[Vision2020] Pro football...

[Don Kaag]

Visionaries:

I know that many of you are rabid  college football fans, but I have to 
go with Bob Hoffman on this one.  We should get out of the pro football 
and basketball farm team business and back to real college kids playing 
sports because it's fun, and hang what league we're in at UI.

Once upon a time, when I was writing a regular opinion column for the 
Idahonian/Daily News.  I wanted to do a piece on college althetics, so 
I contacted the UI athetic department and asked them the following 
questions.

1.  How much do the basketball and football programs cost annually?
2.  How many of the players on the varsity squads are A)from out of 
state, and B)on full scholarship?
3.  How much do we spend on those scholarships?
4.  Of those players on full scholarships from out of state, how many 
graduate with a degree from UI?

I couldn't get any answers.  I wrote the column with what I could find 
out by asking around.  The following Saturday, the head of the UI 
athletic department called me at home and raved at me for writing an 
inaccurate column about his programs.  I explained that I had contacted 
his office and was given the runaround, but that I was willing, if he 
would answer the questions for me, to do another column retracting 
anything I had written that was inaccurate.

Although he said things like, "Idaho has a small population, and to be 
competitive we have to recruit players from out of state", and, "I have 
had fans come up to me at football games and hand me checks for $20,000 
to support the athletics programs", he never answered the questions.

I pointed out to him that there are colleges and universities that 
pretty much suck at football and basketball, but that have millions in 
endowments because alumni have dontated money to support academic 
excellence.  He laughed.

I still have the questions.  And I still don't have any answers.

Regards,

Don Kaag