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Monday, August 4, 2008
Kansas Pregame Burgeoning
Central Kansas, KS
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By: Tom Witherspoon, VYPE Central Kansas
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Photo(s) By: Staff Illustration
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Publisher John Baetz enters his third year putting out the Kansas football publication
Kansas Pregame will publish its third annual football preview this month. After previewing 116 high school football teams in the first year of publication in 2006, 254 prep teams and 22 of 29 college teams in Kansas will appear in the 2008 edition.
"Our goal is to go state-wide next year," said publisher John Baetz. "There are about 350 high schools and 29 colleges who play football in Kansas."
Baetz established Pregame as a compromise between his two callings in life. Before getting into the sales and then editorial side of newspaper publishing, Baetz had promised himself that he'd pursue a career in football. The 1993 graduate of Smith Center, which boasts one of the greatest prep football traditions in Kansas, was deeply affected by the 1982 state title team, of which his brother was a part.
"It was cold, rainy, horrible," said Baetz. "I distinctly remember after winning the game, my brother standing in a pile of guys holding the trophy up. Plain as day, I saw tear marks dripping down into the mud. I fell in love with football at the age of 7."
After his own graduation from Smith Center came without a playoff berth with him on varsity, one scholarship season at Garden City Community College convinced Baetz that he was not a college football player. With his English degree from Fort Hays State, Baetz went into sales for a shopper publication in Kearney, Neb. After moving back closer to Smith Center, he slid into his position as editor of the Lincoln Sentinel and Chapman News-Times. Doing a little bit of everything at the small-town newspapers, Baetz eventually became owner.
Baetz continued his involvement in football throughout those years, coaching at Lincoln and Russell. Last fall marked his final season at Russell High, as the long commute no longer fit into his future plans.
The opportunity to combine his passion for football and career in publishing came about when he contacted Tim McGonagle, who ran a Kansas prep football Web site out of personal interest.
"I emailed him and asked how he got into it, and he said it was just a hobby out of his basement," said Baetz. "(McGonagle) asked if I knew anything about printing. Well, the last four years of my life I had been running a newspaper, had bought and owned it, and I bought the Chapman paper shortly after that.
"We met later that year and said, OK, we're going to do this. We'll give equal exposure to 6A and 8-man, too, with the goal of helping the rural kids see some of the exposure that kids in bigger communities get with daily newspapers."
Alongside Baetz' goal to preview the entire state next year for both preps and college in the Kansas Pregame issue is the creation of a new Web site devoted to high school football. "We want to be the top source for information for Kansas football," said Baetz.
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