So the University of Minnesota hires a new football coach, at the absurd salary of $18 million over five years. The Tribune this morning says he has an excellent record at making his players behave themselves. My father had six sons and he raised them all to behave themselves in society and to my knowledge he wasn't paid anything for his efforts, except the respect he garnered from his sons, his friends and family. Is there a logical reason why high school recruits for the university sports teams can't be told that their free education has ties and one of them is they don't get in trouble? Or is the only way this can be accomplished is to hire a coach who, by the way, is a great disciplinarian besides being a coach.
I for one have had a belly full of University sports and the money it costs to field football teams that, for all intents and purposes, have been mediocre at best and been that way for a long time. They have fired at least one coach and an athletic director, to my knowledge, over the last few years that couldn't even discipline themselves. Yet every year they're over at the Capitol to beg for more money. They have big plans right now for an athletic village and bigger and better sports facilities. There are always some problems with athletics at all schools but the U has had far more than their share.
Maybe if this state has more money for the University to spend they should earmark it for academics. After all that's what the school was intended for.
Mike Holst
\Crosslake
