New Coaching Staff The coaching staff assembled by Hal Mumme is a uniquegroup — diverse in experience but unified in the quest to bring championshipfootball to the University of Kentucky.
Three assistant coaches came with Mumme from Valdosta State University.Defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Mike Major is in his sixth coaching stopwith Mumme, the fourth time that Mumme has been head coach and Major has beendefensive coordinator. Defensive tackles coach Mike Fanoga and receivers coachMike Leach were with Mumme at Valdosta State and Iowa Wesleyan and help ensure asmooth transition to the new offensive and defensive systems.
Another assistant who is familiar with the UK defensive scheme is cornerbackscoach Tim Keane. The defense is the variation of the “4-3” designed by LarryLacewell, who is with the Dallas Cowboys. Keane and Lacewell developed thesystem while coaching together at Arkansas State.
Two of the new assistants have playing and coaching experience in both collegeand professional football. Offensive line coach Guy Morriss was a 15-yearveteran of the NFL, an All-Pro lineman, and played in the Super Bowl. Since hisplaying days, he has been an assistant coach with the New England Patriots andArizona Cardinals and his collegiate experience includes time with Mumme atValdosta State. Darrell Patterson, who will coach the safeties at UK, has awealth of defensive experience. He was a star player in the Canadian FootballLeague and since his playing retirement has been a coach in college and the CFL.
Three more assistants, defensive ends coach Tom Adams, running backs coach Tony Franklin, and recruiting coordinator Claude Bassett, were long-time friends with Mumme and have joined one of Mumme’s staffs for the first time. Adams got to know Mumme during their years as coaches in Texas. Mumme recruited Franklin’s players when Franklin was a high school coach. In addition, Franklin is well-versed in the passing game, having constructed record-setting passing offenses at several of his high school coaching stops. Bassett and Mumme became acquainted when they were both coaching in the Western Athletic Conference.
New Passing Offense The Kentucky offense will have a new look in 1997.Coach Hal Mumme, who is also the offensive coordinator, has installed apass-oriented offense patterned after the system used by Brigham Young. Mummefirst became interested in the BYU style while he was an assistant at Texas-ElPaso. Mumme adopted the scheme when he coached at Copperas Cove (Tex.) HighSchool from 1986-88, then continued with it at Iowa Wesleyan and Valdosta State.
Productivity has been the name of the game for Mumme’s offensive units. One ofhis Iowa Wesleyan teams led the NAIA in passing offense and the other twofinished second. Mumme’s Valdosta State teams set numerous school, conference,and national records.
Last season at Valdosta State, for example, Mumme’s offense averaged 38.8 pointsand 484.4 yards per game. The yardage breakdown was 328.9 passing yards and155.5 rushing yards per game. The run-pass ratio was 40.5 percent running playsand 59.5 percent passing plays.
New Style of “4-3” Defense Kentucky will continue to use a “4-3″defensive alignment, but with a different style of play. Kentucky’s new 4-3 isbased on the daring, aggressive system created by Larry Lacewell, the long-timecollege coach who is now with the Dallas Cowboys.
Defensive coordinator Mike Major will be in charge of teaching the new scheme.Major was the defensive coordinator for Mumme all five years at Valdosta State.Major’s stop troops led the Gulf South Conference in various categories duringthose years and also achieved some top-10 national rankings. His teams postedsix shutouts in five years. VSU had produced only four shutouts in the 10 yearspreceding Major’s arrival.
Nine VSU players were named first-team All-GSC under Major’s tutelage. AntonioEdwards was GSC Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 and went on to become astarting defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks. Four other Major-coachedplayers also signed professional contracts.
New Junior Varsity Team Coach Hal Mumme will begin a junior varsity teamin 1997. The team will be comprised primarily of walk-ons, in addition to a fewscholarship players who are not being redshirted. The team will be formed at thebeginning of the fall semester and practice for approximately one month beforeplaying games. The junior varsity team has a five-game schedule in October. Theplayers will run the same offensive and defensive systems used by the Wildcats.
The JV season will be capped with a scrimmage against the Wildcats redshirts.The top players from the JV team will join the varsity for the final two gamesof the season. “This gives the players the opportunity to come and show thatthey can play at UK,” Mumme said. “A player gets to run our offense and ourdefense, instead of running some other team’s plays on the scout team. We had aJV program at Valdosta State and it helped us discover players who eventuallyjoined the varsity and earned scholarships. And, if they can’t play at UK, theplayers can always transfer to a I-AA or Division II school and know that theyhad a chance at a I-A program.”
UK graduate assistant coach Chris Hatcher will be the head coach of the JV team.Here is the tentative schedule for the 1997 Kentucky juniorvarsity team:
Day Date Opponent TimeFri. Oct. 3 at Campbellsville University 3:00Thurs. Oct. 9 at Georgetown College 5:00Thurs. Oct. 16 at Middle Georgia College 7:00Thurs. Oct. 23 Hargrave Military College TBAThurs. Oct. 30 at Georgia Military College 7:00Thurs. Nov. 6 Kentucky Redshirts (scrim) TBA
New Look Wildcats: The Kentucky football team will sport a new look in1997. The Wildcats will wear new uniforms as part of the contract that UK signedwith Nike in May, 1997. In addition to new game uniforms, Nike will supplypractice gear for the Wildcats. The football team already had been using Nikeshoes in recent seasons.
The new uniforms were not a finished product as this media guide went to press.(The uniform worn by Tim Couch on the cover of the media guide is the basiclook, although more details will be added.) The football team is included in anall-sports agreement signed with Nike. All 22 UK sports teams will use Nikeshoes and equipment for the next five years, through the 2001-2002 school year.UK will receive more than $11 million in cash, clothing, and equipment duringthe contract. UK also should see an increase in royalty revenues from the salesof Wildcats merchandise, thanks to Nike’s national and international marketing.UK is one of only 14 schools that have an exclusive all-sports contract withNike. There is an option for an additional five years.
New Academic Center: The University of Kentucky Athletics Association, apioneer in the field of academic support for student-athletes, has taken anotherstep in its commitment to education.
In 1981, UK opened the Center for Academic and Tutorial Services (CATS) — thefirst facility in the country dedicated exclusively to the academic support ofstudent-athletes. Over the years, the services offered through CATS have grown,and so has the need for additional space.
Therefore, in January of 1998, UK will open the new Ohio Casualty Center forAcademic and Tutorial Services. The UK Athletics Association has invested $2.4million in the construction of the new center, including a $1 million gift fromthe Ohio Casualty Insurance Group. The center is located in Memorial Coliseumand is being constructed in the area formerly occupied by the coliseum pool.
The new center covers approximately 20,000 square feet — easily more than twicethe size of the current CATS. The center will have a computer room that willhouse approximately 40 computers, a study area that will accommodateapproximately 90-100 people, 25 tutoring rooms, a career development library, acommunity outreach office, and offices for the staff.
Stadium Renovations Underway: The University of Kentucky is in theprocess of renovating and expanding Commonwealth Stadium. UK plans to expandseating capacity to between 60,000 and 70,000 by enclosing one or both ends ofthe stadium. UK also will construct new luxury boxes and other fan-orientedfacilities. The 1997-98 school year will be a time of decision for the stadiumexpansion. A feasibility study has been completed and additional research hasbeen conducted, paving the way for the UK administration to begin finalizingplans. Phase I of the process was completed during the summer of 1997. Restroomfacilities were renovated and upgraded. In addition, the water systems and otherinfrastructure serving the stadium were expanded. Phase I of the stadiumexpansion cost $2.7 million. A total of $24 million has been allocated for theproject.
New Library: The latest addition to the educational landscape at theUniversity of Kentucky is the new William T. Young Library. Built at a cost of$58 million, the Young Library will be completed in the fall and is slated toopen in January, 1998. Here are more facts about this magnificent structure:
- Size: the new library will cover 351,350 square feet — more than six football fields.
- Shelf capacity: if the bookshelf space were laid end-to-end, it would stretch 198,828 linear feet — that’s more than 37 miles of shelf space.
- Seating capacity: the new library can seat more than 4,000 patrons at one time, a 355 percent increase over the current UK library. The seating on the fifth floor of the new library equals the capacity of the current UK library.
- Computer connections: every study table and study carrel in the new library will have an electrical outlet and a computer jack connected to the university’s computer system.
- Flexibility: the library has a state-of-the-art electronic infrastructure that will enable UK to take full advantage of current and emerging technology. In addition, the five floors and basement of the structure are designed as open, flexible spaces, enabling the library to adapt its services and facilities to the future changes in the needs of UK students.
- Financing: The athletics department has its own special investment in the new library. UK Athletics is providing $3,200,000 on an annual basis to help pay for the $58 million building.
