Golf tournament raises money for scholarships

There were 36 golf carts lined up outside the Western Hills Golf Course waiting for the 36 teams of four who were preparing to compete in the Washburn Athletic Department Golf Tournament.

The Athletic Department put on golf tournament to raise money toward athletic scholarships and had a good turnout. After thunderstorms early in the morning made it look at though it may be canceled, it turned out to be a beautiful day and the event started as planned.

A wide-range of golfers participated, including boosters, athletic alumni, coaches, athletes’ parents and members of the community. There were two rounds, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. The teams played scramble style golf, where each player hits from the spot of the previous best shot. Some teams were competitive, some playing for fun, and most all the teams were generous with their money.

“We had a very successful day. People were having fun and donating money towards a good cause,” said Kerry Dickerson, associate athletic director and organizer of the event.

At three of the eighteen holes, there were student-athletes prepared to offer each team a deal they couldn’t refuse. At one of the holes, if a player got their ball to the green on the first swing they got a free Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Another hole, the golfers could make any bet they wanted, on themselves or their teammates, if they did what they bet, their money would be doubled, if they didn’t they would lose their money. And on another hole there were five holes cut into the green and for $10 the team could shoot at any of the five holes.

“People were very generous to us throughout the day. All of the money raised totaled over $35,000,” said Dickerson.

Inside look at the recruiting process

Signing a national letter of intent to play a sport at the college level is a significant day in any high school athlete’s career. Signing the dotted line(s) seems like a simple enough task, but the steps taken to get that student-athlete to sign at Washburn, takes a lot of time and persistence.

“It’s a long, complicated process that involves a lot of people and a lot of persistence,” says Chris Herron, Head Volleyball Coach.

The process starts when the student-athlete gets in touch with the coach of a school they are interested in playing at or the coach makes first contact with them. Experienced coaches can usually tell by looking at one tape or watching the recruit one time, if they have potential. The communication usually starts over email and progresses to phone calls. With increasing interest the coach will go on a recruiting trip and try and watch the recruit as much as they can.

“You don’t want to catch an okay player on her best day and then her never play like that again. It is important for me to go watch a recruit play numerous times before I start pressing her to choose Washburn,” says Herron.

It may seem simple, but there are many rules that coaches, as well as recruits have to follow at different times during the year. There are strict rules about contacting and meeting with a recruit and these are closely followed by the NCAA and other members within the coaches athletic department. Ultimately, the athletic director is responsible for knowing what his or her coaches are doing and making sure the rules are followed.

Some of the recruits will be asked on an official visit to campus and that’s when the coach will or will not offer the recruit a scholarship and a chance to wear the Washburn jersey. The recruiting process can take weeks, but can also last up to a year. In the end, the coach with the best recruiting tactics is going to end up with the best and most competitive teams. Herron is one of those coaches.

“When I want a player, I pursue them aggressively because they are going to make my team more competitive. I always am recruiting with the idea of a national championship in my mind,” says Herron.

Student-athletes support Special Olympics

Student-athletes can make a big impact on people’s lives and that was no different at “Fun Day with the Bods.”

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee teamed together with Special Olympics to put on “Fun Day with the Bods.” The event was held in Lee Arena where ten different sports were set up for the Special Olympics athletes to participate in. There were Washburn student-athletes located at every sport as well as team leaders who were also Washburn student-athletes. The event lasted three hours and included lunch and dancing with the student-athletes.

“We decided to change it up from ‘Bowling with the Bods’ that we did last year and make it a little more interactive this year,” said Summer Harris, Director of Sports Marketing and Advisor for SAAC.

Forty-eight Special Olympics athletes filed into the gym, some wearing their signed t-shirts from last year’s ‘Bowling with the Bods,’ ready to play every sport they could imagine. And the event didn’t let them down. They rotated through each sport, including football, basketball, soccer and volleyball. However, the most popular station could have been the karaoke and dancing station. All of the athletes showed off their dance moves and learned new dances, some brave enough to get on stage and show off their moves.

“The dancing rotation seemed to be the most popular and we ended the even with both Special Olympics athletes and Washburn athletes dancing together,” said Harris.

At the end of the event each Special Olympics athlete got their personalized certificate of completion. The prize drawing at the end garnered much cheering and squirming with nearly every athlete leaving with a prize.

Athletic department facing budget cuts

With the economy not yet improving, many departments on the campus of Washburn University are having to deal with budget cuts. The Athletic Department isn’t any different.

 Budget cuts directly affect the people who benefit from the department taking the cuts. In the athletic department, the student-athletes are going to be the most affected by the budget cuts, unless the department can find away around that happening.

 “We are trying to only let the budget cuts affect the administrative side of our department. Everything we do here is for the student-athlete and we don’t want to cut anything that is going to directly impact their experience here,” said Loren Ferre, the Director of Athletics.

 As of now, there hasn’t been any budget cuts for individual teams because, according to Ferre, the budgets that are in place now are already stretched to the limits. The budget covers traveling, which includes meals, lodging and gas, equipment and recruiting, among other things.

 “We can’t stop traveling because that would give our teams fewer competitions which is affecting the student-athletes experience. And this would also put our teams in jeopardy of not making the playoffs,” said Ferre.

 Budget cuts are going to directly affect the administrative side of the athletic department. There are positions within the department where people have left their jobs and that position has been frozen. They are trying to find little things that will help with the budget cuts and trying to do things with better precision.

 Although fundraising has always been a means of taking in money, now there is a bigger emphasis placed on it. Kerry Dickerson, Assistant Athletic Director, is in charge of fundraising and is working even harder to get money. There are some sponsors that are dropping out, but there are others that are keeping the same amount and new companies starting to give money.

 “We need to try and find different ways to cover the costs of the different teams and administrative responsibilities. We are looking at ways to become more efficient,” said Ferre.

New WTE offered to student-athletes

With little free time in their schedules, student-athletes are finding it hard to complete the Washburn Transformational Experience.

There are many options to choose from when trying to decide on a WTE but a lot of these options can take a long time to complete. Some can even take as much time as a student-athlete spends playing their sport. So, it can seem like an impossibility for a student-athlete to complete the WTE. And this is why the Washburn Student Government Association, the leadership department and the athletic department are teaming together to create a unique WTE for Washburn student athletes.

“We are trying to accommodate the student-athlete in a way that they will still be able to complete a leadership and community service project, while competing at the highest level,” said Loren Ferre´, the Washburn athletic director.

The main part of completing the WTE through athletics would be by taking a specifically designed leadership class created around different athlete leadership roles, such as being a captain, helping coach at camps and being a rep for the Student Athlete Activity Committee. Each WTE would be created around the athletes specific skills and abilities.

“What we want to do is makes this requirement of the WTE easier to fulfill, but still a very meaningful experience. This class will help give the student athlete a proactive mindfulness of what they're doing for their WTE,” said Garrett Love, WSGA president.

Love has first hand perspective on what it is like to be a student-athlete because he has been on the men’s basketball team for the last three years. “I think would be a good step for WTE as collegiate athletics oftentimes is a very transformational experience,” said Love.

As of now, there are two football players in the “pilot program” and they are actively looking for different things student-athletes would like to see in the class. Making WTE customized to student-athletes is just one step in making the WTE something students will enjoy more and stress about less.

“This is one of many steps we would like to take in the direction of a more user-friendly WTE,” said Love.

Athletes participate in community service competition

The Washburn athletic department is teaming up with the leadership department to get student-athletes more involved in the community.

Athletes tend to thrive in competitive atmospheres, so when Lisa Fahey proposed a community service competition between the varsity athletic teams, the rules were set in place. Each team will complete as much community service as they wish and report the information through the Washburn athletic web site. Fahey will keep track of each teams hours.

“I think this is a good opportunity for athletes to get out in the community that supports them and maybe even gain more support through the people they are helping,” said Fahey, a senior, who recently played her last season on the soccer team.

At the end of the spring season the hours will be added up and the team with the most hours will be declared the winner. And among the athletic teams, just being declared the winner and getting the bragging rights is enough.

“We’re all so competitive anyway and are in the environment a lot of the time, that to having bragging rights over another team, like the guys (basketball) team, would definitely be enough,” said Hope Gregory, a junior basketball player.

Fahey provided the teams with some ideas to use including reading at elementary schools, helping at the Boys and Girls Club and doing things for the Lets Help volunteer organization.

Economy takes toll on soccer team

With the economy putting stresses on a lot of people, the Washburn women's soccer team is finding creative ways to raise money.

Asking people for money in tough economic times is a tough thing to do. It's an even harder task to get people to give out money. But the soccer team has found creative ways to collect money through competitive and social atmosphere's.

With the intramural dodge ball season coming up, a dodge ball tournament seemed like perfect timing. It was held in Lee Arena on the campus of Washburn and was played on the basketball court. Each team signed up six players and were charged a $30 entry fee. It was a double elimination format with the winner taking home $130 in cash.

"Teams really got into it. Some teams had matching uniforms and it was really, really competitive," said sophomore Ali Ward.

The dodge ball tournament was a small success. The women raised $500, which as coach Tim Collins says is money that wasn't there before.

Four days later the women were at it again, hosting a Wii tournament at Henry T's Bar and Grill. Three Wii Nintendo systems were set up throughout and each had a different game. The games available to play were tennis, bowling and Guitar Hero. $10 was charged to play each game and the winner of each game was awarded $100 cash. Perhaps the highlight of the night was the raffle to give away a brand new Wii.

"We made about $600. We are going to use it to help with travel costs in the spring. Last year with the gas prices so high, it really took a toll on a lot of coaches budgets. We are finding ways to replace that money," said Collins.

Holding these fundraisers have not only helped the women raise money for their season but it has also won over some new fans. As for the value of fan support in a sport like soccer, it's priceless.