Coach Westfahl:
I was not saying that Coach Jimmy May is on par with Bob Devaney. But Bob Devaney was not always the Nebraska legend. He got his start somewhere. He proved he could run a successful program at Wyoming before coming to Nebraska. I would not be surprised if the Wyoming fans questioned his hire at Wyoming in 1957. Wyoming did not compete against teams on the field or in recruiting like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, Iowas State and Kansas State so Devaney was an unknown at the Big 8 level of coaching when he came into the league in 1962 just as Jimmy May will be at the collegiate level at Baker University. Like Devaney, Coach May has proven that he can run a successful program over a long period of time. It is an unknown at this point whether he will be able to run a successful NAIA program. I think his high school record though shows he has a good chance to do that.
There was another topic that talked about the financial situation for students at Baker Universtiy. Kit Harris had a very good post in it that explained all the scholarship and aid opportunities available at Baker University. Have you read Kit's post on it? Coach I bet that there are a lot of Baker University athletes over the years and currently who are not from real wealthy families.
I admire your loyalty to the Kansas coaches and athletes. We all wish for more opportunities for the coaches and athletes in Kansas. What we really need as you pointed out is more Kansas colleges and universities stepping up and starting programs like Baker University has. What we need now is for us to show appreciation and support to Baker University for starting this new wrestling program. And we also need to show good Kansas hospitality by welcoming Coach Jimmy May as a new contributing member to the Kansas wrestling community.
