The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday- Oct 1
,1989--- Page 3
aAl s ,cecutiue Di ecto a tei a iso r
Richard Eisen
Harrison
Walt Harrison talks about 'M' athletics
In the theme of this Sports
Monday issue, the Question and
Answer session focuses on the Uni-
versity's Administration and spe-
cifically, University Relations'
Executive Director Walter Harrison.
Daily Editor in Chief Adam Schra-
ger talked with Harrison about his
dealings with sports and the Univer-
sity.
D: How much of your time do
you spend dealing with sports at
Michigan?
H: About 5 percent of my
inquiries from the public and the
media deal with sports and they
usually are questions about athletic
graduation rate, should freshmen be
eligible, how does the University
'ily feeling is that if we
had a Bo Schembechler
running every Division I
institution in the country,
we'd be in good
shape...'
feel about steriods. They're gen-
erally public policy questions.
I'd say about five percent of my
.personal conversations relate to
sports because people know I'm
fanatical about baseball. So they
want to know who's going to win
the World Series or why the Tigers
traded Tom Brookens.
D: Where does U-M stand
comparatively with athlete grad-
uation rates?
H : We do very well
comparatively speaking. Roughly
60 percent of our varsity athletes
graduate in five years as opposed to
75 percent of the student body as a
whole. Obviously, we would like
to see both those figures improve.
D: What can the University do
to help these figures improve?
H: Jim Duderstadt is a firm
believer that the .key is recruiting
people who can do well here ath-
letically and academically. That is a
view shared by Bo Schembechler
and after that, we leave it in the
hands of the Athletic Department.
D: What is the University's
policy on freshman eligibility?
H: The University's policy in
general is that we would like to see
the NCAA take a stand on freshman
eligibility. We think that it has to
be something that is done across
the board and not just by a few
schoools. I think we would like to
see five-year scholarships with the
freshmen sitting out their first year.
A lot of schools don't like that idea
vecause it's inexpensive now and it
would cost them a lot more to
implement it.
D: Would Michigan have any
problem handling that financial
burden?
H: For us, the principle is more
important than the actual cost. But
I think we'd be willing to handle it.
In general, we'd like to see a .
nationwide ruling.
D: What is the most prevalent
sports topic that you deal with
regularly?
H : Most people feel very
positively about what Michigan is
doing. Obviously there is a huge
enthusiasm out there for Michigan
athletics. If I get questions, they're
generally positive ones like 'you
guys are doing this well, how do
you do it?' I have had instances
where there are people who are
disappointed with certain things but
those are very scattered. I do have a
lot of conversations with people on
the state of intercollegiate athletics
outside of Michigan specifically.
I personally agree with Rick
Telander from Sports Illustrated
when he says that they are out of
control. University Presidents have
got to get things under control in
the Athletic Departments. I think
here at Michigan, we've done a very
good job, but I'm sure that other
places have a long way to go.
D : With all the money
circulating around college athletics
today, what can you do to stop
some of it from getting to the
athletes themselves?
H: That's the biggest problem.
It's not just the money, but the
adulation that gets heaped onto 19-
year-olds that have never been
exposed to that before. There is a
lack of control that has to be
stopped from the top and that's my
personal view. Presidents have to
take charge and say this is our
responsibility just as everything
else dealing with the University is.
Specifically, I'd like to see some
of the things done that we do here
at Michigan like graduating their
athletes. Secondly, I think people
need to do whatever to integrate
athletes into the everyday student
life. You have to try to steer them
away from one specific major and
to have them live with in situations
with other students.
D: It's easy to say that Pres-
idents should do something, but
what practically can they do because
they are the ones who sign the
multimillion dollar television
deals?
H: I don't think that money is
the root of all evil, but it's the love
of money that is the root of all
evil. You have to realize that first
and foremost, you run an athletic
department not to make money.
That's not to say that you run it to
lose money, but how much you
make should not be the question.
Here, I don't know exactly what
Bo's problems with Telander are
and I would assume that Bo and my
responses to it would be different
and Bo certainly has more exper-
ience than I do. My feeling is that
if we had a Bo Schembechler run-
ning every Division I institution in
the country, we'd be in good shape
because he is a man of fierce inte-
grity. But unfortunately, that has
not been my experience at other
universities.
To answer your question, it's
asking a lot of Presidents, but I
think if they work together as a
group, they can do it. They can
'Roughly 60 percent of
our varsity athletes
graduate in five years as
opposed to 75 percent of
the student body as a
whole.'
reestablish the principle that the
President is in charge and making
everyone else realize that. The
position should be one like the
CEO of an corporation with the
President in charge of everything.
D: How do the sports here at the
University affect your job and the
image of the University?
H: It's a terrific boost for the
image and for the whole university.
When I took my job, I told the
interviewers that the two main
things that most affected the image
of the University were the athletics
and the hospital because those two
things reach out to all the people in
the state of Michigan and nationally
as well. - Both of those have
deserving superb reputations.
Walker deal spells
doom for Vikings
Last week, the Minnesota Vikings traded everything except the
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to the Dallas Cowboys for running
back Herschel Walker.
To be exact, the Vikings dealt away linebackers Jesse Solomon and
David Howard, cornerback Issiac Holt, defensive end Alex Stewart and
running back Darrin Nelson. All for Herschel Walker.
Plus, Minnesota traded a 1992 first-round draft choice. And,
conditionally, Minnesota gave Dallas six draft picks over the next three
years.
All for Herschel Walker.
Rumors have it that Minnesota general manager Mike Lynn will
have to give up his first born child in 1993. Conditionally, of course.
Obviously, the Cowboys have constructed, and pulled off, an
absolute football trading coup. Anytime you can get 11 players for one,
I think you should pull the trigger on that deal.
And Dallas cocked that gun and fired in a big way. Supposedly,
Walker did not want to leave Dallas with all his promotional deals set up
there. So, the Cowboys reportedly have given Walker $1.25 million to
vamoose, along with a few round trip tickets between Minnesota and
Dallas to use whenever he wants.
As far as the Cowboys were concerned, they would have given
Walker his own jet to leave Dallas. With his own in-flight movies.
Because, you see, once titans of the National Football League, the
Cowboys kind of stink to high heaven right now.
Desperate for a lot of new talent, and a lot of draft choices with which
to build for the future, the Cowboys probably couldn't wait to complete
this trade. Hillbilly owner Jerry Jones probably swallowed his dip when
he heard how much he could get for Walker.
So, the Cowboys got what they wanted, and so did Walker, who
wasn't too thrilled with Dallas' new and supposedly improved pass-
oriented offense. But will Minnesota ever get what they want from this
deal?
I say no. History dictates that when a team doles away half their team
for one player, that team will eventually get the short end of the deal.
In 1971, the Los Angeles Rams traded away six players to the
Washington Redskins for just Marlin McKeever and six draft choices. In
the end, the Rams went nowhere while the Skins went to the playoffs
five times in the next six years.
But, you see, much more than history is working against the Vikings
in this deal. Minnesota is embittered by a vicious argument between
players and management and this trade should only exacerbate the ugly
situation.
Most of the Vikings' Pro-Bowl players have been complaining in
recent weeks that their salaries do not reflect their levels of play. And
that's true. Former Michigan great Anthony Carter, safety Joey Browner
and vicious linebacker Chris Doleman are all Pro-Bowl players and their
average salary is less than the League average salary.
Imagine. That's less than $400,000 a year. In other words, some
players whose only job is to just sit around and suck air from oxygen
tanks make more than these fabulous players. And that stinks.
So, thrown right into the middle of this tense situation is Walker,
who struts into Minnesota with is $1 million a year salary. That's
almost more than Carter, Browner and Doleman combined.
Plus, Walker happens to be in the last year of his contract; bitter
contractual talks loom on the horizon in Minneapolis. Just try to
comprehend how much money the Vikings will give Walker next year.
Since they sacrificed their future, the Vikings might just hand Walker
the keys to the Metrodome.
And try to comprehend how upset the other underpaid Vikings will be
when they see Minnesota open up the coffers for aguy who just walked
onto the team. What about loyalty and long-time service? These
questions will decimate the team in the off-season and possibly the
future.
These contractual talks have obviously affected the Vikings now, as
the once strong club lost to a Bubby Brister led Pittsburgh Steelers squad
earlier last month. In addition, the Vikings have already experienced their
annual clock cleaning by the Chicago Bears, who appear to be on their
way to yet another division crown.
Thus, you've got to wonder how much of an impact Walker will
have on this team. A dynamite offensive player, Walker can change any
offense around. But this offense is lead by the two quarterbacks that sit
directly in the middle of the contract controversy.
Both erratic Wade Wilson and back-up Tommy Kramer make more
than $1 million a year. I wonder how Carter can stand listening to them
in the huddle.
Walker should help Minnesota out immensely, but as long as the
players get no support from the management, the Vikings will go
nowhere. There's nothing worse than a squad full of players that don't
give two you-know-whats about their team.
And a nightmarish thought should creep into the minds of all Viking
fans: Walker has mentioned the possibility of retirement after he finishes
his contract this year. Although that might be far-fetched, the fact that
Minnesota might have sacrificed its future for just one year could place
the franchise in jeopardy.
li
k
M
National
basketbal.
by Steven Cohen
Daily Basketball Writer
Cl
1
The applause from last year's 30-7 national
championship season rings dimmer in the
player's ears. Now, the time to try and match
past accomplishments has fallen upon the
Michigan basketball team.
In other schools, the first day of basketball
practice is celebrated with a packed stadium
and "Midnight Madness" but at Crisler Arena,
yesterday, there were 15 or so players and
about 100 other assorted spectators.
Two questions dominated discussion: Can
Michigan repeat as national champions, and
how will the Wolverines adapt to the loss of
Glen Rice?
"We're not not going to talk about
(repeating) because that would be nuts for us,"
Michigan coach Steve Fisher said.
While the talk centered around winning
another national championship, the players
noted that only fifth-year seniors Loy Vaught
and Mike Griffin belonged to a Big Ten
championship team.
"I was on that team during my red-shirt
freshman year but I didn't do anything for it,"
Vaught said. "This year I would like to
contribute on a Big Ten Championship team.
We want to make history. We want to be the
iamps open
practice
last team since UCLA won consecutive titles
to do it. I would love to be immortalized in
that way."
Replacing Rice, the Big Ten career scoring
leader, will be several people including junior
Sean Higgins.
Higgins said: "I just play my game. I'm
not trying to prove anything to anyone. I'm
not trying to fill Glen Rice's shoes. I'm just
trying to play my game - Sean Higgins
basketball. I'm not trying to be something I'm
not. I'm not trying to go out there and score
30 points a game if I could do other things."
Fisher added: "This team has strong senior
leadership with Rumeal (Robinson), Vaught,
Terry (Mills) and Grif. I think Terry is
determined to live up to the expectations that
you have placed on him and even some of his
own."
Mills determination showed in his
conditioning, his concentration, and his
waistline. Mills came into practice weighing
240 pounds, down from the 265 he weighed at
the beginning of last season.
Impressing his teammates was redshirt
frosh Eric Riley, though everyone will readily
admit that he will need to add more weight to
his 7 foot, 205 pound frame.
JULIE I1OLLM#-'/D
Mike Griffin drives to the basket for a simple lay-up
during Michigan's first practice of the season.
ICERS
Continued from Page 1
Mazi slapshot from the blueline
down into the net to give Miami a
2-1 advantage.
Only Felsner's clutch goal at
17:32, which Michaud called "the
perfect shot," kept the Redskins
from registering the comeback win.
"When they scored that second
goal, we knew we had plenty of time
to get a goal," said Michigan co-
captain Alex Roberts. "We just
stayed focused on our game."
Each side had a power play in
overtime, but neither scored.
"You need to take advantage of
your chances," Berenson said. "We
made some good plays; we just
didn't finish them. When you have
49 shots, you should have more than
two goals."
Although the second game was
offensively oriented, the Wolverines
again fell apart in the last period.
Michigan entered the final frame
preserve the win.
"We dug ourselves a hole and
couldn't get out of it," Wilson said.
At first it appeared as though the
Wolverines were digging the hole, as
Wilson scored only 1:20 into the
game. But Michigan exploded for
four goals in four minutes and five
in the first period against the same
Michaud who had given them fits
the night before.
Felsner took passes from Brown
and Evans to score his two goals of
the night. A minute later Todd
Copeland's slapshot was tipped in
by Ted Kramer.
Co-captain Mike Moes then
scored his first goal of the year at the
10:08 mark and Felsner got his last
point of the series at 18:14 of the
first period when he gave a perfect
pass to Dan Stiver right at the goal.
Miami edged to within 5-2 on a
second period goal by Ken House.
And then the third period arrived and
with it a scare for the Wolverines.
"We got a little too comfortable
MADEJ
Continued from Page 1
The usual cadre of media who
cover Michigan on a full-time basis
all described Madej's attitude as
being his greatest asset.
"I think he really tries to be fair,"
Ann Arbor News reporter John
Beckett said. "He won't give you a
scoop but he'll make sure you're on
a par with your competitors."
Murray added that Madej's
"hemming and hawing covers up a
sincere side" that underscores
everything he does.
"Bruce really cares and because of
that he has trouble backing off,"
Murray said. "But that's what makes
him the ideal man for the job."
Associated Press sports editor
Harry Atkins went on to describe
Madej as "one of the most decent,
caring human beings on earth."
The one complaint members of
the media sometimes have involves
the access they have to players. But
enough access. Bo is the absolute
master and everyone in the SID shop
kow-tows to him... But on the
whole, Bruce really does the best job
he can given the lack of freedom
under which I perceive him
operating."
One of the most difficult things
to do is find Madej in his office. As
a result, some of the assistant
coaches have been heard joking that
it's because he can't find his office.
But those in the SID office disagree.
"People wonder where Bruce is
half the time," Murray said. [But
you can't do this job sitting behind a
desk. If he sits down here behind a
desk where they can find him, he's
not doing his job."
Fifteen years down the line,
Madej sees himself as an athletic
director. But he says his current job
is "the best" because it keeps him
occupied.
"I don't have the attention span
of an adult. I have to be like a 3-yard
old kid. But when you have 21
'