August 27, 2019

Bowling Green Dining Guide

a table for

Y’ALL

DINING GUIDE

PAGE • PAGE B1

In select copies: Check out the dining guide for the best restaurants

See how Tim Gray gets fit for duty

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

VOLUME 95, ISSUE 1

WKU launches comprehensive investigation into student fees BYJACK DOBBS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

In February 2018, WKU’s student dining fee went up to $350 a semester per the university’s contract with

Aramark. Three months later, the WKU Board of Regents approved both a 4% tuition hike and an increase in the fee for online courses from $100 to $150 per credit hour.

Because of the number of fees that students pay, a comprehensive study of fees has been launched. The study was

announced by Acting Provost Cheryl Stevens at the Directors, Department Heads and Deans meeting on Aug. 6.

“I want to be sure that we are being good stewards of the money,” Stevens said in an email. “Over the past 20 years, new student fees have been added for a variety of uses. I just thought it was time to review the fees related to

courses and programs.”

Stevens said a committee has been created to conduct the study. The committee is being co-chaired by Stephanie Hammons, an office coordinator in the WKU Mahurin Honors College.

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SAM MALLON • HERALD

Ann Mead in her classroom in Gary Ransdell Hall on Monday, Aug 26, 2019. Mead is now a professor of English, but for twenty years she was the director of budget and management information at WKU.

A PERSISTANT FORCE ANN MEAD RETIRES AFTER 44 YEARS IN MASTER ED

BY LILY BURRIS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

A

nn Mead will tell you she flunked kindergarten.

When Mead was in third grade, the principal and the guidance counselor at her elementary school told her parents to pick out a vocation for their adopted daughter because she wasn’t smart enough to even finish high school.

Before she was adopted at the age of 5, Mead lived in four foster homes in New York, something she said created challenges for her as a young child.

Mead credits the couple who adopted her, the late John and Yvonne Mead, with helping her overcome those challenges.

Despite the odds and the warnings from her elementary school, Mead went on to graduate from high school — and to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

On June 30, she retired from a 44year career in higher education — 25 of them spent at WKU, running the financial side of the university for most of that time.

Mead moved several times from ages

5 to 12 as her father switched careers from working at General Electric to teaching. The Mead family moved when her father earned his master’s degree, again when he earned his doctorate, and they landed in Louisville when he became an economics professor at the University of Louisville.

When Mead was in her early teen years, her father would bring her along to his classes. She would sit and watch him lecture, fascinated with his teaching and the college experience.

When she started her own college experience at the University of Louisville, Mead declared a major in journalism.

“I loved to write; I had no idea I had any affinity with numbers,” Mead said.

“I was OK on math, but I didn’t actually think I had a love for numbers.”

At the end of her freshman year, Mead made a sudden change — she chose to pursue marketing rather than journalism, all because of a foreign language requirement.

Mead had not had the best experience with French in high school and did not want to study a foreign language in college. Her adviser told her that the school of business didn’t require one, so that’s where she went.

“I could’ve been a poor journalist right now,” Mead said. “I could never retire because I’d never be making

enough money to retire.”

When Mead wasn’t studying or in class, she spent her time as a bat girl for the U of L baseball team in the spring of 1974.

During her college summer breaks, Mead’s parents gave her the option to take classes or get a job. She liked school so decided to take more classes.

Mead graduated from U of L with a bachelor of science in commerce in 1975.

“This kid that wasn’t supposed to make it out of high school — I graduated from college in three and a half years,” Mead said.

As she was finishing up her degree at 20 years old, Mead landed an internship in Frankfort. Her parents told her that meant she would also have to get her driver’s license, something Mead had avoided after she failed her driver’s test on her first try because of parallel parking. To this day, she still avoids making a left turn.

Mead’s first job was as a budget analyst at the University of Kentucky.

Nine years later, she left UK as assistant budget director. She then spent 10 years as the director of finance for the Kentucky Council on Higher Education, which is now called the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education.

Mead wanted to feel that daily con-

nection to the difference she was making in the lives of students; she missed being on a campus.

In 1994, Mead became director of institutional research at WKU. Two years later, she became director of budget and management information at WKU. When former WKU President Gary Ransdell joined the university in 1997, he gave Mead the position of chief financial officer. Her title changed to senior vice president for finance and administration in 2008.

“For 20 years, we pursued practically a complete rebuilding of the campus, and all of those projects required different types of financing,” Ransdell said. “Some state-funded, some private-funded, some federal-funded, and some done with campus fees through our normal campus budget process. But each of them required focused, professional, creative financing that not only was Ann in the middle of, but in most cases she led.”

During the 20 years Mead worked with Ransdell, she also helped negotiate the purchase of the old Bowling Green Mall, which now houses the Center for Research and Development, and in creating the Student Life Foundation, which owns WKU’s residence halls.

SEE ANN MEAD • PAGE A2

A2 NEWS ANN MEAD

CONTINUED FROM FRONT “I don’t have a big accomplishment,” Mead said of her time here. “This institution does, and I was just a part of it.”

Ransdell said Mead dedicated her life to her work at WKU and was quick to find financial solutions to problems that came up. She achieved a balanced budget every year. When budget cuts started in 2008, she dealt with it like a professional.

“She had excellent judgment when we had to make very difficult decisions,” Ransdell said.

During Mead’s tenure, the budget grew from $130 million to over $400 million some years. The last budget she created is the 2019-20 operating budget, which is $387.8 million.

“She was the consummate professional for that entire 20-year period working with me,” Ransdell said.

Mead likes to reflect on the changes she’s seen over her career, particularly with technology. At her first job, she used keypunch cards to hold computer programs.

“We are so more efficient than we were 40 years ago,” Mead said. “No one recognizes that because we raised our expectations.”

There is more to Mead than her 44year career in higher education. When

FEES

CONTINUED FROM FRONT “We have been tasked at this point with reviewing all fees within academic affairs,” Hammons said. “Right now we’re looking at course fees, [then] we’ll move on to program fees.”

Hammons also said that the committee will examine whether specific course fees could be repurposed into program fees. If they become program fees, they will only be paid one time at the beginning of each semester, she said.

One focus of the study, Hammons said, is identifying fees for “consumables” in different programs. Hammons said consumables are items that are used once and disposed of.

“You have to look at equipment that the students are directly using,” Hammons said. “That’s the kind of stuff we’re looking at. How does it directly benefit the student in that course at that time?”

Though the study has just begun, Hammons said that no discrepancies have been found so far in the usages of fees.

“The main thing is that some of the guidelines have changed as far as

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Mead arrived at WKU in 1994, she came as a single parent with a 3-year-old son, Trevor. She left the familiar community of Lexington knowing nothing about Bowling Green.

“I came here and found a great place for me to raise my son, both in this community and at this university,” Mead said. Trevor graduated from WKU and earned a master’s degree in social work at U of L. He is currently a mental health therapist in Harrisburg.

Mead took up fishing and found enjoyment in it while raising her son.

“Fishing was just one of those things that I found allowed you to separate yourself from the work environment,” Mead said.

Mead also has three dogs and a cat, all of whom are rescue pets. Once she retires, Mead is thinking about getting involved with a dog rescue train — an effort to get dogs to owners who are far away from where they were found. She previously drove dogs from Bowling Green to Elizabethtown.

Football and basketball are interests she has always shared with her son, especially at WKU. However, she wasn’t always the Lady Toppers basketball fan she is today.

“I was probably passively interested till I met Coach [Greg] Collins and his family, and I love them dearly and his we’re concerned,” Hammons said, “And if we are OK’d by the provost and the president, there may be a few fees that now need to resubmit what they’re using [them] for.”

Hammons said that the study was scheduled to complete this fall, but it is now expected to take a longer time to finish. Hammons said this is because the committee wants to make sure that the fee guidelines are adequately serving students.

“We are at the end of reviewing course fees,” Hammons said. “Program [fees] we will be starting in a few weeks.”

In addition to the course fees, students are also charged a $218 athletic fee, a $62 student centers fee, a $70 Downing Student Union renovation fee, and a Creason Parking Structure fee of $30, according to the Billings and Receivables website.

Belinda Higginbotham, WKU Bursar, said that these fees are incorporated into the $5,401 tuition cost for students. Higginbotham also said that many classes at WKU charge a flat rate with their fees.

Reporter Jack Dobbs can be reached at 270-745-0655 and jack.dobbs469@ topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @jackrdobbs.

contagious enthusiasm,” Mead said. “I love what Coach Collins brings to the program, and his family’s wonderful.”

Collins’ kids call Mead “Auntie Ann,” and she spends time with his wife, Rae. Greg Collins said that Mead is important

“She had excellent judgment when we had to make very difficult decisions,”

Former WKU President GARY RANSDELL

to the family, and his kids don’t really see her role as a vice president at all.

“They could care less about her job,” Collins said. “They want to know does she have gum, does she have a surprise or a present for them, and can they play with her at the basketball game. That’s kind of how they view her as Auntie Ann.” Collins said that Mead is a very knowledgeable person, but it’s more than that.

She “wears a lot of hats” he said, and she’s a well-rounded person. She is also willing to help with whatever needs her help, he said.

“She never asks or wants anything,

she just wants to help someone else,” Collins said. “She wants to help my kids.

She wants to help me with my student athletes. She wants to help Rae with whatever. She’s just a very giving, helping type person.”

That willingness to help will drive many of Mead’s retirement plans.

She admits there’s no handbook to retirement, but her steps will include a board appointment with an upcoming program at WKU called LifeWorks and teaching one university experience class in the fall.

She’s been teaching on and off for 10 years. Some of her former students have kept in touch with her. One has just finished law school, another student works for Nissan USA, and another reached out to Mead for help to return to college after having left school for a couple of years. She says they’re all on the list of her biggest accomplishments.

After a long career and reaching one of the highest positions at WKU, Mead said helping students who need it — just as she once did — will be her way of saying thank you to those who helped her and “paying it forward.”

News reporter Lily Burris can be reached at 270-745-6011 and lily.burris203@topper.wku.edu. Follow her on Twitter at @lily_burris.

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$212 $60 Athletic Fee

Student Centers Fee

$70

DSU Renovation Fee

GRAPHIC BY ALEX COX • HERALD

NEWS A3

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

FAHAD ALOTAIBI • HERALD

Construction equipment by the Fine Arts Center for work on renovations to Helm Library on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019. The area will become the WKU Commons.

4 big topics students missed this summer

BY LILY BURRIS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Looking for IMRec Sports? Don’t know who the associate athletic director is anymore? Confused as to why Helm Library is off limits? Fear not, the Herald is here to help.

Here are some things students might have missed this summer.

New names across campus The Department of Sociology is now the Department of Sociology and Criminology after deciding to change its name to better reflect the presence of criminology within the department.

The criminology program has grown over time to meet the student demand.

The Board of Regents approved the name change at its May 10 meeting at the end of last school year.

Another name has changed on campus as Intramural Recreation and Sports became Campus Recreation and Wellness over the summer. The change occurred as part of a decision to better reflect the value of student wellness within the program.

One name change sparked a reaction among alumni as the School of Journalism and Broadcasting became the School of Media this summer.

Concerns were centered on the lack of emphasis on journalism that the name

change could create.

The faculty of the School of Media said that the name change is not meant to deemphasize journalism but to better reflect where students from within the school go after graduation and what goes on within the four programs in the school.

The decision to have the full Board of Regents vote on the name change was made at the June 21 meeting which mostly focused on the budget. The regents approved the name change at the quarterly meeting on Aug. 2.

Changes in what you see Bemis Lawrence Hall no longer has residents as construction began on the building this summer as a part of the First Year Village project.

The First Year Village is a project by the Student Life Foundation that creates pod-style living for groups of students with common interests. The project is expected to cost $48 million to create two buildings that house about 635 students. The Bowling Green City Commission passed an ordinance to give the Student Life Foundation industrial revenue building bonds on Aug. 20.

The intersection of Normal Street and Regents Avenue is under evaluation to see if it would work better as a four-way stop instead of a light. The city began this 90-day traffic study on July 29.

Another building under construction is Margie Helm Library, which is going to become the WKU Commons.

Helm Library is not currently home to Java City, nor is it filled with stacks of books — it has been gutted as the early stages of the WKU Commons project which is funded by WKU’s contract with Aramark. The library closed at the end of the spring 2019 semester and is expected to reopen for the spring 2021 semester.

WKU’s new leaders Positions across campus changed this summer, with one of the biggest being Ann Mead’s retirement. Mead, former senior vice president for finance and administration, retired from a 44-year career in higher education at the end of June. Now in the position is Susan Howarth as the executive vice president for strategy, finance and operations.

In the Provost’s office, a new position was named. Michelle Trawick was announced as the associate provost for faculty and academic excellence.

She began the position on July 1.

The athletic department also faced administrative changes. Former Associate Athletic Director for Communications and Media Relations Kyle Neaves left the position to work for Colorado State University on July 22. The position is now filled by Zach Greenwell who has worked in WKU media relations since 2016.

“Target reductions” to help with retirement system The Regents annual budget meeting this summer approved $8.6 million in “target reductions” for the upcoming school year. Large portions of the budget depend on money coming in from students.

The meeting also approved an increase in tuition from $5,301 to $5,401 for this school year, but it is not expected to completely offset the predicted enrollment decrease of 690 students.

Although the overall cuts to the budget are $675,000, the budget is impacted greatly by the increase in pension payments for the Kentucky Employees Retirement System.

News reporter Lily Burris can be reached at 270-745-6011 and lily.burris203@topper.wku.edu. Follow her on Twitter at @lily_burris.

WKUHERALD.COM CONNECT WITH US ONLINE @WKUHERALD

OPINION

A4

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

ILLUSTRATION BY MADALYN STACK • HERALD

SAME MONEY, MO’ PROBLEMS BALLMAN’S PAID LEAVE IS UNEARNED

BY HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU

Issue: Former WKU Provost Terry Ballman’s position as assistant to the president entails a one-year salary of $255,000, but comes with no responsibilities and has no potential benefits for the university.

Our stance: WKU paying Ballman more than a quarter of a million dollars when it is in an $8 million budget crisis is irresponsible and another example of the university mishandling its funds.

Last semester, Terry Ballman was forced to step down from her position as provost following the Faculty Senate’s decision to pass a vote of no confidence in her leadership. The vote of no confidence came after Larry Snyder, the dean of Potter College of Arts and Letters, was forced to resign.

Following her resignation, Ballman was given a “landing spot” by becoming a special assistant to the president. It holds no real responsibilities, but pays her the same amount that she made as provost.

While it may be common practice to help faculty with high-ranking positions in higher education find their next seat at a university, the large amount of money Ballman will receive is the textbook definition of unearned.

“That was an awful experience professionally for Provost Ballman, and one of the things that we do in higher education is we give her a chance to move on to the next thing,” President Timothy Caboni said to the Herald on Friday. “That’s what that position allows her to do, is to have … a landing spot, and an ability to move onto whatever’s next in the next year.”

Millions of Americans will work around-the-clock this year and not come close to earning what Ballman will make while she does nothing to provide a service to those paying her.

However, if one of these people in a low-level position made mistakes that lead to protests and coverage from national media outlets (like Inside Higher Ed), then they would be sure to lose their job.

“It is a one-year appointment with, essentially, no responsibilities,” Caboni also said while meeting with the Herald. “It’s a one-year severance package.”

Ballman received a vote of no confi-

WKU Herald

Should WKU have provided Terry Ballman with a $255,000 position that is essentially a sabbatical following her resigntion?

dence because of egregious mistakes (mainly forcing Dean Larry Snyder to step down from his position) that sent fear throughout WKU faculty regarding their job security and how programs would be funded. Caboni told the Herald on Friday that WKU’s historian and former provost, David Lee, could not remember a time in WKU history when this had happened before.

It is gracious of WKU to help Ballman relocate after her failed time as provost, which was originally supposed to be a five-year stint, according to an April 2018 letter from the Office of the President to Ballman, but it does not take over $250,000 to help a person relocate.

Giving Ballman the same amount she earned as provost is a misstep that is sadly a fitting end for the setback her time at WKU brought. To put it in perspective, Ballman will be paid what is roughly equal to 3% the amount WKU is trying to make up in its budget crisis, and it will come after less than a year of work where her biggest decision was reversed.

This is not to say Ballman does not deserve a second chance in higher education, but there is a difference between being helpful to someone

during a hardship and letting a powerful person off the hook after they make decisions that are almost universally loathed by those they serve.

The previously mentioned letter from the Office of the President to Ballman states she would earn the same as her salary as provost if she completed her planned five years or was terminated without cause, and if she was terminated with cause then she would receive no severance.

Regardless, Ballman resigned and was given the equivalence of a severance that came with termination with no cause, even though her time ended early for obvious and justified reasons.

If WKU wanted to end the Ballman situation diplomatically, she should have been given a salary around half of what she is currently being paid (along with the university paying for her moving costs like it did after she left California State University, San Bernardino), while the rest of the money goes to fund notable programs that will suffer from budget cuts.

This way Ballman would have been adequately taken care of while students and faculty finally benefited from this blunder.

WKUHERALD.COM

Yes, to help her relocate No, it’s a waste of money She deserves $, but less Vote

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Opinions expressed in the College Heights Herald are those of student editors and journalists and do not necessarily represent the views of WKU. Student editors also determine the news and editorial content, and they likewise reserve the right to reject submissions. *Denotes editorial board members. The Herald publishes on Tuesdays during the school year.

The first copy is free, and additional copies are $1 each, available in the Student Publications Center on Normal Street.

@WKUHERALD

FUN A5

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

FUN PAGE

Across

1

1 Blind segment 5 It may get a licking 10 Sitter’s headache 14 Ditty 15 Dog tag datum 16 Libertine 17 Cream additive 18 Slowly, in music 19 Swiss river 20 Hightails it 21 Before, in verse 22 Swindler 24 Cord fiber 26 Hang 27 Plan 30 Salutation 34 Rocket type 35 They can be good or bad 36 Part of Scand.

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Copyright ©2019 PuzzleJunction.com

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35 38 39 41 42 44 45 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55

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Needlework Leased Syrup flavor Felines Toast topper Farm building Wise men Squire Priest of the East Garden with a snake 58 Listening device

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8 6 7 1 2 5 4 9 3

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Copyright ©2019 PuzzleJunction.com

Robin Williams Movies ©2019 PuzzleJunction.com

6.c 7.b 8.c 9.a 10.b

Solution

1. In Good Will Hunting, where does Sean teach? (a) North Hampton Community College (b) Bunker Hill Community College (c) Greater Boston Community College 2. In what restaurant does Miranda find out who Mrs Doubtfire really is? (a) Gusteau's (b) Cliff House (c) Bridges 3. Who saves Peter after he falls overboard in Hook? (a) The mermaids (b) Tinkerbell (c) The Lost Boys 4. What book do members of the Dead Poets Society read from at each meeting? (a) Poems of Robert Frost (b) Five Centuries of Verse (c) Poetry for the Soul 5. Garp's children's book was going to be named what in The World According to Garp? (a) A Child's Christmas with a Whale (b) Snow in July (c) Magic Gloves 6. In Good Morning Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh reminds Adrian of who? (a) Charlie Chan (b) Captain Bligh (c) Colonel Sanders 7. What did Alan's father teach him in Jimanji? (a) Last words are for losers (b) Face your fears (c) Never fear 8. In what store did Sy used to work in One Hour Photo? (a) Eckerds (b) Bargain Mart (c) Savmart 9. Parry once had a career as what in The Fisher King? (a) Professor (b) Journalist (c) Stock Broker 10. What does Patch Adams wear under his graduation robe? (a) Kilt (b) Nothing (c) T shirt and boxers

1.b 2.c 3.a 4.b 5.a

7

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PHOTO

A6

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

SAM MALLON • HERALD

Matthew Gray (left) and Isaiah Moxley (right), both freshman, wrestle atop of the “Battle Zone” inflatable at the M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan carnival on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. Their goal was to throw one another off of the top tier of the carnival and the person still standing would “win,” but they both went tumbling down together.

FRESHMEN FRENZY WKU class of 2023 during MASTER Plan

BY HERALD STAFF HERALD.PHOTO@WKU.EDU

W

KU freshmen were welcomed to campus with a variety of activities during

MASTER Plan week after they moved into their residence halls.

Activities included a class photo, a campus activities fair and a carnival.

The class also lined up for the traditional class photo, forming 2023 on the field at HouchensSmith Stadium. They also heard

from President Timothy Caboni at the annual first-year student convocation to cap off the week.

MASTER Plan began in 1993 to help students transition into life on campus. It is a week-long event that often includes entertainment, informative sessions and bonding opportunities.

REED MATTISON • HERALD

KEILEN FRAZIER • HERALD

Cody Hardine holds tight to the mechanical bull on South Lawn during a festival at the conclusion of M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan. Hardine is the resident hall supervisor for McCormack Hall.

M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan Mentor, Senior Nyill Brooks celebrates his first M.A.S.T.E.R plan with the class of 2023 before being invited on stage to shoot paint.

REED MATTISON• HERALD

Campus volunteers flock to overpacked vehicles to assist incoming freshmen. Housing and Residence Life provide boxes and trollies to streamline the move-in process.

SAM MALLON• HERALD

Carter Huffines (left), an employee with Southern Zip Line Company, attaches a harness to Joe Mansour (right), a freshman participating in M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan, before he ziplines across South Lawn at the M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan Carnival on Friday, August 23, 2019.

LIFE

B1

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Officer Tim Gray hydrates in between sets during his workout at the Preston Center on Friday Aug. 23, 2019. Gray said staying hydrated is important to his workout routine.

SAVON HAYDEN • HERALD

FIT FOR DUTY

A morning working out with WKU officer Tim Gray

BY GRIFFIN FLETCHER HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

5 a.m.

It’s no fun to wake up before daybreak. It’s another beast when exercise is the first thing on your mind.

That was my excuse as I turned off one phone alarm and set another.

After all, wouldn’t an extra 15 minutes of sleep make waking up just a little easier?

5:15 a.m.

Nope, but there was no turning back now.

I would be meeting Officer Tim Gray of the WKU Police Department in less than an hour to sweat and struggle through one of his workouts. If you’ve ever seen Gray, you can imagine that’s no easy task.

A former college football quarterback at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee, Gray treats physical fitness as nonnegotiable.

Monday through Friday every week, you can spot him in the Preston Center as early as 6 a.m.

For me, on the other hand, exercise is best when crickets aren’t chirping.

5:35 a.m.

Teeth brushed and dressed in my most comfortable WKU dry-fit T-shirt, I made the lonely trek to Preston. Aside from a banana I ate along the way and a quiet drone of maintenance vehicles making their morning rounds across campus, I would’ve thought it was nighttime.

The thought, “I’d rather be asleep,”

tore at me as Preston came within view. Though I’ve frequented the fitness center every semester of my now seven-semester journey as a Hilltopper, this time would be different.

6:05 a.m.

Waiting outside of the center, stretching intermittently and preparing mentally for a war my body and sleep deprivation would soon declare, I suddenly saw a bicycle headlight zip its way toward the center. Oh god — Gray had made his entrance.

“Y’all ready to roll?” Gray immediately said to me and the reporter tasked with videoing my inevitable demise.

Only minutes past 6 a.m., Gray showed no signs of exhaustion, enthusiastically greeting fitness center staff and acting with a general sense of could-wrestle-a-large-animal readiness. He calls this a “rise-and-grind mentality.”

“It’s just me, the radio, the fans,” Gray said about working out so early.

“It’s for the crazy folks.”

As this day of workouts would be centered around legs — a traditionally challenging muscle group to exercise effectively — we would need every ounce of grit we could muster.

Especially me.

6:15 a.m.

Fresh off hamstring and hip stretches, Gray quickly revealed this workout was not the easing-into type. Beginning with a hamstring and quadricep intensive regimen of single-leg extensions, dual-leg extensions and lying-leg curls, Gray’s focus was volume.

Each exercise was to be performed

SAVON HAYDEN • HERALD

Officer Tim Gray adds weight to the leg extension machine. Gray said his early morning training regimen helps him jumpstart his day as a WKU police officer.

for 8-12 repetitions for four distinct rounds, which are commonly known as “sets.” And in scarier news, each exercise was to be performed consecutively with no rest in between.

In the world of exercise enthusiasts, such a combination is known as a

“tri-set,” one of the most hair-raising concepts in fitness vernacular. A quick note about myself: as a daily exerciser since 2007 and former state champion powerlifter, I can promise you tri-sets SEE GRAY • PAGE B2

WKU alumnus fronts narrative-driven band

BY LAUREL DEPPEN HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU Jordan Allen thinks listening to music should be an experience.

A WKU alum and the frontman of his band Jordan Allen & The Bellwethers, Allen said the current culture of music is fast paced and rushed. He doesn’t want his music to be experienced that way.

“There was a time before when records … you put it on, and you make coffee, or you poured a beer or a glass of wine, and you sat and listened to it,” Allen said. “It was an experience, and I think that’s kind of what we all are. We are pretty much old souls.”

The five-piece group played Bowling Green’s music staple Tidball’s on Friday night, a stage Allen dreamed of playing while a WKU student.

Allen described his band’s music as a mix between Lynryd Skynyrd and the Avett Brothers, but his focus when writing, singing and playing the guitar

or bass is on the element of storytelling, not how it sounds.

“Everything we do is to support storytelling,” Allen said.

Songwriting is “addicting” for Allen, he said. He writes a new song each week, plays gigs with his band and by himself and plays bass for a friend’s travelling band. Music is his full-time

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHANNING PRICE

job.

But it wasn’t always that way.

After graduating from WKU in 2016, Allen moved back to his hometown, London, Kentucky, and married his wife, Courtney.

Between each of them, the newlyweds had five jobs, which Allen said was difficult for them.

Everything changed for Allen after he heard a podcast featuring country music artist Chris Stapleton. Allen was working at a bank and writing songs on the side, but when he heard the podcast, he said it changed his life.

He decided if music was what he wanted to do, he needed to write a song each week.

At the time, he was still working at a bank. In 2018, Allen said Courtney was working three jobs but quit to become a full-time personal trainer.

Allen said his wife told him doing what she loved full time was the “best feeling in the world” and he needed to try it.

His life shifted when he decided to quit his job at the bank and make the transition to working on music full time.

“It’s a mindset,” Allen said. “You just have to go for it, and for me, I’m having faith that if the birds eat, I’ll eat. If God’s going to feed the sparrow, he’s going to feed me.”

SEE ALLEN • PAGE B2

B2 LIFE

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

GRAY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 are no joke. Never have you felt muscle burn until you’ve dug your sweaty forehead into the vinyl upholstery of a lying-leg curl machine, all muscles clenched tight as you perform shaky repetitions and pray your hamstrings don’t snap like a Kit Kat bar.

That was me as I followed Gray set by set. Though he added weight to every exercise with each passing set, I hardly managed to keep my weight the same, falling victim to the slow but sure sapping of strength a tri-set is notorious for.

It’s around that time you question whether you should push forward or walk away. For Gray, the thought of his mother and WKU students keeps him in the gym when his bed starts to sound more and more like a Hawaiian vacation.

“If you quit when things get tough, what else would you quit on?” Gray said.

Arriving on the Hill in 2004 with intent to join the WKU football team, Gray got involved as a resident assistant at Barnes-Campbell Hall, eventually becoming a hall director, and didn’t look back. It was then he discovered how much he enjoys helping students achieve. “I have a passion for seeing young people succeed,” Gray said.

Graduating from WKU in 2006 with a bachelor’s in communications studies and a minor in athletic coaching, Gray went on to receive a master’s in student affairs at WKU in 2010.

WKU PD was recruiting Gray for a life in law enforcement.

However, as a youth in Hillsboro, Tennessee, Gray had seen too many negative run-ins with officers. He wanted no part.

“The first time they asked me, I said no,” Gray said. “The second time they asked me, I said hell no.”

It took a conversation with his mother, a former correctional officer, and a realization for Gray to change his mind. If he was truly committed to WKU’s students, why not represent and serve them as an officer, he thought.

Starting police academy training in 2010, Gray became a certified officer

by June 2011, graduating from the academy with a “fit for duty” honor. A recognition bestowed on less than half of his fellow academy graduates, he said he continues training as seriously as ever to ensure he remains fit for duty and fit to serve his community.

7 a.m.

Narrowly surviving the muscular massacre that was Gray’s leg-day tri-set, we moved on to an even more daunting foe: a squat performed on a front squat machine. Placing a towel over the machine’s headrest, Gray faced the machine inward and performed squats to a depth many exercisers merely dream of.

This was the point where men were separated from boys. In Gray’s case, where a monster was separated from men.

With space on each side of the machine for only seven 45-pound plates, Gray needed more. For his last of three sets of the exercise for 8-12 rep-

ALLEN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 Allen said not being tied to a 9-to-5 job has allowed him oppurtunities he wouldn’t have had otherwise and has even been the subject of a song that means a lot to him.

The father of a six-week-old girl, Allen wrote his song “Daughter of a Dreamer” three days before she was born.

SAVON HAYDEN • HERALD

Officer Tim Gray prepares himself to lift 900 pounds on the front squat. Gray said pushing himself to the limit in the gym helps him push himself in his career.

etitions, Gray placed six plates on top of the machine, a total of 20 45-pound plates.

That’s 900 pounds.

Despite this, Gray claims his days of working out with heavy weight are in the past. Compared to the over 500-pound back squat Gray once completed for five repetitions or the 440-pound bench press he once hit for three repetitions — incredible numbers for a man not even 5 foot 11 inches tall and just over 210 pounds of body weight — maybe he’s right.

When compared to the 450 pounds of weight I mustered on my last set of the front squat machine, though, I think Gray’s strength speaks for itself.

8 a.m.

At just under two hours of exercise, the workout was finally finished. We only completed a total of four distinct exercises during the timespan, but each was more than enough to convince me Gray is more machine than human.

When he’s not lifting the equivalent of a male polar bear, however, Gray enjoys playing Playstation 4 games like “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon” or eating “cheat” meals of pancakes, turkey sausage and scrambled eggs on the weekends.

Though working out or living like Gray isn’t for everyone, he can’t imagine any other way.

“Always shoot for the top,” Gray said, “because it’s the bottom that’s crowded.”

Reporter Griffin Fletcher can be reached at 270-745-2655 and griffin. fletcher398@topper.wku.edu.

The song was easy for him to write. It was like talking to her before she was even born, he said.

Allen is a man of faith, but the songs he writes don’t fall into a “Christian radio” category, he said.

“People in the places we play, they don’t want to hear ‘Amazing Grace’ or ‘Jesus Paid It All,’” Allen said. “They want to hear real-life situations that they can relate to.”

He said he guarantees anyone who listens to his band’s album, “Weary in

SAVON HAYDEN • HERALD

Officer Tim Gray rests in between sets on the front squat machine at the Preston Center. Gray said his disciplined approach to weight training enhances his mindset in the field.

Well Doing,” can find one song that resonates with them. It has a little bit of everything, he said, from sad songs to happy songs and funny songs to serious songs.

“The greatest compliment anyone can ever pay me is to say that something that I said helped them get through something, so that’s why I say listen to the whole record,” Allen said.

He doesn’t know if he’s meant to play venues the size of Bridgestone Arena or write hits to top the charts.

He doesn’t know if he’s meant to play in a church.

But one thing is for sure, he said.

Music is his calling.

“I think I’m always meant to do something: play,” Allen said. “Even if its just to my daughter.”

Print Managing Editor Laurel Deppen can be reached at laurel.deppen774@topper.wku.edu. Follow her on twitter @Laurel_Deppen.

NOW LOCATED IN GARRETT CONFERENCE CENTER LOBBY

LIFE B3

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

PICTURE PROVIDED BY MATT IDLETT

Alumnus helps little league team honor fallen teammate

BY NICK KIESER

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU WKU alumnus, Little League assistant coach and father Matt Idlett helped guide the Bowling Green East 11 and 12-yearold All-Stars to a 15-6 win in the Great Lakes Regional championship game on Aug. 10.

The victory sealed BG East’s fate — its third Little League World Series appearance since 2015. Following all the games and tournaments the team had played all year long, their final destination was Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The 2019 LLWS was held from Aug. 15-25, and the winner of the Great Lakes Region played in three contests during the tournament. Throughout the team’s experience, the young athletes were exposed to large crowds, signing autographs and staying in a dormitory with competing teams.

“For the most part, these players have

been together since they were 7 and 8 years old,” Idlett said. “We have always had our eyes set on Williamsport. It’s hard to describe how high quality the event is. To play in front of 25,000 fans, to be on ESPN, sign autographs and ride on a bus with the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates is just so neat.”

Idlett played as a third baseman for the Hilltoppers from 1995-99 and graduated with his business administration degree. Today, the former baseball player is married and has four children, including twin boys who are members of the BG East team.

Jackson Idlett and Luke Idlett both played roles that contributed to the team reaching the LLWS. Luke — who played infield, center field and pitched — started every game, while Jackson usually came off the bench, their father said.

The team’s road to Williamsport had three significant pit stops along the way.

BG East first had to defeat Owensboro Southern to win the district. The

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team later won the state tournament in Prestonsburg before rattling off three games in a row against teams from Michigan, Indiana and Illinois at the Great Lakes Regional Tournament in Westfield, Indiana.

“In 2015 and 2016 we got a bye in the first round of regionals, including this year,” Idlett said. “We won three in a row and defeated Illinois in the championship to go to the Little League World Series. Once we got past regionals, the pressure was off. The director told us that the next place after the World Series was home.”

To the players on the team, there was a significant joy that came with clinching a trip to the LLWS — honoring Mason Goodnight, their teammate who unexpectedly died from bacterial meningitis on April 6, 2017, at the age of 10.

“These boys have been friends since they were 5 and 6 years old,” Jef Goodnight, Mason’s father, said. “They have always played with Mason on the field and in their hearts since he has passed.

I love how they keep him in their hearts and they always remember him.

We have always kept Mason’s jersey in the dugout since he has passed away.

It’s just a fixture in our dugout and that is something that touched me and my wife Janet’s hearts.”

Manager Rick Kelley said Mason Goodnight’s presence was definitely felt during BG East’s dominant run to the LLWS, which saw the young boy’s teammates average nearly 11 runs per game in the Great Lakes Regional.

“Having Mason spiritually on the team was a big boost both from a motivation standpoint as well as a calming effect,” Kelley said. “One of our goals was to tell the Mason Goodnight story and we were able to do that in front of a national audience.”

BG East’s first game of the LLWS was against Midwest Region champion Coon Rapids-Andover (Minnesota) on Aug. 16. Evan Schallert scored the lone run for BG East in a 2-1 loss to kickoff the tournament. Grayson Newman started on the mound for BG East, amassing four strikeouts, allowing two hits and letting two runs score.

The opening-game loss put BG East in an elimination game on Aug. 17. New England Region champion Barrington (Rhode Island) met BG East in front of an estimated 24,000 fans for a contest that was nationally televised

on ABC. BG East fell 6-1 to the New England Region representatives, which subsequently eliminated the squad from tournament play. Luke Idlett had the lone RBI of the game for BG East to drive in teammate Jameson Napper.

“The kids were upset after losing to Rhode Island,” Idlett said. “The neat thing about being a 12-year-old boy is that it took about an hour and you would have never known they had just played a game.”

The third and final game of BG East’s trip to Williamsport was an exhibition against Cronulla Little League (Australia). After a combined total of four hits in the previous two games, the Great Lakes Region representatives found their stride on Aug. 19.

“Against Australia, we were trying to be relaxed and play to our potential,” Kelley said. “Our first two games were not our best, so we were trying to end on a high note.”

BG East tallied six hits on its way to a 4-1 victory. Jackson Idlett led the team with two hits, while Chaze Huff pitched a complete game and tossed six strikeouts in six innings.

“It’s a remarkable accomplishment to be one of the 16 teams in the Little League World Series, so they have to be proud of that,” Kelley said. “Over 6,500 teams started the Little League All-Star Tournament process. So to be one of the last 16 teams standing is something to be proud of.”

BG East was also proud to honor the Playing for Mason Foundation, which was created after Mason Goodnight’s untimely death two years ago.

The foundation has gone on to raise $125,000 to benefit various programs for kids in Southcentral Kentucky.

Although the team’s time in Williamsport didn’t turn out how they would’ve liked, BG East viewed its run as a success because it carried on a fallen teammate’s legacy.

“I know they are all going to go on and do great things,” Jef Goodnight said. “The one thing I also know is they will always have the number 11 and Mason Goodnight with them wherever they go for the rest of their lives.”

Reporter Nick Kieser can be reached at 270-745-6291 and nick.kieser036@ topper.wku.edu. Follow Nick on Twitter at @KieserNick.

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SPORTS B4

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

WKU SHOWS TENACITY DURING OPENING WEEKEND

KEILLAN FRAZIER • HERALD

WKU women’s soccer squares off against Belmont on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019. The Lady Toppers won 5-0.

BY ELLIOTT WELLS HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU The WKU soccer team kicked off its 2019 regular season this weekend with a win against Belmont and a draw against in-state opponent Kentucky, opening up a 200-minute shutout streak that has helped the Lady Toppers start the year on a high note.

WKU (1-0-1) welcomed Belmont (0-2) — predicted to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference — to the WKU Soccer Complex on Thursday.

The Lady Toppers saw early success against the Bruins and eventually claimed a 5-0 wire-to-wire win.

All five of WKU’s goals during the contest came from underclassmen, and four different Lady Toppers scored during the match against the Bruins.

The Lady Toppers were led by freshman forward Ansley Cate, who poured in two goals in the first 10 minutes of her regular season debut.

“It’s always pounded in our heads in every meeting and practice, the first and last five [minutes] of every half is your hardest, and that’s when I got my first goals —in the first five [minutes],” Cate said postgame.

Cate made her first appearance as a Lady Topper just days before, when WKU hosted Austin Peay at the WKU Soccer Complex for its last exhibition match on Aug. 18. Cate was sidelined in WKU’s first two exhibition matches against Murray State and Wright State due to an injury.

“Typically, whenever we think

someone who is going to make an impact on the game, but they’re coming off an injury, we typically want to start them because of the substitution rules,” head coach Jason Neidell said in a postgame interview on Thursday.

“So we gave her the start tonight.

Obviously she showed us why she deserved that tonight.”

Cate wasn’t the only freshman to score a goal in the season opener against Belmont, as forward Katie Erwin also found the back of the net for the first time as a Lady Topper at the 33:37 mark.

All-Conference USA preseason Women’s Soccer Team member sophomore Ambere Barnett showed her dominance in the midfield, as she assisted on both of Cate’s goals and scored a goal of her own in the 47th minute, which gave the Lady Toppers a 4-0 lead at the time.

With WKU leading Belmont for over 86 minutes of the match, Neidell saw the opportunity to rest some of his starters and get his young players experience.

“We needed to get some of the younger kids some experience, and the scoreline allowed us to do that tonight,” Neidell said postgame.

“Obviously you don’t always have the opportunity. The flip side of that is we also got some pretty critical players some rest tonight going into a really big match on Sunday against UK.” WKU’s 5-0 victory over Belmont topped the program’s previous best season-opening shutout margin of 4-0, which was set in a victory over Grambling State in 2005.

On Sunday, the Lady Toppers traveled to Lexington and faced off against UK (0-0-2) for the first time

since 2009.

For just the second time in a decade, WKU and UK managed to draw against one another in a scoreless match that ended in double overtime.

The positive result was the program’s first against an SEC opponent since a 0-0 draw against Tennessee on Sept.

15, 2013.

While WKU failed to score a goal for the first time this regular season, the Lady Toppers still had 16 shots, only two of which were on goal. Barnett, who led WKU last season with 58 shots, tallied four shots against the Wildcats.

match to begin the season.

The Lady Topper defense has played solid across the back, as the 2019 squad has only given up one goal dating back to their exhibition match against Wright State — a 1-0 loss on Aug. 16.

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Anne-Marie Ulliac recorded five saves on Sunday against UK, playing a full match in goal for WKU. Three of her saves came in the final 15 minutes of regulation, which prevented the Wildcats from knocking in a match-winning goal.

“We felt we played a good match

“It’s always pounded in our heads in every meeting and practice, the first and last five [minutes] of every half is your hardest, and that’s when I got my first goals —in the first five [minutes],” Player ANSLEY CATE

WKU started the match with high pressure, keeping the Wildcats on their toes early. Just minutes into the match, senior defender Kaylyn Bryant nearly found the back of the net when she found space and fired a shot just wide right of the goal.

The Lady Toppers were aggressive on offense, and WKU finished with nine corner kicks compared to UK’s four. WKU had four corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes of the match.

WKU and the Wildcats battled to a scoreless draw over 110 minutes on Sunday, as the Lady Toppers recorded a clean sheet for its second straight

today and certainly created enough chances to get a better result. We need to be more clinical with our chances, and that will come in time,” Neidell said in a postgame press release on Sunday. “Overall, we had a successful opening weekend and have a strong foundation to build on moving forward into the season.”

WKU will be back in action on Friday, as the Lady Toppers travel to Birmingham, Alabama, for a meeting with Samford (0-1-1). The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.

Reporter Elliott Wells can be reached at 270-745-6291 and douglas.

WKU volleyball set to begin regular season Friday winning streak. They finished seventh

BY KADEN GAYLORD

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU The WKU volleyball team will kick off the regular season this weekend in Toledo, Ohio, where the Lady Toppers take on three non-conference opponents in two days at the Toledo Blue & Gold Tournament.

“Early road trips are something that I like being a part of,” head coach Travis Hudson said. “We’re looking forward to getting started. We have a lot of work to do before next Friday in Toledo, but we’re looking forward to it.”

The Lady Toppers open against Loyola (Chicago) on Friday. The match will be the third meeting between WKU and the Ramblers. It will also be the first time the two teams have faced off since 1994. Loyola has won the two previous meetings.

Last season, Loyola finished with a 16-14 record — 3-1 at neutral sites — and also strung together an eight-game

in the Missouri Valley Conference, while finishing third in hitting percentage and seventh in opponent hitting percentage.

The Ramblers are led by returning redshirt senior Heather Kocken, who ranked fourth in the MVC with 1.03 blocks per set. Kocken hit a team-best .299 with 2.14 kills per set and ranked fifth in the MVC in hitting percentage.

WKU will play two games the following day—first facing the Toledo Rockets before meeting the North Dakota State Bison just four and a half hours later.

The Rockets finished the 2018 season with a 9-18 record, while only going 4-12 in the Mid-American Conference.

Toledo finished above just two teams in the standings, only winning 25% of their conference games and 33.3% overall.

The match will be the fifth all-time meeting between the Lady Toppers and Toledo. The all-time series is tied 2-2, but WKU won 3-0 each of the last two times the teams played.

SEE VOLLEYBALL• PAGE B5

SEE SLUG • PAGE XX

B5 SPORTS BASKETBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B6 Stewart asked the Board of Regents to give Stansbury a $150,000 raise.

The team was scheduled to spend $840,024 on a new staff of three full-time assistants prior to Hansbrough’s unexpected departure, but it ended up spending $790,020 before and $935,016 after Stansbury’s mid-season salary bump.

The 2017-18 season’s sub-$950,000 price tag turned out to be an absolute steal for the Hilltopper program — the team finished 14-4 in conference play and reached the C-USA Tournament final.

Despite missing out on an automatic NCAA Tournament bid, the Hilltoppers received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament and made a run to the semifinals. WKU fell to eventual NIT runner-up Utah but finished the year at 27-11 overall.

During the 2018-19 season, Stansbury’s assistant coaches were Hsu, Johnson and Hennssy Auriantal — the legal guardian of rising sophomore Charles Bassey. Hsu made $200,004 and Johnson made $85,008 in 2018-19, according to records provided to the Herald.

Auriantal originally made $200,004, but according to records provided to the Herald, he received a $4,008 raise in

VOLLEYBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B4 NDSU finished 9-20 last season and went 6-10 in the Summit League. The Bison won only 31% of their games, finishing seventh in the league and last in hitting percentage out of nine teams.

WKU leads the all-time series over NDSU, 1-0.

The Lady Toppers will be forced to hit the ground running this season since the team will be away from Bowling Green for the first two weekends of the year.

But WKU will be aided in its quest by several key returners, namely senior Sophia Cerino and sophomore Lauren Matthews. The duo claimed two of the 12 spots on Conference USA’s Preseason All-Conference team on Aug. 15.

Matthews ended 2018 with an All-Freshman team honor from C-USA. She appeared in 77 sets across 20 matches. Matthews concluded the season with 196 kills and 60 blocks, recording double-digit kills in eight games and at least three blocks in 10.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY December 2018. Auriantal’s salary was then $204,012, effective Jan. 1.

According to handwritten notes included in records provided to the Herald, $154,008 of Auriantal’s salary is funded

short for the second consecutive year.

Due to a lacking résumé, WKU’s season ended without an opportunity to play in a postseason tournament.

During the 2019-20 season, Stans-

“That means the way you go to the tournament is to win the league, and so that’s the expectation.”

WKU President TIMOTHY CABONI

through private donations, meaning he’s paid that amount in addition to the $50,004 salary that was originally slated for Hansbrough in 2017-18.

After the arrival of Bassey, the 201819 season came with heightened expectations. As the expectation to win increased, the season’s cost did too — including Stansbury’s $650,004 base salary, the program spent $1.135 million before and $1.139 million after Auriantal’s midseason raise.

Investing $1 million in the 2018-19 season didn’t prove to be particularly fruitful for WKU, as the Hilltoppers finished the year 20-14 overall and 11-7 in C-USA play. The team advanced to the C-USA Tournament final again but fell Cerino returns for her final campaign after earning Second Team All-Conference honors from C-USA last year. Cerino led WKU and the league with 45 service aces on the year while appearing in all 117 sets across 30 matches.

“Honestly, I think we are ready,” Cerino said about the team’s early-season road trips. “Because after like two-a-days, they start to get a little bit monotonous and stuff.”

Freshman Paige Briggs could also prove to be a valuable asset, as the Ortonville, Michigan, native was a standout for WKU during the team’s 3-1 exhibition loss against No. 7 Kentucky on Aug. 21 at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington.

“I stay close to my teammates when it comes to [being on] the road,” Briggs said. “They’re my go-tos. I need them — they’ll keep me calm, cool and collected.”

Game time against Loyola is set for 3:30 p.m. on Friday. WKU will then face two opponents on Saturday — Toledo at 11 a.m. and NDSU at 3:30 p.m.

Reporter Kaden Gaylord can be reached at 270-745-6291 and kaden.gaylord559@topper.wku.edu. Follow Kaden

bury’s assistant coaches will be Auriantal, Cunningham and Grant. Cunnigham will make $165,000, Grant will make $115,008, Aurintal will make $204,012 and Stansbury will have a $650,004 base salary, according to records provided to the Herald.

That’s a total of $1,134,024 to be spent in Stansbury’s fourth year as head coach of the Hilltoppers.

Cunningham and Grant will make $280,008 compared to $285,012 set aside for Hsu and Johnson — a difference of just $5,004.

But Cunningham took a much more significant pay cut to come to WKU as an assistant coach, according to an archived list of salaries for the coaches in the 2017

TYGER WILLIAMS • HERALD

Head coach, Travis Hudson, pulls in the Lady Toppers for a timeout during a match against UTEP on Friday Oct. 20, 2017 in Diddle Arena.

FOOTBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B6

FALL 2019 REGULAR HOURS Fresh Food Company Mon. – Fri. ............7am – 8pm Sat. ................10:30am – 7pm Sun. ...............10:30am – 8pm Located at Downing Student Union

RedZone Mon. – Thurs........... 11am – 9pm Fri. ...................... 11am – 8pm Sat. .......................4pm – 8pm Sun. .....................4pm - 10pm Located behind DSU Food Court

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DSU Food Court Mon. – Thurs. ... 10:30am – 11pm* Fri. ............. 10:30am – 10pm* Sat. ............ 10:30am – 10pm* Sun. ................Noon – 11pm** Located at Downing Student Union

Burrito Bowl Mon. – Thurs..10:30am – 8pm Fri. ............10:30am – 2:30pm Sat. – Sun. ...................Closed

Einstein Bros. Bagels Mon. – Thurs. ............................... 7am – 5pm Fri. ................................................ 7am – 2pm Sat. – Sun. ...........................................Closed Located at Mass Media Technology Hall

The Den by Denny’s @ Tower Mon. – Thurs. ............................11am – 11pm Fri. .............................................. 11am – 3pm Sat. ......................................................Closed Sun ..............................................4pm – 11pm Located at Tower Court Next to PFT

The Pit Stop Convenience Store Mon. – Thurs. .......................... 10am – 11pm Fri. .............................................. 10am – 6pm Sat. ......................................................Closed Sun. ............................................ 5pm – 11pm Located at Tower Court Next to PFT

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Starbucks Mon. – Thurs. .......7am – 8pm Fri. ........................7am – 4pm Sat. .......................8am – 2pm Sun. .................... 10am – 5pm

GCC Subway Mon. – Thurs. ............................. 10am – 5pm Fri. .............................................. 10am – 2pm Sat. – Sun. ...........................................Closed

NCAA Tournament published by USA Today. Cunnigham made $289,364 in school pay with a max bonus of $229,500 during the 2016-17 season as head coach at Troy.

Cunningham, who will serve as Stansbury’s associate head coach, led Troy to an 80–111 mark and its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance over the last six seasons. Cunningham and Grant — a former associate head coach in his own right — will be tasked with helping Stansbury accomplish the same feat on the Hill.

WKU President Timothy Caboni told the Herald on Friday Aug. 23 that he expects the Hilltoppers to get back into the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since 2013 this season.

“Right now, in Conference USA, we’re a single-bid league,” Caboni said. “That means the way you go to the tournament is to win the league, and so that’s the expectation.”

The 2019-20 roster might be Stansbury’s most talented collection of experienced players yet, and the program has invested heavily in an experienced coaching staff to guide them. It remains to be seen whether or not betting the farm will yield an ever-elusive C-USA Tournament crown.

Sports Editor Drake Kizer can be reached at 270-745-2653 and clinton. kizer287@topper.wku.edu. Follow Drake

“Absolutely,” Chestnut said regarding the void. “Just going through the whole spring, my guys know where we stand, where stand with them. I thought they had a great spring. There were some guys that pushed Lucky [Jackson], which was good. There’s a lot of good competition in that room.”

Chestnut said his expectation for the receivers this season is simple.

“Be consistent,” Chestnut said. “Be consistent with what we do. Be consistent throughout the season. That’s one of the things I’ve talked to them about. I’ve preached to them, be consistent the whole season. Continue to make big plays.”

Freshman Manny Allen will not be one of the receivers in the fold this fall.

Allen entered the transfer portal on June 18 but was still listed on the roster heading into fall camp. Last week, Helton announced the former four-star recruit won’t be part of the program in 2019.

“Manny is not with us,” Helton said.

“I don’t anticipate Manny being here at the start of school. My best wishes to him; he’s a great kid. But who knows—

we may see Manny Allen again one day but we may not.

As of right now, he will not be with us.

Helton said earlier in fall camp he was very happy with the progression of his other receivers.

“I thought they’ve done a really good job,” Helton said. “From the start of camp to now, especially tonight, really showed how far they’ve come.”

Helton also reiterated that multiple receivers will be counted on in 2019.

“We’re gonna count on about six or seven guys,” Helton said. “We’re gonna roll in there. It’s not one or two guys.

It’s gonna be spread around to multiple guys.”

The responsibility of leading the Hilltoppers to victory will not fall squarely on any one position group.

The receiving corps’ first chance to impress the coaching staff comes in Thursday night’s game against UCA. Kickoff at Houchens-Smith Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.

Reporter Alec Jessie can be reached at 270-745-6291 and alec.jessie226@ topper.wku.edu. Follow Alec on Twitter at @Alec_Jessie.

WELCOME STUDENTS wishing you the best for the upcoming year!

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DaVinci’s Mon. – Thurs. .............................. 7am – 4pm Fri. .......................................... 7am – 2:30pm Sat. – Sun. ...........................................Closed Located at Snell Hall

Hilltopper Hub Mon. – Fri..........7:30am - 10pm Sat. – Sun.............5pm - 10pm

Topper Grill and Pub Mon. – Thurs. ............................ 11am – 8pm Fri. ............................................. 11am – 4pm Sat. – Sun. ...........................................Closed Located at Garrett Conference Center

We Accept Meal Plans, Meal Plan Dollars, Flex, Dining Dollars, Big Red Dollars, Cash and Credit/Debit Cards (Visa or Mastercard).

Western Hilltopper 10 Buck Wednesdays! $10 Arroz con Pollo entree and House Margarita or draft beer $1 Wings (5 wing min) | $5 Mexican Street Corn $1.99 House Margaritas | $.99 Draft Beer | $5.00 Rum Buckets

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

B6

ESTER HEATH • HERALD

WKU wide-receiver Terez Traynor (85) catches a pass during practice on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 26, 2019 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

‘BE CONSISTENT’

WKU AIMING TO SOLIDIFY RECEIVER SITUATION AS SEASON LOOMS

BY ALEC JESSIE HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

The WKU football team has finally made it to game week and is ready to battle another team. The Hilltoppers are set to open the season Thursday against Football Championship Subdivision opponent Central Arkansas.

With the season nearly here, firstyear head coach Tyson Helton has a majority of his starting positions locked down on both sides of the ball.

Helton ended months of speculation when he announced last week that redshirt junior Steven Duncan had defeated graduate transfer Ty Storey in the battle for the starting quarterback spot.

“I felt it was a very close battle,” Helton said. “Both him and Ty Storey were pretty even to be honest with you.

Told both of those guys I’m going with my first instinct and that was to run out Steven out there.”

Duncan will look to build upon his 2018 season, in which he threw for 1,071 yards and nine touchdowns.

Helton said Storey will play this year, but Duncan is the clear starter for now.

“Steven needs to know, ‘Hey, I’m the quarterback; I need to feel comfort-

able,’” Helton said. “He needs to get in a rhythm. So that’s the first thing, trying to find a rhythm for Steven.”

With the quarterback position no longer in flux, Helton has most of his starters nailed down on offense — the offensive line returns key upperclassmen Miles Pate and Seth Joest. The running backs will likely be rotated throughout the season to minimize

WKU added a key transfer this June in former Georgia linebacker Jaden Hunter, but Hunter is still waiting to hear from the NCAA on whether or not he will be immediately eligible to play this season. Helton said he is hopeful a decision will be made soon.

“We have applied for the waiver,” Helton said. “Georgia is also in the process of working with us on that. The

“I felt it was a very close battle. Both him and Ty Storey were pretty even to be honest with you.”

Head coach TYSON HELTON

injuries, and redshirt junior Kyle Fourtenbary will aim to continue the tradition of talented WKU tight ends.

Returning defensive coordinator Clayton White also has most of his defensive rotation locked down.

Junior DeAngelo Malone and redshirt sophomore Juwuan Jones return on the defensive line and will both look to improve on their impressive 2018 seasons. Devon Key will lead the secondary, while Kyle Bailey will be tasked with leading the linebacker group.

NCAA has a lot to deal with right now. I think our compliance team has done a great job with this. I’m hoping we can get a decision by the end of this week.”

At time of publication, no ruling had been handed down regarding Hunter’s 2019 status.

This leaves just one position group still in flux: wide receivers.

Senior Lucky Jackson is the easy candidate to lead the group. Jackson has played a major role in the offense for several seasons. He set a career high in receiving yards in 2017 with

600 and set career highs in 2018 with 50 receptions and four touchdowns.

Jackson told the Herald at WKU’s media day last month that he has a leadership role to take up heading into 2019.

“I’ve been here for a little while and there’s things I know from playing experience of guys that were before me,” Jackson said on July 30. “Stuff that I can teach the young guys that are coming behind me.”

But after Jackson, there is not a clear hierarchy. Quin Jernighan, Jacquez Sloan and Xavier Lane all mixed in last season, but they did not separate themselves from the pack in 2018. With the addition of former running back Garland LaFrance, a new freshman class and redshirts from a season ago, the situation is quite fluid with just days until kickoff.

Lane, a redshirt junior, hopes to be one of the receivers to step up. After catching just seven balls for 55 yards in 2018, Lane used the off-season to better himself off the field.

“In the spring, I was trying to work on myself,” Lane said at media day.

“My attitude, just trying to be a leader, not just vocally, but just doing it.”

Receivers coach Chris Chestnut told the Herald at media day there was a void to fill at receiver, and he has used spring ball and fall camp to bolster the unit.

SEE FOOTBALL • PAGE B5

WKU basketball spending more, winning less in recent seasons

BY DRAKE KIZER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

A retractable garage door allows the WKU men’s basketball team to enter the floor through one of the four corner tunnels at Diddle Arena, but a revolving door has formed since Rick Stansbury was named head coach of the Hilltoppers on March 28, 2016 — in his nearly three and a half years at the helm, 16 players and six assistant coaches have left the WKU men’s basketball program.

As the 2019-20 season approaches, the narrative is the same for the Hilltoppers. Six players have left the program since the 2018-19 season ended with a loss in the Conference USA Tournament final. Former assistant coaches Marc Hsu and Nikita Johnson were voluntarily terminated to clear the way for new hires Phil Cunningham and Marcus Grant.

But as Stansbury has shuffled the faces on his bench, one constant has remained — with each new round of assistant coaches that the program recruits, the cost to obtain their services has steadily increased.

After spending less than $860,000 on Stansbury’s first staff, WKU is now on pace to spend over $1 million in his fourth year. Increased spending hasn’t yet proven to translate to an increase in winning or positive results on the basketball court.

During the 2016-17 season, Stansbury’s assistant

coaches were Chris Cheeks, Quannas White and Shammond Williams. Cheeks made $125,004, Williams made $120,000 and White made $110,004 in 2016-17, according to WKU’s 2017-18 budgeted salary information.

Stansbury had a $500,004 base salary in his first year at the helm, meaning $855,012 was spent on a Hilltopper squad that finished 15-17 overall, 9-9 in conference play. The season ended with a loss to Texas-San Antonio in the first round of the C-USA Tournament.

During the 2017-18 season, Stansbury’s assistant coaches were Hsu and Johnson. Ben Hansbrough was

promoted from support staffer to a full-time assistant prior to the season, but he resigned in October 2017 after he was charged with driving under the influence.

Hsu made $200,004, Johnson made $85,008 and Hansbrough’s vacant slot was scheduled for a $50,004 salary in 2017-18, according to WKU’s 2018-19 Budgeted Salary Information.

Stansbury’s salary was once again $505,008 in his second year as head coach, but his base salary rose to $650,004 in January 2018 after Athletic Director Todd SEE BASKETBALL • PAGE B5