MMMM" Y News desk: 76-DAILY www.michigandaily.com ,:, ;, t, kf 4 Yni r.. n L a F. Fya SECTION JON SCHWARTZ With Amaker hiring comes hope Brian Ellerbe fired after three straight mediocre seasons 4lichigan '" on" ' excellence is true attraction 'm not brash enough to know for sure why you chose Michigan, but I rarely believe people when they say that it had nothing to do with the athletic tradition of the University. I mean, when did the mystique of Michigan really hit you? Was it when you found out that Jonas Salk announced the success of his polio vaccine in Rackhamr Auditorium or when Chris Webber and Jalen Rose marched the Wolverines to the championship game two years in a row? Do you care more about Martinus Velt- man's Nobel Prize or Charles Woodson's Heisman Tro- phy? Just as I thought. ~ut stop pushing it aside - admit it and waive it proud- I~W~ithout sports, Michigan would be, well, Northwestern. It happens everywhere: Without football, "Rudy" would be a really shitty movie about a kid trying to get into Notre Dame. And if not for athletics, what would separate Michi- gan State from any other community college? With apologies to the University administration, sports are, and always will be synonymous with the Michigan tradition. Let's put it to a test. For every loud, outspoken University president like Harlan Hatcher, there is a football coach like Bo Schem- *hler. For every University professor like Sidney Fine, who served Michigan for nearly his entire life, there's a hockey coach like Red Berenson. And for every Madeleine Albright, a hotshot brought into town by the University to improve a program's reputation, there is new basketball coach Tommy Amaker. It can continue across the board. Obviously, the University administration doesn't accept this. They'll never be ready to admit to the fact that the Michigan name is more recognizable in athletic circles Sthan academic, even if by a very slim margin. They'll < p talking about the Human Genome project and Ger- W Ford, while I'll keep bringing up 12 national champi- on thips in football and Cazzie Russell. They can continue thinking that people wear hats embroidered with a block 'M" because of the school's tremendous engineering chool as long as I'm around to remind them of nine ational championships in hockey. Which is not to say anything negative about academics here in Ann Arbor. By selecting Michigan, you have, without question, chosen to attend one of the finest uni- v sities that this country has to offer. But for all of the lmpts that the University makes for you to recognize the diverse options that the school presents, it does not embrace its main selling point nearly enough. In his book "Intercollegiate Athletics and the American University: A University President's Perspective," James Duderstadt, Michigan's president in the early 1990s, speaks out about the problems that sports cause for col- leges around the country. There certainly is some truth in that statement. Michigan could have done without the Ed Martin scandals. There is no doubt that an athletic depart- ment's inability to police itself can and does shine nega- tive light on its respective school as a whole. ut what about the positives? Duderstadt pities his replacement, Lee Bollinger, for having to deal with the trouble of an athletic department in the time of tremen- dous success (Bollinger took over the year Michigan won the football championship and hockey championship in 1998.) I'm no politician, and I don't know the first thing about the job of a university president, but pity is not the first emotion that would come to my mind. Do you know of anyone who watched the Wolverines celebrating in Pasadena and came to the conclusion that *be Michigan was not the place for them? If there is n one such person, I could then present 400 others who that night went online to find out how to get an application. Not everyone loves football, but does anyone hate it so much that it could be a turn-off? Pities? As I pointed out when I started, I can't speak for every- one. I can say that sports had a great deal of impact in my decision. I remember growing up and thinking that Michi- gan basketball had to be the coolest team on earth. I remember watching the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 , 1998 and biting my fingernails until they were gone when Ryan f was marching Washington State down the field in t closing minutes. It was never as though I thought to myself, "I want to go to Michigan because the football team is the best." Being from New Jersey, it never seemed reasonable when I was young to think about Michigan. But as I grew older and started looking at colleges, I couldn't shake Michi- gan. I wanted to come here more than anywhere else. And I didn't choose Michigan because the men's gymnastics team won the national championship in the same week tt t I got my acceptance letter or the hockey team won year before. I chose it because I was enamored by the Michigan tra- dition, the knowledge that the block "M" stood for excel- lence, on the field and in the classroom. I had never seen Michigan, never walked on the campus, but I felt that I knew about it because I had watched Steve Fisher cut down a net on television. By Michael Kern Daily Sports Edtor After Tommy Amaker was announced yesterday as the next coach of the Michi- gan men's basketball team, junior for- ward Chris Young quipped, "If he wasn't going to be a coach, he could probably be a politician." Amaker certainly had all of the right answers for the media. When asked if Michigan would be used as a stepping stone toward a job at Duke when legendary coach and Amak- er's mentor Mike Krzyzewski retires, the new coach rebuffed the suggestion. "I don't think you ever look at Michi- gan as a stepping stone to anything," Amaker said. "I'm here, and I'm hoping I can stay here as long as Bill Martin and the rest of the administration wants me to stay. When asked if he minded that he would be playing second fiddle to Lloyd Carr and the football team, Amaker expounded about the example that Michigan football set for college pro- grams everywhere. "It's more than just winning, it's how they win," the new coach said. "There is no better example for our basketball team than our football team." Just as Rick Pitino's wife's wishes to return to Kentucky may have been the deciding factor in his signing with Louisville, Amaker's wife, Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, may be the biggest rea- son he is in Ann Arbor. "I really don't make the decisions. (If you want to know) the reason I'm here, you should probably be asking her all of the questions," Amaker said. "She made the call." Amaker left Seton Hall under difficult circumstances. The announcement came suddenly and caught many of his former players off-guard. The Pirates held a team meeting with their former coach yesterday to say goodbye. More than a few tears were shed. "It's unfortunate. I think we all recog- nize it is part of the landscape (of college basketball)," Amaker said. "I tried to get up and get a haircut before I got on the plane this morning, and I was told by my barber, 'Well Coach, the fact is that maybe people are upset and disappoint- ed, but it beats the heck out of people throwing a party that you are leaving.' "So that's one good way of looking at it." During Amaker's introductory speech yesterday, the team stood behind their new coach, smiling with approval. Amaker met with the team for the first time for about an hour before the press conference, taking the time to get to know one another. See AMAKER, Page 4E AP PHOT( Tommy Amaker has a plan to get Michigan back on the winning track. Loastir1ig quality and quantity Yi~i + 1:~~ in class by itself By Benjamin Singer Daily Sports Editor At a speech Athletic Director Bill Martin made this past year in the Business School, he estimated athletics account- ed for 99 percent of Michigan's public image. "i'm not saying that is right, I'm saying that is life." And Football represents 99 percent of Michigan athletics. It may not be right, but it's life. Michigan is a football school. It's a hard-nosed, smash- mouth, bruising-back, run-it-up-the-gut, three-yards-and-a- cloud-of-dust football school. No Fab Five could change that and neither could continued success at Yost Ice Arena. Of course, the excitement of a Football Saturday isn't a concept unique to Ann Arbor. But Michigan is as much a contributor to college football frenzy as any other school. Tailgaiting, marching band, large crowds (the largest, in fact) and a history and tradition richer than any alum who comes back to Ann Arbor every Saturday to attend a home game. The Wolverines boast 11 national championships, a school record of 805-262-36 (the best in Division I), 26 years in a row of attending a bowl game and what many on campus like to believe is the best helmet and fight song in college. TiE BIG HOUSE Michigan Stadium, often referred to as "The Big House," currently holds 107,501 seats as the largest football stadium in the country. Packing in thousands at a time for "the most people watching a football game anywhere today," as is always announced with the game's attendance, is a source of pride for Wolverine fans. The last time a game at Michi- gan had fewer than 100,000 in Michigan Stadium was on October 25, 1975, vs. Indiana. Instead, 93,857 watched a 55-7 Michigan victory. 1927 - With a capacity of 72,000, Michigan Stadium is completed for the cost of $950,000. 1930 - Michigan Stadium is the first to use electronic scoreboards to keep official time, as the equipment is put up at either end of the stadium. a 1949 - Michigan Stadium is expanded to 97,239 as the wooden bleachers are replaced by steel ones. Michigan's A~BBY ROSENBAUM/Dily; The Big House or "the house the Bo built" is the largest football stadium in the country with a capacity of 107,501. Although it has such a large capacity nearly every home game eclipses the maximum by about 3,000. average of 93,894 fans per game demolishes second place Ohio State's 76,429 in the first year that NCAA keeps records for attendance. 1956 - Expansion in the Big House increases capaci- ty to 101,001 seats. On October 6, over 100,000 people come to a Michigan game for the first time against Michi- gan State. 0 1969 - In a growing trend of the athletic world due to cost efficiency, Michigan Stadium's grass is replaced with artificial turf. ® 1991 - At a cost of $2,250,000 Michigan Stadium converts back from artificial turf to Prescription Athletic Turf -real grass. 1998 - Renovations include adding 5,000 seats, video scoreboards on both sides of the stadium and the "Halo," a gold ring around the outside of the stadium reading "Hail to the Victors" in large, gold letters. 2000 - Due to public outcry, calling the Halo "tacky," the letters are taken down. FLRST-CLASS COACHES Sixteen different coaches have walked up and down the sidelines at Michigan games, but not all of them reached a level at which the school named something after them in their honor. Whether it be a drive (Kipke), field house (Yost, now an ice arena, and Oosterbaan), basketball arena (Crisler) or hall (Schembechler), the following men have been immortalized at the University. The first varsity victory may have come in 1879, but the true road to legendary status as a football program start- See TRADITION, Page 6E Women gymnasts place third in NCAAs en route to best finish By Chris Burke Daily Sports Writer ATHENS, Ga. - The best team score ever posted by the Michigan women's gymnastics team at the NCAA Championships - 197.275 - still wasn't enough to overtake defending NCAA champion UCLA and home-favorite Georgia on April 20. Yet even with a third place finish in the Super Six, the Wolverines came away feeling pretty good about themselves. "There's only a tiny little part of me that is won- dering what could have been, but we are so excited about the way we performed tonight," Karina Senior said. "We all came together as a team, and we can't be disappointed with that." A crowd of 8,245 invaded the Stegeman Colise- um for the meet. The host Bulldogs scored a 197.4 ... ~ NCAA championship meet history with a 39.625. The lowest score Ray had all night came from a 9.875 on the balance beam. That mark was still high enough to match teammate Shannon MacKenzie for the best score posted by a Michigan competitor on that event during the evening. Add in scores of 9.9 on vault and floor, as well as a 9.95 on the bars and the result was a second con- secutive superb night from Michigan's freshman star. "I couldn't have done half as well as I did without the team behind me," said the ever-humble Ray. "I'm strictly focused on team - all the individual stuff is kind of extra. "I've never, ever had this much fun doing gym- nastics before, so that in itself is just wonderful. I think that plays a huge part in how I did." The Wolverines began the evening on bars and - - .AQ)'G _41n ir~ictfam crrnofte I '& '~.- I