[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO THE NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

                                 ______


                          HON. SIDNEY R. YATES

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 5, 1995

  Mr. YATES. Mr. Speaker, our long, long wait is over. The Northwestern 
Wildcats are going to the Rose Bowl.
  The last time Northwestern went to the Rose Bowl was in 1949, my 
first year in Congress. Back then we all thought there was a dynasty in 
the making; we felt sure the Wildcats would play in the Rose Bowl for 
years to come. I never dreamed that I'd have to wait 46 years to see 
this moment again. But I am a patient man and this victory is well 
worth the wait. And knowing both the 1949 team and our current 
champions, I feel safe in saying that the Wildcats, like Congressmen, 
improve with age.
  Thanks to a dedicated and talented Wildcat team, the leadership and 
patience of its coach, Gary Barnett, and the continuing insistence of 
Northwestern President Henry S. Bienen and Chancellor Arnold R. Weber 
that a university could simultaneously have academic and athletic 
excellence, the Big Ten Champion Wildcats will be playing in Pasadena 
on New Year's Day. These are accomplishments which should be celebrated 
in an era of athlete factories and degree mill universities. The 
Wildcats have the second highest team average SAT score in all of NCAA 
Division I. Newsweek notes that every one of Gary Barnett's players who 
didn't transfer to another school has continued on to graduation. The 
Wildcats, with grace and spirit, demonstrated that winning and learning 
are not inconsistent.
  It is out of this incredible pride that I feel for Northwestern that 
I am today introducing a resolution which recognizes the amazing 
accomplishments of the Wildcats and congratulates them on winning the 
1995 Big Ten Championship and on receiving the coveted invitation to 
compete in the 1996 Rose Bowl.
  As an old alum from the University of Chicago, I long considered the 
Wildcats to be bitter rivals. But today, we are all Northwestern fans.
  And regardless of the final outcome of the game, the Wildcats and all 
of Northwestern are winners.

                          ____________________