05/09/08
Part one: Comparison of coaching salaries.<a href="https://www.thebakerorange.com/media/storage/paper1028/news/2008/04/11/Sports/Sports.Spending.Series-3317593.shtml">Part one: Comparison of coaching salaries.</a> Part one: Comparison of coaching salaries.
Part two: BU pays medical premium.<a href="http://media.www.thebakerorange.com/media/storage/paper1028/news/2008/04/18/Sports/Bu.Pays.Medical.Premium-3332596.shtml"> Part two: BU pays medical premium.</a> Part two: BU pays medical premium.
Part three: Equity among teams is top priority.<a href="http://media.www.thebakerorange.com/media/storage/paper1028/news/2008/04/25/Sports/Equal.Sports.Budgets.Top.Priority.For.Bakers.Athletic.Department-3347812.shtml"> Part three: Equity among teams is top priority.</a> Part three: Equity among teams is top priority.
Part four: Player funds limited.<a href="http://media.www.thebakerorange.com/media/storage/paper1028/news/2008/05/02/Sports/Player.Funds.Limited-3360984.shtml"> Part four: Player funds limited.</a> Part four: Player funds limited.
PART FIVE: Playing surfaces one of many costs.
Almost 70 years after Liston Stadium was built, Baker University figured out a way to cut down on costs when it comes to sports facilities.
Just add turf.
After installing field turf in the fall of 2006, Athletic Director Dan Harris said out of all the sports facilities, Liston Stadium currently costs the least for Baker to keep up.
“With our recent updates with our stadiums, we are as good as anybody,” Harris said. “Our turf is rated as the best in the conference.”
Harris relies on Phil Hannon and Nate Houser, co-coordinators of outdoor facilities, to keep him up-to-date on what needs to be fixed.
“We make recommendations to Dan and the physical plant on some of the maintenance of all the fields – soccer, softball, football practice field and even the turf field and track,” Hannon said.
Hannon is in charge of maintaining the baseball fields, including raking and drawing the base lines. With as much attention needed for the baseball fields, Harris said it is the most expensive to take care of.
“The quality of the surface affects the quality of the game,” he said.
Hannon must drag the infield daily to keep the surface smooth and flat. Although he spends 10 hours a week on the field himself, he said it would take much longer if he didn’t have the help of some of his players.
While Baker teams must use their own funds for equipment and what Harris describes as “mobile costs,” the university pays for permanent structures, such as fixing buildings and the upkeep of fields.
Although Baker hosts many of its own tournaments and games on campus, it is lacking one facility: a golf course.
Baker pays an annual fee to the Alvamar Golf Course in Lawrence. Alvamar is rated as one of the best courses in the nation, Harris said.
“It’s a great recruiting tool,” he said.
William Jewell College is the only school in the Heart of America Athletic Conference that has its own golf course, which isn’t unusual, Harris said.
Hannon, who also serves as the head baseball coach, said it’s difficult to receive extra money from the school and has to do a lot of fundraising.
Other coaches must do the same to provide athletes with proper equipment. The men’s basketball team holds an annual golf tournament to earn money for the team, and the women’s basketball team works the Kansas City Chiefs’ games to earn money for uniforms and extra costs. Many coaches also run camps during the summer to bring in extra money.
To help pay for the costs of running and renting facilities, Baker allows Baldwin High School to rent Liston Stadium for all the football team’s home games and allows the high school and junior high track and field teams to practice on the track as well.
Sometimes, Baker trades services such as the use of the junior high and high school gyms for Baker practices.
“In a small town, there is no need for two stadiums,” Harris said.
Junior Alexis Pryor said she would like to see the university build another gym because it is difficult to schedule practices for all the teams needing Collins Center.
Toward the end of the fall sport season, as many as four varsity sports can be competing for practice times in Collins.