&7ts& (jat&>' ($cum&
Stadium Expansion. . .Is The Time Right?
To build or not to build, that is the question.
It really shouldn't be, the only question is when and it should be answered with an resounding "right now."
We're talking about expansion of Commonwealth Stadium and for those of you who do not have the vision of what expansion can do for not only the football program, but the entire athletics department and the non-athletic community, let us proceed.
First of all, athletics director Cliff Hagan has mailed a questionnaire to all football season ticket holders (38,000 tickets are sold in this fashion) asking the patrons if they would like to see the stadium expanded, if they think expansion would improve the football program and if they, the season ticket holders, would donate funds toward the project.
It would be shocking to see anything other than overwhelming approval from the segments of Wildcat fans. But such a project would have to gather more support than just the current season ticket holders. After all, a season ticket holder can sit in only one seat at a time and some 13.000 or so additional fans must be enticed to attend UK games, not to mention a few those seats which go unclaimed (mostly by students) at the current time.
Under Hagan's plan, the stadium would be completely bowled on one end, but for such an expansion plan to be attractive, it would have to go far beyond adding just seats.
For example:
Why not offset and justify a huge chunk of the expense by putting in an athletic dorm underneath the new seats, complete with a cafeteria, like some stadiums at other schools? At the same time, UK could move all its athletic offices to the stadium and have the entire athletic family under one roof.
Critics would immediately argue that such a plan would be polarizing the athletes from the remainder of the student body. To some extent, that might be true. But look at the positive side. It would give coaches a better handle of their athletes and provide athletes with an environment more conducive to their needs.
More importantly, such a plan would provide much-needed additional dorm space for non-athletes. The university has been in the midst of a housing crunch for years and this move would free up at least 200 to 250 rooms.
Right now, atheltics offices are spread all over the place, from Memorial Coliseum to Alumni Gym, to Shively Sports Center, to Commonwealth Stadium to Seaton Center (students' activity center). There certainly would be more harmony and less expense if all were centralized.
And last but not least, the real stroke of genius could be the one which would install some of those fabulous suites all around the horseshoe between the upper and lower decks at Commonwealth Stadium.
The estimate cost of expanding the stadium to roughly 71,000 to 72,000 seats is $11 million. That, of course, is without any dorms, cafeteria or suites. If those should be added, the cost then jumps sharply.
But it would be nice to see UK officials ex-
plore the avenue of not just trying to catch up with the Tennessees and Alabamas, but for once leap into the future and be a leader.
I'm convinced the numbers could be put together. Big-time Kentucky corporations would stand in line to shell out the big bucks for the sky boxes.
And what a recruiting tool ALL Wildcat coaches would enjoy when a prospective athlete would be shown such facilities. Suddenly, UK's so-called minor sports wouldn't be so minor.
It's officialEric Manuel and Johnny Pittman have met Proposition 48 and will be eligible to play basketball this winter for the University of Kentucky Wildcats.
To say the UK staff is pleased would be grossly underrating the two youngsters' achievements. To say UK fans are thrilled would be the understatement of the year.
The month of June brought no less than 125 phone calls to our TCP offices and they continued a week after the two were declared eligible because some out-of-state fans hadn't heard the news.
So now the official roster is set for the coming season. There will be 16 players listed, of which 15 will be on scholarship with Sean Sutton's father picking up his expenses so UK will be within the 15 scholarship limit.
Now, the fun begins.
It doesn't take a brilliant person to realize that far fewer than 16 players will receive quality playing time this winter. Surely, there will be a redshirt or two, maybe three. But none of those decisions will be made before practice starts on Oct. 15 and perhaps no earlier than late November.
On the floor, it'll be a war. There will be no more playing time by default like last season, and to a certain extent, the year before. Poor efforts in practice will earn quality time on the pines this winter. Nagging injuries will call for the trainer's table, not "PT" minutes in a crucial game.
For Kentucky to be successful this coming season, the Wildcats will need strong leadership on and off the court. That should not be a problem, what with five seniorsEd Davender, Cedric Jenkins, Richard Madison, Rob Lock and Winston Bennett.
It's obvious Davender will be the floor general this winter and at least at the beginning he has to be the top candidate for senior leadership.
The biggest question of all will be the status of fifth-year senior Winston Bennett who suffered that terrible knee injury last fall. His recuperation has been slow, bit if anyone can make it back it is a Winston Bennett.
Bennett is the type person, the type player, who can make the difference in improving a team from being very good to the level of greatness. Winston's leadership off the court could be as vital as his on-the-court skills and if he's anywhere near 100 percent, he'll never be embarrassed by anyone, repeat anyone.
Even coach Eddie Sutton hasn't denied his eagerness to hit the hardwoods with a roster so loaded with talent. "Boy, it's going to be a lot of fun," said the Wildcat boss recently, "there will be a lot of talent out there."
Yep, coach and the expectaction will be quite high. You can count on that, too.
In less than a month, Kentucky's football Wildcats will be reporting back for fall drills and hopefully to a new football training center the Erv Nutter Center.
But more importantly, it will be a time for the Wildcats to turn things around and get back on the winning side.
After disappointing back-to-back seasons of 5-6 and 5-5-1, players and coaches alike realize the future is now as a winning campaign is urgently needed unless the 'Cats want to face the likely prospects of a four-year stretch without a winning mark.
Next season, UK adds to its schedule the likes of Auburn and Alabama. But that's another story for another time.
Kentucky, with a few breaks here and there could have enjoyed an 8-3 mark last season, had the 'Cats escaped the 16-16 tie with Rutgers, had the 'Cats been a little more successful in the 25-16 loss to LSU and had UK not dropped that 17-15 hearbreaker at Virginia Tech.
The major disappointments were the 33-13 bombing at the hands of Ole Miss after UK had leaped out of the gate with a 3-0-1 start. The Wildcats underestimated the Rebels' strength (several other schools did, too) and it began a four-game tailspin that didn't stop until UK woke up against Vanderbilt, 34-22.
The following week, the 'Cats were brilliant against Florida and upset the Gators 10-3, but it was too little too late as Kentucky's offense sputtered in a 28-9 loss to Tennessee. Still, it was a far cry from the embarrassment at the hands of the Vols in Knoxville.
Gone are the likes of record-setting quarterback Bill Ransdell and running back Marc Logan.
But what returns is possibly the finest stable of running backs in Kentucky history. At question, though, is the annual ritual in Bluegrass Country. Does Kentucky have a quarterback who can successfully engineer an explosive offense? The first nod will go to veteran Kevin Dooley and not far behind will be junior college transfer Glenn Fohr who was extremely successful in the annual spring Blue-White game.
"Our quarterbacks are virtually untested in SEC play," says coach Jerry Claiborne, "Kevin has played some, but really hasn't played that much. Glenn has no SEC experience at all."
Still, Claiborne hopes at least one of the two surfaces right out of the gate and performs as well as Ransdell did when he was called on during his sophomore year.
While most everyone talks of Kentucky's outstanding backsMark Higgs, Ivy Joe Hunter, Al Baker, Greg Baker, Darren Bilberry, and Andy Murray among othersit is the defense which Kentucky will rely on a great deal this fall.
"We feel like we can put 11 on the field that can hold their own against anybody," says Claiborne. "After that, we have some spots that are really hurting for depth. Our secondary, in particular, is a big concern. Our star-
ting unit (CBs David Johnson and Ron Mack, FS Ron Robinson) can be as good as any in the league. After that, no one has any game experience."
Reports from the Shively Sports Center have it that coaches and players alike believe the 'Cats can go at least 7-4 this fall and UK fans would be very happy if they can.
This summer UK's Seaton Center has been the scene of some inspired pick-up basketball games, especially from several returning UK players.
As the roster ballooned to 16, the numbers didn't escape the likes of several players who will have a fight on their hands for playing time.
In fact, about the only two players assured playing time from the outset are probably guards Ed Davender and Rex Chapmanand they'd better not take anything for granted.
As recently as last week, sophomore Derrick Miller was issuing some take-notice headlines in Chapel Hill, N.C., in the U.S. Olympic Festival.
At Seaton Center, both Rob Lock and Mike Scott have trimmed down considerbly and appear ready to do battle in the low post. Both have looked very good at times this summer.
Cedric Jenkins certainly hasn't thrown in the towel after his slow comeback from his injury last season and has been impressive.
But most impressive to many has been freshman redshirt Reggie Hanson who has matured very nicely during his one-year layoff. In fact, he's been so impressive that some believe he may in the process of playing himself right into a starting role this winter.
Of the freshmen, LeRon Ellis and Eric Manuel have been playing very, very well. And those skeptics of Deron Feldhaus apparently have softened their criticism after watching him in the Kentucky-Indiana series. In pick-up games at the Seaton Center, he has been impressive more than once.
Once the U.S. Olympic Festival (where Eddie Sutton is coaching and Manuel, Ellis, Hanson, and Miller are playing) is over, all basketball attention will be turned toward the Pan American Games in Indianapolis where Chapman will be on the roster.
An exhibition game will be staged Aug. 1 at Freedom Hall in Louisville against some former college stars. Tickets for that game are on sale at Freedom Hall.
We'd like to welcome a new regular columnist to the pages of TCP as retired sports information director Russell Rice will be writing about past and present UK athletes and events.
Rice, a former sportswriter who was sports editor of The Lexington Leader before joining UK in sports information back in the 1960s, retired from his SID position at UK this spring and has been named a special assistant to athletics director Cliff Hagan.
Before he retires full-time from the University, Russell will spend the next 18 months
[Continued On Page 22]