I
The Department of
Romance Languages and Literatures
presents
A Lecture By
Professor Alan Deyermond
(Westfield College, University of London)
"STAGES, BIRDS AND FOUNTAINS:
SYMBOL AND ANECDOTE IN THE
TRADITIONAL LYRIC"
Monday, April 17
4:10 PM
West Conference Room, Rackham
Admission Complimentary
Page 12--Friday, April 14, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Non-revenue sports...
THE SPORTING VIEWS
2
I
By JEFF FRANK
What comes out of a sportswriters' mind after three years at The Daily and as
graduation looms just over the horizon? (That is, if my professors look kindly upon
my last papers and finals).
Instant trivia question: Which three Michigan athletes captured national
championships this season?
Forgive me if I feel a little empathy for all those athletes who labor in ob-
scurity for one of Michigan's non-revenue sports. The thought that runs through
the minds of these fine athletes must be: "Does anybody really care about what
I'm doing out here?"
The same thought runs through my mind, only it's changed in my personal con-
text. "Is there anyone out there who reads stories about the less publicized non-
revenue sports?"
Several stories this year dealt with the hard work and dedication required to
excel in any sport. How much harder can it be when nobody is watching the athlete
perform or even recognizing the better performances when they occur?
Trivia answer: John Corritore, gymnast, NCAA parallel bars champion, Mark
Churella, wrestler, NCAA 158-pound champ, and Julie Bachman, AIAW .-meter
diving champion.
Anybody who considers himself a Michigan sports fan, who has never seen any
of the above compete, has just had their designation as a "true fan" stripped away.
The individual athletes and those competing in non-revenue sports are long over-
due for attention.
But attention doesn't only come from the fans. For too long the Michigan
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Athletic Department has rested on the laurels given to it, in response to the fine job
they have done filling the football and basketball stadiums. But promotio
shouldn't only be centered on these two sports.
Throughout my years at The Daily, the only publicity that has been visible fo
any sport besides the aforementioned two, is a mail order solicitation for the Bi
Ten wrestling championships held at Crisler this year and the traditional sellout a
the NCAA track meet in Detroit. Hockey is receiving increasing support, but no
real campaign to attract new fans has ever been organized, except for a small ad-
vertising campaign early in the school year.
So, although the hockey team was coming off a second place finish in the
NCAA, there were no sellouts this past season.
Of course success is a key factor in developing fan interest and consequently
drawing larger crowds and more attention. But nobody can argue with the succes
of the women's swim team, or the men's tennis or track teams, all of which ar
conference or regional champions. Yet these teams seldom see any kind of crowd,
with the exception of the NCAA Indoor Track Championships.
Not only are there outstanding competitors in nearly every sport at Michigan
but the prestige of Michigan and the Big Ten conference brings top performer
from other schools here to compete. People who have given the non-revenue sports
a chance haven't been disappointed. The action is first class and the price for an
evening of entertainment can't be beaten.
What can the athletic department do to attract people to these sports?
While traveling to different schools for my duties as a reporter, I was im
pressed to see schools with less money available for promotion, plastering thei
campuses with notices and fliers about upcoming athletic events. The cost of doin
this is negligible, but something this simple really raises the awareness of students
to the presence of lesser-known teams at their schools. After all, not everyone
reads The Daily.
Promotional schedules should be distributed to local merchants and paid ads
should be taken out in local newspapers, in an effort to create new interest. The
purpose of The Daily sports staff is to report the news, not act as a public relation
arm of the athletic department. Writers shouldn't be expected to provide the
publicity for any sport.
Is this publicity worthwhile? Or is the apathy level too high for a sport besides
football or basketball to make money? It's impossible to predict results, but
wrestling at Iowa attracts more fans than basketball. Women's gymnastics at
Clarion State and Penn State draws over 8,000 fans per meet. The large crowds
present when the Russian gymnasts performed demonstrate local interest in the
ty increasing scholarships to the maximum limits set by the NCAA and
AIAW, the top athletes needed to spark the rise in interest in non-revenue sports
will be attracted to Michigap. An active promotion campaign should take care of
the rest. An informed student body is an interested student body, as this week's
MSA election proved.
'It's up to you, Don Canham. Why not take the chance of losing some money to
give all athletes an even break? Maybe ten years from now the total athletic
program will be praised, instead of just the most visible portions of it.
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OPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY 9-6,
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Your Josten's College Specialist will be here:
Every Friday Through April
MICHIGAN UNION
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Undefeated
netters
travel
By BOB WARREN
Fresh off its fifth straight victor
since the season's outset, Michigan'
women's tennis team travels to Colum,
bus for a three day invitational tour-
nament beginning tonight that coach
John Atwood says is "undoubtedly the
best tournament Michigan has ever'
played in."
The women will be competing in
flight tournament with North Carolina
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Ohio State
Michigan State, Northwestern an
Tennessee-Chattanooga.
"WE WON'T be able to tell muc
about the caliber of teams we'r
playing because it's an individual tour-
nament and not a series of dual meets,"
commented Atwood. "However, it will
give our women better competition
than even the midwestern champion-
ships."
Michigan will be playing with the
same singles lineup that humiliated
Western Michigan 9-0 last Tuesday. The
doubles lineup will have a new look as
Kathy Krickstein and Lisa Wood
assume the number two position and
Sue Weber and Leticia Diaz-Perez drop
down to the third spot.
Wildcats next
A team can look awfully impressive
when they're playing on their home turf
but the real test is when they take to the
road and play in an opposing team'
friendly confines. Coach Brian Eisnel
and his undefeated forces (5-0) travel to
Evanston to face the Wildcats of North-
western.
NORTHWESTERN, always an im-
posing foe in tennis, is one team which
stands in the way of Eisner's quest for
an eleventh straight Big Ten title. The
other obstacle for Eisner is the health 01
his team. Frosh sensation and secon
singles player Matt Horwitch has been
saddled with a leg injury all season and
fourth singles player, Jud Shauflerj
missed the Minnesota match last
weekend.
If all his forces are healthy, Eisner wil
start with junior ace Jeff Etterbeek an
Horwitch at the first two slots. At three
and four will be senior co-captain Brad
Holland and Shaufler. Rounding out the
starters are freshman Ihor Debryn and
sophomore Jack Neinken.
-BILLY NEFF
PREPAR FO: l"t
MCAT - DAT -LSAT- GRE
GMAT OCAT - VAT -SAT
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MG-FLEX*VQE
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NURSING BOARDS
Flexible Programs & Hours
There IS a difference!
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