I’m fairly surprised at the “qualifications” of some of the people the state has voted to put in charge of the U of N system. 🤔. This is a business and not a charity or club.
There are a few on the BOR that make sense but man there are some head scratchers in there. One of whom has a bio that reads like a laundry list of political activities. All of that is to say that I can see a number of them taking a stance on a topic based on a ‘principle’ and too naive to see the obvious bigger picture.
For example, voting against further investment in athletics BECAUSE the U is running a $53m deficit. It is an academic institution after all! And how can we spend that much on sports while academics are suffering?
If ever there was an example of the tail wagging the dog, college football is the best one. Like the vast majority of universities, UofN’s success and financial stability is hugely influenced by athletics, TV rights, licensing, etc. ….not the other way around. While one can’t survive without the other, athletics plays a far bigger role in their mutual survival.
Im confident a few members of our BOR have misguided beliefs that academics are what is driving the direction of the University.
It’s upside down from a principled perspective, but it’s fact. The BOR need to do everything they can to make athletics successful here as it will attract enrollment and $. See Alabama as my test case. Research it. The facts are all there.