By Matt Welnack sports editor Before junior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson even steps on the field next season against Nevada-Las Vegas, a carefully crafted image will have been created to put the nation's returning rushing leader in the race for the Heisman Trophy. The Heisman Trophy is given every season to the best football player in the NCAA. Tomlinson figures to be one of the top five candidates after his record-setting season. He garnered national attention with his 124-yard, two-touchdown performance against East Carolina in TCU's 28-14 win in the Mobile Alabama Bowl on Dec. 22. Tomlinson, however, is a relatively unknown name throughout the nation, especially on the East Coast where the Frogs do not play any games. To be a serious contender for the top award given to college football players, Tomlinson needs to be easily recognized by the 921 voters and have the statistics on the field to stay in the running for the trophy. Trey Carmichael, TCU's assistant media relations director, is in charge of promoting Tomlinson for the Heisman. Tomlinson is the first TCU player to be considered for the Heisman since running back Kenneth Davis finished fifth in the voting in 1984. Quarterback Davey O'Brien is the only player in TCU history to win the Heisman Trophy. Because of this lack of experience in promoting a Heisman candidate, Carmichael has talked to other programs who have recent Heisman winners. He has talked to the University of Texas, the University of Wisconsin and to Marshall University about how to handle all of the aspects of a Heisman campaign. "I talked to the University of Texas about how to handle all of the interview requests," Carmichael said. "Texas had to set up a conference call for Ricky Williams because of all of the interview requests. (Tomlinson) and I got a little taste of what potentially could happen after he ran for 406 yards (against UT-El Paso)." Carmichael said the most important thing for his office - the sports information department - to do is to get Tomlinson's name out to the public. He has sent notebooks with Tomlinson's picture and a short biography to reporters across the nation. Another way to publicize Tomlinson is to send out the team's prospectus in the spring to every major newspaper with Tomlinson featured as a key returner next season. "The Heisman committee will not release who votes on the Heisman, so we try to hit as many people as possible," Carmichael said. Another way to reach potential voters is to employ the resources of the sports marketing department. Brian Estridge, director of marketing and promotions, said the campaign will be innovative. "The one thing people are going to see is a cutting-edge campaign," Estridge said. "We will use the Internet and CD-ROMs to get LaDainian's name out there. The campaign will build a brand name for LaDainian, TCU and its history in the Heisman Trophy." The CD-ROM will contain highlights of Tomlinson, links to his Web site that Carmichael and the SID staff have set up and other multimedia features to further promote Tomlinson, Estridge said. The use of the Internet will cut down on the distance from Fort Worth to the East Coast, Estridge said. "We want to see if the Internet can drive a successful Heisman campaign for LaDainian," he said. "The site will be real interactive and encourage people to come to the site." Although Estridge has never been a part of a Heisman campaign, several members of his staff have had experience with promoting an athlete for the top award. Rick Thompson, the general manager for ESPN Regional, was a part of the campaign for receiver Randy Moss while he was at Marshall, and Brian Florko, who works along with Estridge, was involved with the promotion of quarterback Chad Pennington, who also played at Marshall. "It makes all of us proud," Estridge said. "We're excited for LaDainian and the university. It is a chance for TCU to continue to be recognized throughout the country. It'll be a rallying cry if nothing else."
Matt Welnack
By Danny Horne staff reporter The TCU Lady Frogs took another hit when leading scorer Amy Sutton, a junior guard, was injured with a spiral fracture of the fibia during a game Saturday against Hawaii. Injuries and inconsistency seem to be the only things that could keep the Lady Horned Frogs basketball team from capturing the Western Athletic Conference title, head coach Jeff Mittie said. Despite starting the season 5-1, the Lady Frogs have lost seven of 12 games, including two of the first three against the WAC. However, Mittie said he remains confident in his team. "There is no particularly dominating team in the WAC, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a conference champion with three or four losses," he said. While there may not be a dominating force in the WAC, the Lady Frogs have been far from dominating in recent weeks, Mittie said. "We haven't played very well in the last two weeks and into the early parts of conference, but I was very pleased with our non-conference performance," he said, referring specifically to two losses on the road at San Diego State and Tulsa. In both losses, the Lady Frogs shot 36 percent and 30 percent respectively from the field. Mittie said injuries had much to do with the team's problems. Senior forward Shonda Mack was lost early in the season to a ruptured Achilles' tendon and sophomore guard Tricia Payne has played through a stress fracture. "It's hard to find consistency and confidence when you can't get a constant team on the court for practice," Mittie said. No individual player can be expected to replace the leadership and experience that three-year starter Amy Sutton brought to the court, he said. However, an obvious candidate would have to be senior guard Diamond Jackson and her team-leading 12.7 points per game, he said. "Obviously, we need Diamond to step up her game, but we need more support from the bench overall," Mittie said. "People like (junior guard) Jill Sutton, (freshman center) Kim Walter and (junior forward) Sally Spencer will need to take up the slack." Not only do the Lady Frogs lose a seasoned veteran of WAC play, they lose their second-leading scorer.Five of the team's next seven games will be away from Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, where the Lady Frogs have not had very much success. The Lady Frogs have an 0-4 road record this season. "We have not played well on the road this season, but part of that is because we have not had many road games to play," Mittie said. "If we can get a few games under our belt away from home and get some confidence that we can win on the road, we should be fine. Picking up a couple wins on the next road trip should do a lot for our confidence level." The Lady Frogs have a three-game stretch on the road at Fresno State (7-8, 0-1), UT-El Paso (4-10, 1-1) and Southern Methodist University (9-5, 2-0). Mittie said he recognizes that at least one aspect of the game plan must be changed if the team expects to win on the road. "We must get the ball down inside more," he said. "We have been living and dying by the jump shot, and you can't do that on the road and expect to win." If the Lady Frogs do move the ball inside, Walter and Clayton should see more action. Walter scored a career-high 23 points against Hawaii last Saturday night. Clayton averages more than seven points per game and five rebounds. "We would love to have that legitimate inside threat to take some pressure off our outside shooters," Mittie said. "We have a great outside-shooting team, but we can't afford to be one-dimensional if we want to win a championship in the WAC."
Danny Horne
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