WSU’s Final Four is shocking for many reasons

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 30 April 2013 12:21

Even though I’ve been gainfully employed at Wichita State for more than 26 years as director of news and media relations, I can honestly say I was surprised the impact a Final Four run has on an institution of higher learning.

The athletic department has its own media relations staff, so they took the brunt of media requests. Still, the amount of requests that spilled over into my area and other areas of the university were remarkable.

For example, the day before Wichita State’s game against Louisville in the Final Four, I was interviewed on a morning radio show in Lexington, Ky., just to talk about all things Wichita State and Wichita for about 15 minutes. I had no advance notice of the phone interview until it happened. That was...

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Officiating basketball is a tough call

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 16 April 2013 12:19

Officiating basketball is virtually synonymous with controversy. In fact, with the growth of new and improved technology for taping games and the explosion of social media, mistakes and perceived mistakes are there for everyone to see.

In reality, there’s no proof that officiating is worse today than in the past, but you’d never know it from the reaction of fans and some coaches.

There are a plethora of reasons why officiating is actually better now than it was 30-40 years ago, but my ability to convince the average fan of that fact is about as likely as my ability to convince you that it will snow in Marion County in July.

Basketball has always been difficult to officiate. No matter what the rulebook states, the game requires...

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HHS coach Hiebert wise beyond his years

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 02 April 2013 12:02

It’s often been said in sports that the character of a coach is truly revealed in defeat.

By that measuring stick, Hillsboro High School girls’ basketball coach Nathan Hiebert has shown that he keeps winning and losing in perspective.

Hiebert is an obvious winner with a 108-39 record in six years as a head coach. While his teams have been to the 3A state tournament five of those six years, the Trojans have lost in the first round twice and have finished third the last three times.

Third-place games are never popular, but somehow Hiebert is able to set aside the disappointment of not getting to the championship game, and his teams compete and finish third. Trust me, not all coaches and teams display that kind of character, and...

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Athletic spending more upsetting than March Madness

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 19 March 2013 13:42

In the midst of March Mad­ness, we can debate which team is No. 1 now, but it doesn’t really matter, because when it’s all said and done, one team will win the national championship.

In college athletics, there’s something more maddening than March Madness, but the public doesn’t seem to care.

While college tuition increases grab the headlines, the rise in what top football-playing universities spend on athletes is even steeper.

The amount of athletics spending per athlete at universities in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) grew by about 50 percent between 2005 and 2010, compared to a 38 percent increase in in-state tuition at public four year-universities, according to a report released by Delta Cost Project, a...

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