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KSU 73, OSU 67
January 5, 2013
This was an important win, for confidence, postseason play and fan support. The Cats have struggled to make shots in some games. Seeing Rodney McGruder make 26 points in one half will be remembered. McGruder's drawn lots of attention from the press. , , Rodney McGruder leads K-State, , McGruder mistakenly leaves arena, CBS Sports: Cats at #12
Nino Williams played a huge part in this victory. He hit 7 of 11 (64%) from the field, and 3 of 3 on free throws. He had five rebounds and 17 points. Without his contributions, we would not have won.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONS
January 5, 2013
Thanks to K-State Athletics for the awesome 24" x 36" poster, and the best fan experience in the Big 12.
THIS JUST HAPPENED...
November 13, 2012
Click for the full-size picture. (3.4 MB)
Here's the link for more from the magazine. They're going to sell a few hundred thousand of these in the state of Kansas.
K-STATE 25, OU 19
September 23, 2012
I don't pretend to cover every single game here, and I'm up to my ears with Volleyball right now, but I want to link to some of the OU game write-ups or features that I think are keepers.
AHEARN FUND REACHES NEW RECORD LEVELS
August 21, 2012
In a release from Sports Information, we read,
"Thanks to grass-roots support of Ahearn Fund members world-wide, a record $25.8 million was contributed to K-State Athletics in 2011-12, reflecting a jump of 45 percent from the previous year's total of $17.8 million, while the number of K-Staters participating grew by 12 percent to an all-time high of 7,866 members. In just three years, outright contributions to the department have now doubled compared to fiscal year 2009's $12.7 million mark."
"This increased philanthropic support has enabled the department to construct the new $18 million Basketball Training Facility and build momentum towards its new facility strategic goals designed to provide comprehensive improvements for all Wildcat student-athletes and fans. On April 28, 2012, ground was broken for the West Stadium Center project at Bill Snyder Family Stadium thanks to an ongoing national effort that included a $5 million anonymous gift, the largest in the history of the department. More than $53 million has now been secured towards the $75 million project, which represents Phase II of the Bill Snyder Family Stadium Master Plan."
This good news represents unparalleled leadership by John Currie, and tremendous work by his development staff. The generosity of K-State fans nationwide is the other part of the equation. Athletics at K-State is headed toward a whole new level. We all should show our gratitude for their accomplishments.
YOU MUST WATCH THIS AWESOME FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO
July 19, 2012
A YouTube account holder, musergocats, has recently uploaded a tremendous highlights video from 1991 - 2011. Don't miss it!
BIG XII CONFERENCE: 2011-12 IN REVIEW
June, 2012
Here's something you just can't miss. This is 3½ minutes of video, set to Bruce Springsteen's 1992 "Better Days," that reminds us what a tremendous conference we're part of. Wasn't it just a year ago at this time that we justifiably wondered if K-State and the Big 12 had a future? Thankfully, leaders like John Currie and Kirk Schulz worked tirelessly to stabilize the conference.
There's some mischief in this video. Thanks to some fun editing, at 2:20, when Bruce sings,
But it's a sad man my friend who's livin' in his own skin
And can't stand the company
Every fool's got a reason for feelin' sorry for himself
And turning his heart to stone...
...we see clips of Texas A&M and Missouri players moping after losses. Soon after that, clips of Texas Christian and West Virginia crowds are shown.
We have some big-time rivalries, but sometimes it's nice to remember that we're part of something great.
SUNFLOWER MOWDOWN
May 13, 2012
The Kansas City Star, if you can imagine it, has an interesting story about K-State's recent dominance over KU in athletics. The story includes a game-by-game chart. As of today, the current breakdown is K-State: 20, KU: 5.
BOB BOWLSBY: NEW BIG 12 COMMISSIONER
May 3, 2012
John Currie seems very upbeat about the hiring of Mr. Bowlsby, a 60-year-old Iowa native who has been the AD at Stanford for a few years. Here's the announcement from the Big 12.
COLLEGE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENTS WITH THE HIGHEST NET INCOME
April 7, 2012
businessinsider.com has a fun chart that shows Kansas State #5 on the list of most profitable athletic departments last year. John Currie explained to WHB the other day that this was due in part to the $18,000,000 basketball facility and the upcoming $75,000,000 football facility, but still... we're a far cry from where we were not that many years ago.
JASON WHITLOCK WEIGHS IN ON THE JAMAR SAMUELS STORY
March 19, 2012
Hmm. It seems Jason takes the same dim view of the NCAA that I have. He's filed a story for FOX Sports, Samuels a victim of NCAA sham. I don't agree with every point he's made, but as usual, a Whitlock column has some interesting points.
MORE MARCH MADNESS: THE PERSECUTION OF JAMAR SAMUELS
March 19, 2012
I have long held that no institution in an NCAA division is in full compliance, simply because there are so many rules (many outside the influence of an institution) that no school could possibly be in full compliance. The latest NCAA Division I Manual is 439 pages long!
With that said, I do believe that universities should comply with the rules, and should work to get them changed if they don't agree with them.
This is not really about Jamar's situation, but rather about the inequity of the billions of dollars taken in by the NCAA vs. the limits placed on rewarding student athletes for their efforts. I don't believe in doing away with the idea of keeping amateur athletics in college, but I have long believed that athletes should be able to receive a reasonable amount of money for incidental and unexpected expenses.
The NCAA doesn't allow scholarship athletes to have a job during the school year, and they hold a magnifying glass to what they're earning during the summer. Realistically, a Big 12 student athlete doesn't have time for a job during the school year, anyway. Our conference is so competitive that any school that wants to succeed has to have their athletes in training and unofficial practices all year. For example, our #22-ranked volleyball team members volunteered to spend the summer of 2011 in Manhattan, in order to get better. (Thanks, Cats!)
This entry carries the title of this article by Dave Zirin in The Nation on March 19. Zirin paints an interesting picture of the $10,800,000,000 to be taken in by the NCAA this March Madness, vs. what goes to athletes.
IS THE BIG 12's NEW DEAL WITH ABC/ESPN A GOOD IDEA?
March 17, 2012
Barry Tramel of The Oklahoman has an interesting column on the new deal that will pay each Big 12 school about $20,000,000 per year. Combined with income from FOX, the Big 12 will bring in about $2,500,000,000 over the next 13 years. That sounds like a tidy sum to me.
MISSOURI BASKETBALL: ONE AND DONE / SEC YOU LATER!
March 16, 2012
Or should I say one not won? Should we as Cats be taking such pleasure in another school's Mizzery? That's what you get for almost destroying the Big 12 Conference, Missouri. I couldn't be happier.
REMEMBERING VINCE, WITH A TOUCH OF PEPPER
January 13, 2012
We lost a beloved coach and colorful character this week, as Vince Gibson lost his battle with ALS. Kevin Haskin of the Topeka Capital-Journal remembers Vince. I never met Vince, but my friends and I never missed one of his pep rallies, held in Aggieville before each home football game. Because of his leadership we have our football stadium, and unforgettable (and improbable) victories over Oklahoma and Nebraska.
MY TOP 5 K-STATE SPORTS MOMENTS FOR 2011
December 31, 2011
- FEBRUARY 14, MEN'S BASKETBALL
Jacob Pullen went nuts and laid 38 points on #1 KU, leading to an 84-68 victory. A good time was had by all. Jacob finished his career with 2,132 points, more than any other Cat in history.
- MARCH 2, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Brittany Chambers went nuts and scored 35 on #5 Texas A&M, leading to a 71-67 victory. In April, the Aggies became national champions.
- SEPTEMBER 24, FOOTBALL
The Cats' goal line stop on Miami in the last minute of the game led to a 28-24 defeat of the Hurricanes, a victory few believed was possible. This provided a level of confidence that paved the way for the Cats' 10-2 season.
- NOVEMBER 19, FOOTBALL
The Cats defeated Texas in Austin, 17-13, before a crowd of 100,705. This marked the fourth consecutive win over Texas, with the Cats now 6-2 against the Longhorns in the Big 12 era, and 3-1 in Austin.
- DECEMBER 2: VOLLEYBALL
The Cats defeated #2 Nebraska on their own court in Lincoln, eliminating them from the NCAA tournament, while punching their ticket to the Sweet 16.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S FLEECING OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES
December 15, 2011
Pete Kotz in the Dallas Observer has written a well-researched and important article. You can see the original or the printer-friendly version.
Kotz points out what I've seen for years. There are so many people with their hands in the cookie jar that only the government or the NCAA will ever straighten out this mess. Lots of schools are suffering a net loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the highly-debatable prestige of playing in a bowl game, many of which the average American couldn't name to save their lives.
How are universities being lured into this?
- extra practice days allowed by the NCAA for bowl-bound schools
- free vacations (some even to warmer areas) for administrators, coaches and athletic department employees
- padding the list of all-time bowl game invitations (no matter if the list includes third-tier bowl games)
- bonuses to coaches and administrators if the team earns a bowl invitation
- Everybody's doing it!
Bowl game executives like Rick Baker of the Cotton Bowl, which has done such a pathetic job of providing tickets to K-State fans instead of Dallas-area fat cats, was paid $470,000 in 2009, according to the author. Many bowls require the teams to come days early, enriching local hotels and restaurants. Bowls require huge ticket purchase guarantees that most schools can't meet, especially if the game is played on the other side of the continent. K-Staters know all too well how Lew Perkins bought KU's way into the Orange Bowl by guaranteeing ticket sales.
This article doesn't address the unfair good-old-boy selection process for the most prestigious bowls; e.g., the Sugar Bowl's snubbing of Kansas State this fall. I don't advocate a playoff system, but I do believe the NCAA could rent stadiums in nice locations and have its own bowl system, guiding a much greater percentage of the bowl jackpots to the universities who play in them.
SAYING FAREWELL TO NUMBER 0
March 5, 2011
Mark Janssen has a must-read interview with Jacob Pullen in today's Kansas State Sports Blog.
BASKETBALL TRAINING FACILITY GROUNDBREAKING
February 26, 2011
Since I live about 150 feet from the groundbreaking site, I moseyed over there to take pictures. The indoor activities were "invitation only," but the dignitaries came outside for five minutes to dig some dirt that had already been plowed. I made a modest little photo gallery.
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
November 21, 2010
J. Brady McCollough has a tremendous story in the Kansas City Star related to Tex Winter's induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame today, and his place in K-State history. Today, Sam Mellinger has How Frank Martin won over Kansas State. (Thanks a lot, Brady and Sam, for blabbing all our trade secrets! He he.
BIG 12: 187, KU: 40
October 31, 2010
That's right. After four games, KU football has improved in the Big 12 from 159-24 to 187-40. We're proud of you, Squawks!
Here's what one of their fans wrote: "KU has officially become the perennial cellar dweller of the Big 12 AGAIN. Our program is now the worst college football program in the Big 12 by a LARGE margin. Heck, we may currently own one of the worst football programs in all of Division 1. Our homecoming game today was effectively a funeral march for the football program. If we keep Gill as our head coach, we might as well bulldoze down Memorial Stadium and erect a headstone for the program tomorrow."
BASKETBALL TRAINING FACILITY
October 16, 2010
K-State Sports has a new Web site to introduce plans for the project, and request donations. It appears that $12,000,000 of the needed $20,000,000 has been pledged, with $15,000,000 needed to proceed. Here's a story on the facility from the Kansas City Star.
BIG LEW LEFT HUGE DEBT AT KU
September 14, 2010
Mark Fagan in the Lawrence Journal-World reports that KU currently has $93.67 million in athletics department debt. It sounds as if they sure could have used that $1,000,000 that was embezzled. Silly birds!
KRAUSE / PRINCE
Throughout 2010
If anyone still wants to think about the $3,200,000 secret Ron Prince buyout, my posts on that topic are archived here.
THE PRESSURE'S REALLY ON COACH NOW!
April 23, 2010
"People talk about pressure of beating KU. That's nothing compared to knowing you have to cook a $17,000 meal," Frank Martin observed at the annual Powercat Auction tonight. The auction was such a hit that Frank offered to auction a second and third home-cooked Cuban meal to two other $17,000 bidders.
ELITE 8 WRAP-UP
March 27, 2010
SWEET SIXTEEN WRAP-UP
March 26, 2010
FUN QUOTES FROM KU FANS DURING THE XAVIER GAME
March 26, 2010
- Best non-KU game I've seen in awhile.
- This game is cool.
- The Beard has icewater in his veins!
- K-State has so earned this one. Hell, both teams have. These daggers after daggers against one another...
- Hard not to like #00 for K-State.
- As bad as the UK/Cornell game was... this one is that good. Whoever wins this game, may not have any legs left on Sat.
- Never thought I would enjoy watching K-State in the tourney this much after our debacle!
- Butler has NOTHING inside to match KSU's size.
- No one can say K-State isnt tough as nails. I'd like to see them play UK.
- KSU might be the only team with the athletes, depth, and defense left in the tourney to challenge UK.
- Hate to say it, but the team Kansas handled 3 times this season is going to the Final Four. I just feel it.
- This is the game of the tournament.
- For some reason, I know KSU won't lose.
- I think Frank Martin just earned himself NCOY. Would've been a good match up with Bill and Martin, but obviously Martin will win now, IMO.
GREGG DOYEL: YOU COULDN'T SEE MARTIN COMING, BUT HE CERTAINLY ARRIVED
March 24, 2010
Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports writes this time about our coach. Here's his column. You don't want to miss it, even though he's reviewing for America what we already know.
WILL THE SQUAWKS WATCH THE CATS IN THE SWEET 16?
March 20, 2010
Jacob Pullen makes 34 points to lead the Cats to victory in Oklahoma City over a very fine Brigham Young team. The mythical poultry will have about eight months to peck on today's events.
Good stuff to read keeps rolling in, so here we go:
K-STATE MBB: 2 SEED IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
March 14, 2010
K-State Sports Information has set up 2010 NCAA Tournament Central. It's billed as everything you need to know.
As usual, the NCAA has produced a lame Web site to cover the men's tournament. While everyone and his brother has a bracket out, the NCAA can't manage to be first to release it. For example... less than an hour after the selection show ended, look at all these other sites that have detailed tournament information.
Enough whining. Let's go win some games. The all-time record of 25 wins is now history.
Edit: HDSportsguide.com has complete information about CBS coverage of the tournament. This link seems to be CBS's main page for their coverage. Also, don't miss CBS's K-State Confidential.
A BIG DAY FOR FRANK MARTIN (AND K-STATE)
March 7, 2010
Athletics director John Currie announced today that Coach Martin has been signed through 2014-15. The salary will progressively increase: $1.2 million in the 2010-11 contract year, $1.3 million in 2011-12, $1.4 million in 2012-13, $1.5 million in 2013-14 and $1.6 million in 2014-15. This is the great news that K-Staters have been waiting for. I personally wasn't nervous, because I understood Coach's commitment to K-State, and felt it was just a matter of time until this was done. Click here to download a 6 MB .mp3 of the contract press conference. Click here to download a PDF of Coach's new contract from K-State Sports Information.
One other thing (swiping a paragraph from Sports Information): Frank Martin was named today the Big 12 Coach of the Year by both the Associated Press and the league's coaches. Martin has K-State off to its best start since the 1958-59 season, while the current 24 victories and 11 conference wins are the most for the Wildcats in the Big 12 era and most since the 1987-88 squad won a school-record 25 games. The team earned its first Top 5 ranking in nearly 50 years last Monday when it rose to No. 5 in each poll. It marked the fifth straight Top 10 ranking this season, including the fourth in both major polls. He has guided the school to four wins over Top 25 teams, which is the most-ever by K-State in a regular season, including just its third-ever over a No. 1 team and first since 1994 with its 71-62 victory over Texas on Jan. 18.
WHITLOCK: K-STATE FANS WERE A TREMENDOUS HELP.
February 27, 2010
Our pal Jason Whitlock has a nice commentary on the Cats' victory over Missouri today. Jason says, "K-State fans, take a bow. You kept the Wildcats' title hopes alive for at least four more days, and you pretty much ensured that Martin will be conference coach of the year and the favorite for national coach of the year."
CATS' HIGHEST RANKING IN 47 YEARS!
February 22, 2010
On March 7, 1962, K-State was ranked #3 in the AP poll. Now, almost 48 years later, we've come in at #6 in the poll released today. Our coaches and players have worked very hard for this, and for the most part, the fans have done a great job this season. The next month is going to be an amazing time.
DENIS CLEMENTE: BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
February 8, 2010
The Big 12 Conference has named senior guard Denis Clemente the Player of the Week. The conference says, "Clemente averaged 26.5 points and 4.0 assists as Kansas State recorded road victories at Nebraska (76-57) and Iowa State (79-75). The senior guard started play with a 23-point effort versus the Huskers, connecting on 7-of-14 shots from the floor. He then followed with his third career 30-point performance by scoring 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting against the Cyclones. For the week, he hit 50 percent (16-of-32) of his shots from the floor, including 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from 3-point range. He also totaled seven rebounds and averaged 36.0 minutes. Clemente is tied for fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made (51) this season." Here's the official announcement.
ESPN PUTS K-STATE HOOPS AT CENTER COURT
January 30, 2010
GoPowercat.com has a great story on College Game Day at our house. This story is free content.
HOW TO SPOIL A GOOD AFTERNOON OF BASKETBALL: TWEET!
January 17, 2010
