[Husker] Beck

[George Rapp]

On 11/5/05, Pat Gaule <pgaule at cox.net> wrote:
>
> All this is moot if we don't beat Kansas State next week. And as bad as
> they Wildcats are, the entire staff deserves to be fired on the spot if
> we don't win. (won't happen because we probably don't have the money to
> buy out their contracts).
>

Pat, you brought up a salient point -- money. I imagined a bleak scenario
today: perish the thought, but let's assume that the mediocrity continues
next year. Donations to the Athletic Dept. continue to atrophy, plus the
bill for the stadium expansion comes due, and there aren't sufficient funds
to cover it, adding debt service to the athletic dept's expenses.

Then donor pressure on Perlman, or on the Regents, forces Somebody to Do
Something, and Pedersen, Callahan, and the whole staff get the boot, meaning
that the Athletic Dept. is on the hook for the contract buyouts. A bidding
war ensues, first for the next AD, then for the next coach and staff. Of
course, we don't want mediocre hires for any of these; we want superstars,
and superstars cost $$.

All these expenditures -- mostly unbudgeted -- push the Athletic Dept. very
far into the red. Instead of providing revenue back to the University, as it
has for many years, the Athletic Dept. now needs a subsidy from the U (and
thus, from the taxpayers). That's money that the University and the State
don't have, and the priorities eventually shift away from athletics. As the
money dries up, facilities don't get upgraded, compromises have to made on
hiring, recruiting suffers, and the spiral of mediocrity continues.

Sorry for the negativity, but from reading the List tonight, I see I'm not
alone ...
--
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