaard said of her four older brothers. “I’m driven by what they’ve done and I follow them. I try to work had all the time so I can be as successful as them.”

Boogaard’s brothers have put in plenty of hard work and enjoyed plenty of success. Derek, 24, and Aaron, 21, play professional hockey in America while former hockey players Curtis, 34, and 23-year-old Ryan have permanently stepped off of the ice. Curtis recently followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Boogaard and her four brothers grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, a moderately-sized city about 100 miles north of the United States border. Len Boogaard raised his four sons as hockey players through-and-through, leaving Krysten free to choose between sports such as swimming, volleyball, figure skating and basketball. Len said by the time Krysten finished high school, it was clear which sport she was cut out for. After all, she stood 6-foot-5.

Krysten owes her height to nature– Len is 6-2 and her mother, Joanne, is 6 feet tall – but her toughness to some nurturing at the hands of her brothers. Derek, Ryan and Aaron all went through their teens around the same time as Krysten, meaning the four could barely make it through the day without playing out their sibling rivalries.

“It was challenging because they’d always beat up on me – but I guess that’s what older brothers do,” Krysten said. “I think it’s definitely made me tougher in all different aspects, both physically and mentally.”

Boogaard had to deal with another challenge in her early years: Being a basketball player in a family and a country full of hockey players. Krysten’s mother played basketball in high school and served as an early mentor. Joanne coached Krysten’s first youth team and assisted her during her years in junior and senior high. But Len was far from a basketball enthusiast. He said he did not understand the American game when Krysten first started playing and is still wrapping his mind around the game’s concepts.

“Having the boys playing hockey so much, I was never really able to get into the basketball, per se,” Len said. “I can’t remember watching basketball until her high school years. To me, it’s still a bit of a novelty.”

Since basketball was treated as an afterthought by most Canadians, Boogaard experienced difficulty finding strong competition to play with and against. Saskatchewan did not offer AAU basketball or the opportunity to travel to high-level tournaments, so Krysten decided to take a year off from studies immediately after high school to hone her skills at the Canada Basketball’s Elite National Development Academy in Hamilton, Ontario. Boogaard said she reinforced her fundamental basketball skills and gained physical strength at the Academy. Her team traveled around Canada and the northern United States competing against junior colleges and national teams. As a member of the Academy, she traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., to compete against America in the World Qualifiers Tournament. Canada lost the game, but Derek cheered Krysten up with a visit during the event.

“It meant a lot to have Derek there watching me and giving me so much support,” Krysten said. “It proved how close we all are to each other.”

Boogaard has only logged one official game as a Jayhawk, but she has showcased a skill set that could make her a dominant post player in the Big 12 Conference. Her arms are rail-thin but unbelievably long – custom-made for shot-blocking – and her legs and base are formidable enough to hold steady against physical opponents. Boogaard scored five points using a nice shooting touch and hustled up and down the court with all the quickness of a guard.

“She’s a 6-5 kid who really benefited from an extra year of work at the academy,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “She’s long and she’s lanky, but she’s in the middle of the pack when we run sprints – she’s certainly not finishing last. She’s a physical kid.”

Boogaard no longer has to jockey for position at the dinner table or deal with a rambunctious bevy of brothers. She spends evenings taking in movies with fellow freshman basketball player Nicollette Smith and nights sleeping off the day’s work: Work that she struggles through with help from her brothers. For now, the inspiration comes via text message. But if she carries the Jayhawks deep into the postseason, she said she is sure her favorite hockey players will make it to every game.

Such is the dream of a college basketball player.

When Tom Bracciano surveys the football field at Lawrence High School, he sees a plot of clumpy grass bordered by sidelines marked with bare dirt. The USD 497 Director of Facilities and Operations has a vision of what a practice facility should look like – and it is quite a bit different from Lawrence High’s current field.

“We’ve come up with some scenarios and concepts for putting artificial turf on practice fields,” Bracciano said. “These grass fields are trampled and overused, so these new surfaces would be safer and more energy efficient.”

USD 497 of Lawrence has laid out several options for improving the athletic facilities at both Lawrence High and Free State High. The district could choose either to replace the grass fields it currently uses or build a multi-sport facility for the two schools to share. School officials have discussed improving or adding athletic fields at several board meetings this fall but have not yet finalized any plans.

If Lawrence school officials need inspiration in their search for an answer to the riddle of facility improvement, they could look a few miles west to Topeka. In fall 2003, Topeka’s USD 501 erected a multi-sport facility called Hummer Sports Park. The facility includes a football field, soccer field, running track, two baseball fields, two softball fields and an aquatic center. Topeka High, Topeka West and Highland Park High share the facility – though Highland Park hosts football games on its own campus. USD 501 Athletics Coordinator Rick Benke said the facility has been convenient for community events and has helped Topeka’s high schools save money.

“We started this project with the idea for our schools to not rent fields from the city,” Benke said. “It has been a huge plus because we used to play games at Washburn (University) and for practices we were spread out all over the city. It makes it easy for the coaches, the kids and the parents because having them all here at one complex cuts down on travel expenses and busing.”

Lawrence’s current conundrum is similar to the one Topeka faced in 2001. Both Lawrence High and Free State High play their home football games at Haskell Stadium at a cost of $3,000 per game. Haskell Stadium is also home to Haskell University’s football team, meaning the natural grass field undergoes a substantial amount of wear and tear throughout the season. Bracciano said it would probably cost about $7 million to renovate Haskell Stadium and replace its grass playing surface with more resilient artificial turf. Repairing Haskell’s football field is an appealing option for the school district because it would help preserve Lawrence High’s 78-year tradition of playing at Haskell and eliminate the need to build a new football stadium, but Haskell and USD 497 have not come to an agreement yet.

“As far as communication with Haskell, I don’t know where that will go,” USD 497 Board of Education member Marlene Merrill said. “But we do have a long history of working with Haskell and having our games there. We have to look at maximizing what we will get and at the same time we need to address the needs we already have.”

As an alternative to patching up Haskell Stadium, Lawrence could follow in Topeka’s footsteps and build a multi-sport complex for its two schools to share. The district has looked into the idea of a large, multi-purpose facility in the past, and members of the school board looked at drawings of what the complex would look like. Bracciano said if USD 497 decided to build a complex, it would be similar to Topeka’s Hummer Sports Park and would provide facilities for football, baseball, softball, tennis and soccer.

Hummer Sports Park, Topeka

In the short term, the Board of Education could choose to renovate both high schools’ practice fields, with or without the addition of a new sports facility. Currently, football, baseball and softball teams at Lawrence High and Free State High practice on grass fields. If the district follows through on its proposed plan, a synthetic surface called AstroPlay would be installed on the schools’ on-site facilities for $7 million. Bracciano said resurfacing the fields would substantially improve the state of the fields.

“With grass, you have a whole lot of maintenance issues,” Bracciano said. “Right now, we use a lot of water, fertilizer and seed and spend a lot of time on mowing and aeration. Quite honestly, a lot of that fertilized water goes into the rivers and streams. We would have better-quality fields that we could use 24/7 with no downtime to seed or aerate.”

The renovation of the schools’ practice fields could be funded by what Bracciano called “performance contracting”. Using performance contracting, the district would be allowed to borrow from the state enough money to complete the project because the new surface would save energy.

Those waiting for a full-fledged multi-sport complex might not want to hold their breath. The project, estimated to cost $21 million – without accounting for the purchase of land – has not moved much past the point of speculation. Merrill said the Board of Education had to make sure to take care of educational necessities before focusing on new sports facilities.

“A lot of options are under consideration and no decisions have been made,” Merrill said. “The big issue is, ‘What is the need?’ And we’re looking at educational needs, not just enhancing sports only. So we have to look at what benefits all students.”

The Hummer Sports Park in Topeka was built with help from a bond issue that passed in 2001. The facility cost $17.5 million, about $4 million less than the facility proposed in Lawrence. Benke said some Topeka citizens were hesitant about building the sports park, but for the most part the public has been happy with the return on its investment.

“I think our board did a really good job of talking to the public,” Benke said. “We had meetings because we had to pass a bond issue, but the city was very supportive. We had public meetings where all of the problems were talked about, and the city decided the park would be a positive.”