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Men´s basketball managers James McMillon (from left), Charlie Stavlo and Peter Warden donate a large amount of their time to the sport. (Photo by Evan O´Connell / The Battalion)

Dirty work

Student managers help keep sports functioning

By: Shawn C. Millender

Posted: 11/10/04

Student managers are akin to football referees and deep snappers: The only time you notice their work is when something goes wrong.

Football managers at Texas A&M have a lot to take care of. They're responsible for keeping one of the largest collegiate athletic programs in the country running smoothly. They put in countless hours year-round, and their most outwardly noticeable contribution is catching punts during pregame warm-ups.

"Yeah, that's us," said graduate manager Ryan Gowens about their pre-kickoff duties, which also extend into the game - the managers are the ones who pick up the kicking tee after every kickoff.

There are many reasons to be a manager. Some people just want to stay around the game, some need a job and some are looking forward to careers as coaches or managers for professional teams. And then there are some, like Gowens, who simply love the sport.

"I played wide receiver and free safety at St. Michaels in Austin, but I knew I couldn't play here at A&M" said Gowens, whose connections could land him a job as a manager for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Despite the long hours and hard work (Gowens said he arrives at 5 a.m. and leaves at 11 p.m. during two-a-days), he turned down the opportunity to play football at a smaller school in favor of working for A&M.

It's not all work, though. Gowens said he's the beneficiary of free clothing and other assorted sundries. He proudly mentions his collection of footballs bearing logos from other Big 12 schools. But more than that, the experiences are priceless.

"(Against Kansas State in 2001), I drilled Willie the Wildcat in the head with a football," Gowens said. "And one time I pegged the head yell leader."

Some students end up taking the road from athlete to manager. Very few take the path Lindsay Frantz did: from high school and club athlete, to manager then scholarship athlete.

Frantz, who originally hung up her kneepads after a successful career at Lubbock Coronado High School, stayed active in club volleyball. Contacts she made there gave her the chance to be a manager.

As volleyball manager, Frantz mostly took care of equipment, taped practices and broke down tape of upcoming opponents.

"After I broke my wrist in high school and it never healed right, I never really wanted to play college volleyball," Frantz said.

Frantz figured she was too short to play at her natural position in the Big 12.

"I'm really small," Frantz said. "I didn't think they'd want a 5'5" setter, but I played in a camp staff match in the summer of 2002, and I realized I could play with the girls on the team."

An NCAA rule that forbade Athletic Department employees from being athletes kept Frantz out of action until summer of 2003, when she tried out and made the team as a reserve defensive specialist.

"Knowing the program and the way things worked made me feel more at home, more welcome," Frantz said.

Senior accounting major and swimming manager Emily Semlau took the opposite road. A two-year member of the Aggie swim team, Semlau injured her shoulder and was forced to retire from swimming.

"It's great, I get to go on training trips and travel with the team," Semlau said. "I don't miss swimming when watching a hard practice, but I do when we're at meets."

Semlau said the coaches and athletes are make her feel like her contribution is still valuable.

"I contribute in a different way," Semlau said. "But I still feel like I have a spot on the team."