I just can’t seem to allow myself to not be supremely angry about the last two games, and at this point I would be extremely disappointed in the male resident of 29 Park Place if he weren't as well.  The unit over which his highest paid employee presides is in a vicious death spiral, and it is completely unacceptable.  It is no less egregious than if one of the best academic units on campus, say Scott Titsworth and the Scripps College of Communication, had gone from a national powerhouse to hanging on the precipice of losing its accreditation.  Neither is acceptable, but what makes this worse is that:

1.       The leader and much of his staff are among the highest paid employees of the university.

2.       They have openly admitted they had done a particularly poor job of leading their direct reports (the players), and seem at a loss for how to right the ship.

3.       85 scholarship student athletes are having their scholarships paid in large part by the student body, whom they represent on the field of battle.

4.       And seemingly, the senior captains are responding to their poor performance with a laissez faire attitude of “you know what, it happens”. (direct quote)

Bullshit “it happens”!  You are representing yourselves, 105 student athletes, 200,000 alumni, faculty, staff, and the best you can come up with is an “awe, shucks, we’ll go get ‘em next time”!  Poppycock!  Show some pride in your work ethic.  Exhibit some semblance of camaraderie and intestinal fortitude.  I may not have been a football player at the collegiate level, but I know a lot about leadership and teamwork, and I wouldn't hire these senior leaders for even an entry level position after they have exhibited this lack of guts and stamina.

After a day off today to lick their wounds, I would be extremely disappointed if there weren't an intervention by Rod with Schaus, Frank, the staff and the team to have a one way and strongly worded lecture of “what the Sam Hill is going on in this unit and how the hell are you going to fix it in the next six days”.  This “window to the University” is fractured, and Rod cannot allow this embarrassment to continue to fester for the last two games.  

We have invested the budget and resources at this point in time that a debacle of this magnitude should never happen, and at this point I would respect Steve Hays and Dave Ridpath for going on a rampage regarding ROIC in athletics considering the results of the last two weeks.

Do you think an academic unit of the university would be allowed to perform at such a minuscule and embarrassing level for a significant period of the academic year?  Hell No!  Both academics and athletics need to be as accountable as the other, and someone needs to take this bull by the horns immediately.  I don’t care if it means allowing the fifth year seniors to take the last two weeks off if their hearts aren't in it, so long as the athletes on the field are willing to show some resolve and at least attempt to fight when “things just kind of snowball(ed) on us”, as Frank has been keen to explain the last two weeks.

With great resources and great power come great responsibility, and unacceptable performance is not acceptable when the University and the student community have made this kind of an investment in this product.

Last Edited: 11/13/2013 1:06:15 PM by D.A.