It took a death to do it.

Kevin Dare, a 19-year-old Penn State sophomore, died Saturday after falling head-first into the 8-inch deep metal pole vault box while attempting a 15-foot 7-inch vault. The box is used by vaulters to plant the pole.

After coaches earlier said the meet would continue Sunday, the last day was canceled by Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany.

That was a smart move after a conference official said Dare was the first Big Ten athlete to die during competition in any sport.

"It wasn’t a very hard decision, to be honest,’’ Delany said. "Some of the athletes just couldn’t compete.’’

A man who knows all about track and field competition is Mark Kostek, director of the Drake Relays. He knows the dangers of pole vaulting and he knows the dangers associated with a lot of other sports.

"That situation at Minneapolis was terribly tragic,’’ Kostek said. "But I’ve heard of it happening before. It happened in a meet at Sioux City a few years ago.’’

A pole vaulter was killed in a similar accident in the 1993 Sioux City Relays.

"Vaulting can be dangerous,’’ Kostek said. "But what you had in the situation at Minneapolis was a freak accident. I’m certain that, in looking at it, and knowing about the University of Minnesota facilities and equipment, they have some of the best equipment available.

"I’m sure there was no negligence. However, what happens is that these pole vaulters are expected to go upside down and to lead with their feet toward the bar so they can clear it. Unfortunately, the young man (who was killed) came straight down into the vaulting box. There’s no way to pad that area.’’

"It was an accident,’’ said Penn State Coach Harry Groves. "He just came down the runway like he had 100 other times, and I think he thought he was over the pit and he prepared to land.’’

Kostek said, "When vaulters land on the other side, it’s on mats. They’re huge mats made of foam rubber cushion.’’

Asked if vaulters should wear helmets, Kostek said some do.

"They’re similar to hockey helmets or the things skateboarders wear,’’ Kostek said. "But—and this is just my opinion—I think the vaulter at Minneapolis broke his neck. I don’t think a helmet would have protected him.’’

Kostek said the NCAA Track and Field Committee will likely discuss what happened in the Big Ten meet.

"From a legal standpoint, there will be a lot of questions to be answered,’’ he said. "But there have always been risks in vaulting. And there have been been risks in the javelin and the hammer throw, too. There have been tragic events in football, gymnastics and cheerleading. In athletics as a whole, there is an element of risk.’’

Kostek is a former NCAA all-American javelin thrower at Kansas.

"My best throw was 264 feet,’’ he said. "The javelin is an aluminum spear that dates back to when those events were implements of war. They wanted to see who the better guys were.’’

Kostek said the Drake Relays, which will be held April 25-27, will include the Olympic pole vault champion, Nick Hysong—originally from the University of Arizona.

Kostek, who said he’s "never looking for things to do,’’ added that he’s "focused a lot of my energies on getting the Drake Relays back to the community—to the city of Des Moines.

"Over the years, we’ve had events where things were downtown all the time, and we’re re-implementing those types of projects. We’re getting Des Moines involved with the Relays again.

"On Monday (of Relays week), we’re having the Bulldog Contest. On Tuesday, we’re doing a thing called ‘Wear Your Blues.’ On Wednesday, we’re having the corporate steeplechase like we’ve had in the past. On Thursday, we’re having a Drake Relays pep rally type of thing. On Friday night, we’re having a Court Avenue celebration with about 10 bands. It will be like a blues festival.’’

Kostek said there will be fireworks Thursday "after the distance carnival at the stadium. There will be lots of fun things happening. We’re trying to make it more family-oriented as well as making it a great community event like it was in years past.’’

Of course, the winter of 2000-2001 was a lousy one in Iowa.

So, now fast-forward this to the winter of 2001-2002. It was one of the warmest, snow-free winters in Iowa history.

"My parents were able to get to one game here this year, too,’’ McDonald said.

But the timing wasn’t the best.

"They saw the Southern Illinois game this season—probably my worst game of the season,’’ McDonald said.

McDonald, a first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference player with a 17.5 average, scored a season-low five points against the Salukis.

"It didn’t bother me that my parents were here, but it bothered me that I had a bad game,’’ McDonald said.

Earlier in the season, McDonald’s parents saw him play in Drake’s 73-68 victory over Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla. In that game, he scored 20 points.

Like now.

Like yesterday.

Like tomorrow.

The reporter for the Springfield, Mo., newspaper who covered Drake’s basketball game against Southwest Missouri State last weekend said he had a 5 ½-hour driving trip ahead of him after he wrote his account of the game, which ended at 9 p.m. at the Knapp Center.

The guy planned to make half the drive Saturday night, the other half Sunday.

He took it for granted he had to drive. Flying was out of the question because of the costs and because he worked for a newspaper owned by the tight-fisted Gannett Co.

The paper went a month without sending a reporter on the road for Southwest Missouri’s games.

Of course, that parallels the situation at the Register (also a Gannett paper), which has been staffing very few Drake road games this season.

Jeff Olson, who has been covering the Bulldogs’ games, was told he could go to Omaha for Monday night’s Creighton game only if he didn’t stay in a motel afterward.

I assume Olson followed the directive. After all, we wouldn’t want the paper to have to pick up the tab for a room at the Super 8 for a tired sportswriter.

Speaking of the Register, sportswriter Megan Manfull—who did a very good job of covering Iowa’s football team last fall—is leaving the paper at the end of March. She was recently married, and will join her husband in Houston. Manfull’s husband, Jesus Ortiz, covers the Astros for the Houston Chronicle

More about the Register….

Marv Braverman, Jerry Szumski and Dave Witke—all of them veterans in the paper’s newsroom—have accepted buyouts and will also be leaving the paper at the end of March.

All are talented. Witke, in particular, is an outstanding newspaperman who has held a number of high-profile jobs at the Register, and has been treated unfairly there—most recently when he was pressured out of his job as sports editor by former editor Dennis Ryerson several years ago.

"When they leave under an enhanced-retirement program, they will take with them a combined 120 years of irreplaceable institutional memory,’’ a memo circulated inside the paper said of the three soon-to-be-retired men. "To say they will be missed is an understatement.’’

Another talented veteran—Dave Stockdale of the sports department—declined the buyout offer and will remain at the paper.

[Ron Maly’s e-mail address is malyr@juno.com ]