Originally Posted By: Robert Bovaird
Just wanted to throw in my two cents on a couple of items mentioned here.

It seemed to me during my time at Baker, several of the new coaches that came in had been from outside of the state. I remember when the track and cross country coach left, he was replaced by a fellow from Australia. None of the soccer coaches were Kansas people at all, either. I was pulling for the Kansas guys who were finalists for the job, but the trend at the university is to not limit themselves based on geography. Baker has brought in so many fantastic coaches, athletes, and professors from all over the world and that really pushes the school forward.

Also, I read someone's comments about not many Kansas kids being able to afford to go to Baker... that seems to be to be quite a baseless comment. I'm the youngest of four children (each of whom attended and graduated from Baker) and I definitely did not come from an affluent silver-spoon background. In fact, my mother is a music / technology instructor at a Catholic school in Topeka. Each of my siblings and I learned the value of our time at Baker because we all took out student loans, but at the same time we all worked several jobs. At one point my senior year, I had a work-study job, a job at a local retail store, and was involved with coaching at Baldwin High School. I knew of many Kansas kids who experienced the same thing at Baker, and I know that those who persevered through this have been toughened beyond anyone else's expectations. I also knew several people, many are good friends of mine, who came from well-to-do backgrounds and I knew several students whose parents worked at Baker, thereby entitling them free tuition. The majority of students at Baker, at least while I was there from 1998-2002, were from Kansas, and not just from Johnson County, Shawnee County, or Douglas County.

Just something to think about. I'm incredibly excited that Baker has succeeded in adding wrestling as a sport, and I think that Dan Harris and Kit Harris each deserve tons of praise for their visions and their efforts. It's too bad that this program is about ten years too late. I used to wonder how my life would have changed if I had taken the college wrestling route instead of the college academician route. No doubt, the class of 2009 and on now has one more great opportunity for those who wish to pursue wrestling at the next level as well as to receive an outstanding education.


I agree with Klint Deere. This was an excellent post. The class of 2009 and beyond are very fortunate to have this great opportunity that Baker University is presenting to them.


Vince Nowak
Kansas College Wrestling Fund Supporter
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