12 - The Michigan Daily Summer Weekly - Wednesday, August 5, 1992
Big Ten kicks off football season .
Coaches tab Michigan as
favorite for fifth straight title
by Josh Dubow
Daily Football Writer
CHICAGO - Last week, the Big
Ten held its 21st annual Kickoff Lun-
cheon in Chicago, to pronounce the
beginning of the 1992 football season.
Once again, the Big Ten coaches picked
Michigan as a prohibitive favorite to
win its fifth straight conference title.
"Again naturally I have to pick
Michigan to win," Indiana coach Bill
Mallory said.
Mallory's prediction was backed
up by the majority of the other coaches.
"Anytime you havea champion re-
turning with a good nucleus, they have
to be the favorite," Wisconsin coach
Barry Alvarez said. "Ohio State re-
cruitedverywell. (Iowacoach)Hayden
(Fry) always does a great job at Iowa.
There should be a lot of parody in the
league this year."
While the majority of his fellow
coaches pick his team as the favorite,
Michigan coach Gary Moelleris appre-
hensive about his squad's chances at a
fifth straight title. The Wolverines have
won four straight title four different
times (1930-33,1947-50, 1971-74 and
1988-91). The only Big Ten team to
win exceed that feat was Ohio State,
who won six consecutive titlesbetween
1972-77.
"Mymajor concernisnot whoplays
this position and who plays that posi-
tion but is attitude," Moeller said. "Do
they have the desire to do what every
young man wants to do whoplaysin the
Big Ten, that burning desire to go back
to the Rose Bowl? It takes a special
effort, especially with everyone else
shooting for you. Everyone must play
to the next level."
Senior quarterback Elvis Grbac is
one of the Wolverines who wants to
forget last year's Rose Bowl debacle
and reach that next level.
"Wanting to go back to the Rose
Bowl and play Washington again says
it all," Grbac said. "We want to beat
Notre Dame at Notre Dame and win
five straight. It takes agreatdesire todo
that, and it's there."
Other problems which may plague
Michigan are the losses of All-Ameri-
cans Desmond Howard, Greg
Skrepenak and Erick Anderson. How-
ever, Moellerisless worried about these
hurdles.
"We've got some problems replac-
ing some people, but every team has
those problems," he said.
Theconferencealsowelcomedthree
new coaches into the league - Lou
TepperatIllinois,Gary BarnettatNorth-
western and Jim Wacker at Minnesota.
01
FILE PHOTO / Dily
Michigan's depth at tailback --which includes Tyrone Wheatley (above) - is one of the reasons most Big Ten
coaches picked the Wolverines as the favorite to win the Big Ten this season.
Proposed cuts irk Perles; new motto: 'Don't take away from the kids.'
by Josh Dubow willattempt topassitin theconference. Ah let's take the kids' food away, let's 4,750are formen and2,000forwomen. $1.9 million respectively.
Daily Football Writer The most vocal opponent to these take the kids' travel away." Take out 1,300 or so for football and "I made a million nine, I didn't look
CHICAGO - While the Big Ten reform plans is Michigan State football However, Perlesisnotaloneamong there still is a huge discrepancy" atcutting,"hesaid. "Isold scoreboards,
football coaches convened to Chicago coach and former athletic director his coaching brethren. The area Perles would like to see I went outand sold radio. We increased
last week to signal the start of the 1992 George Perles. Perles opened his 15- "In the Big Ten, football and men's reduced most is administrative costs radio revenue 400 percent. You could
college football season, talk of the new minute question-and-answer session basketball generate 97 percent of the and media perks.' add luxury boxes.
Gender Equity Act and proposed cuts with a10-minutediatribeon avariety of revenue," Illinois coach Lou Tepper "Don't take away from the kids. "But if you have to, they're a ton of
tomale athletics overshadowed talk of topicsincluding 'takingcareofthekids.' said. "You have to create a special
the upcoming season. "As far as equity goes, we can make status because of that. One of our law 'It's amazing how decisions are made. We have all the
The conference is attempting to it work. But don't take away from the professors tell me I'm off base, but I administrators there ... so, who do you pick on? The kids.
make across the board cuts in male kids," Perles said. "It's amazing how believe football should be outside be- Ah, let's cut. Let's take the kids' scholarships away.
programs. These cuts would cap the decisions are made. We have all the cause there is no counterpart." They're not here, they're not gonna complain. Ah let's take
sizeofmen'steamsat10percentbelow administrators there - the presidents, BigTencommissionerJimDelaney the kids' food away, let's take the kids' travel away.'
the national average for each sport. the counsel, the leagueoffice, the com- does not dispute that there is no coun-
Forexample,theaveragesquadsize missioner, his staff, the athletic direc- terpart to football, buthe stillfeels there - George Perles
nationally for football is 117, so with tor, his coaches. So, who do you pick is along way to go before equity will be Michigan State football coach
the cut size would be capped at 105. If on? The kids. Ah, let's cut. Let's take achieved.
the Big Ten's attempts to implement the kids' scholarships away. They're "The Big Ten has 6,750 participa- Take away these luxury press guides places we could cut. We're spending a
this plan nationally fail, the conference not here, they're not gonna complain. tion slots," Delaney said. "Of those, we all use for recruiting - a waste of lot of money on these press guides and
money;,... nean «__u..".etae y mc su mnc r ecc nr whone u-
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money," he added. "Lets take away
from theadministration.Wehave $101
million spent on administration in the
Big Ten 40 percent of the budgetspent
on administration.Let's getridofsome
of that, but don't take away from the
kids. Make all your decisionsbased on
not hurting the kids. They're working.
They work on that field five times more
than when I played. The off-season
used to be a good game of handball.
I These kids arededicatedtheyliftweights
UNIVERSITY they gotoschooltheyhavebettergrades.
I Cut in other ways. Take the food out of
TOW ERS the press box. Everybody bring alunch
The Best of Campus Life! you all bring a can when it's can day,
Furnished Apartments bring a lunch."
Great Location While Perles endorses cutting from
Corner of S. University & S Forest the administration, he also feels more
536 5. Forest Ave.
761r268 0 aggressivepursuitofrevenueisneeded.
In his two years as athletic director,
Michigan State made $1.7 million and
the summer meetings for the confer-
ence.We don't have to go to Cape Cod.
(Summer conferences will nowonly be
held in Big Ten states, Delaney said.)
We can go to Boyne Mountain, Mich.,
same table, same paper. Cape Cod - I
didn't know we had a Big Ten team in
Cape Cod.
"We can do a lot of cutting, let's
everybody kick in and don't hurt the
kids.I'msostrong onitI'mgonnakeep
saying it and if someone doesn't like it,
so what. My skin is so thick right now
I don't think you could penetrate it with
a fork."
Delaney is also interestedin finding
areas from which to cut.
"The footballcoachesareconcerned
and apprehensive about the changes,"
Delaney said. "We have to engage in
constructive destruction on means of
cost containment."
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