“What a sanctimonious crock of crap.”
That’s the succinct way a columnist at Yahoo! Sports commented about Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder’s recent diatribe against college sports.
“We’ve allowed it to become money-driven. We’ve allowed it to become TV-driven,” said Snyder. “We’ve allowed athletic programs or football programs to mean more to a university than what the university was really supposed to be all about.
“The last I heard, these were educational institutions, and that’s what it needs to be about. … It’s not driven by values. … It’s driven by dollars and cents, and that’s unfortunate,” added Snyder.
Poor Bill. The 73-year-old is barely squeaking by with his most recent $14.75 million contract extension for the next five years. He will be 78 when that one ends.
The average salary of a full-time college professor? Money magazine says it is $81, 491. A college professor would be lucky to still be around at age 65.
In reality, colleges today are shedding full-time professors as quickly as they can. The University of Kansas recently dumped more than 100 professors.
Hey, this is a school that is currently paying contracts on three football coaches costing millions of dollars. Tuition increases are an annual occurrence.
Sure, you need some to give the college some educational credibility with full-time professors, but it is much easier to hire part-time faculty around $200. per class. You don’t have to part-timer instructors any health benefits, and you can let them go on a moment’s notice.
The reality in college today is that if students give part-time profs bad evaluations they are gone. No buyout package for them.
The reality today is that colleges are not a whole lot different than any other business. The goal is to get students (customers) and do everything to keep them as paying customers for four (or more) years.
Don’t get me wrong about Snyder. I honestly feel he just might be the best college football coach ever. He took possibly the worst football program in history and turned it into a consistent winner. It was a remarkable accomplishment. It is not called the “Bill Snyder Family Stadium” for nothing.
But over the years I will guarantee there have been many, many college professors who have made major impacts on the students they have taught. We aren’t talking about football victories on a Saturday afternoon, but lifetime victories for society.
It is my contention that at most colleges with nationally recognized sports teams athletics is king and education is secondary. What is the University of Alabama known for other than football? How about Kentucky?
On the one hand I think Snyder’s rant, while hypocritical, needed to be said by someone of his stature. On the other hand, until he refuses to move a game from the afternoon to the evening to accommodate TV, or turns down a Bowl game because it will interfere with final exams, he is part of the problem.
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When most of your life involves following professional teams in either Cleveland or Kansas City, it is easy to get discouraged. One would be hard-pressed to find two cities with more pathetic teams.
In Cleveland you grew up knowing your Indians last won the World Series in 1948 (Harry Truman was president). The Cleveland Browns? The greatest running back who ever lived, Jim Brown, retired in 1965. That was nearly 50 years ago. This year Brown turned 77.
In KC it isn’t much better. Len Dawson took the Chiefs to the Super Bowl IV championship. That was more than 40 years ago. “Lenny the Cool” is 77.
In baseball, our local hero is still George Brett. The Royals star and Hall of Famer has been retired more than 20 years. He turns 60 this month.
Yes, success in KC has been lacking for several years now. But, that all could end this year in baseball and football.
The Royals have fielded one of its most promising teams in years this season. A combination of excellent pitching along with some of the top hitting prospects in baseball could actually result in a run to the playoffs.
At Arrowhead the addition of Alex Smith as the Chiefs’ quarterback and some fine draft choices will complement a talented team. This is a team that could easily make the playoffs this year.
Kansas City is a great sports town and deserves success. This could be the year when the playoffs in baseball and football are not just pipe dreams, but a real possibility.
We deserve it.
FANS MORE THAN DESERVE IT
I think we more than deserve it, John. Fans in this town have long supported the Royals and Chiefs, win or lose, since their respective heydays.
But what we deserve more, and I think we’re finally starting to see, are ownership groups who are committed to the fans, the city and the sports. When they’re “all in”, you can bet we will be too.