Covering University of Colorado sports, mostly basketball, since 2010

Friday, December 2, 2011

Quick Post: The CSU Double Standard

CSU just fired their AD.  Whatever, I could care less about the internal machinations of a 4th rate athletic department.  Would you bat an eye if Louisiana Tech changed leadership?  Nope, you wouldn't, and, yes, I equate CSU with LaTech.

I don't even want to know the new guy's name.  There's far too much information to process on a give day to waste brain matter on the name of CSU's new AD.  What I do care about, however, is the lack of outrage at the state level for the money wasted by little brother on firing an athletic director they, only a year ago, gave a 5-year extension to.  If CU tried to pull the same stunt, there would be speeches, gesticulations and legislation coming from Capitol Hill in Denver before the press conference was over.

When CU wanted favorable financing legislation passed a few years ago, it could've been held up had we fired Dan Hawkins 'cause he had 2 years remaining on his contract.  The Buffs were stuck with a lame-duck year of failing coaching because, partially, some junior legislator got their man-panties in a bunch over how much a football coach was going to get paid to do nothing. 

Where's the same consternation over the Lambs blowing money on an executive who will no longer be execut-izing?  I won't exactly hold my breath.  CU bears the brunt of the war between the people who understand sports role in higher education, and those who are confused how 50,000 paying ticket holders and donors would help a university that is consistently underfunded by a state that pretends to care about higher education.  CSU gets a pass, and the state will happily allow them to blow tax-payer dollars because they aren't attached to the stigma of being Boulder Libruls.

I guess it's part of the burden of being the state's educational standard bearer, but, from time to time, I wish the hypocrites on the hill would hold CSU to the same standard.  The state of Alabama has the right idea, I should be allowed the option of not spending my tax dollars on that waste of a university and their pathetic excuse for an athletic department.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are actually only using donor money, and no state funding. You probably missed that part of the article though since you Thought it was LaTech.

Sincerely,
An Educated Buffs Fan.

RumblinBuff said...

And we were going to use donor money to fire Hawk.

This is still part of a larger pattern where CSU gets a pass while CU gets the political talking-to every 5 seconds.

-- Thanks for reading

Aaron Jordan said...

Dear Anonymous,

RumblinBuff mentioned in his article, about the group of individuals that don't understand what sports bring to higher education, and one of the things he pointed out was that donor money comes into the institution through sports. Whether it be direct or indirect support for the university, it's student athletes or just students, it's support for the university.

Imagine you take away that donor money, now the university spends tuition/state money on building a new law building (for instance the new law building at CU that was paid for by Football funds).

RumblinBuff is simply talking about a double standard coming from Colorado's government. CU is chastised for firing Hawkins with 2 years on his contract, because even though CU will use donor money to pay off Hawkins that money could have gone to the institution. However when CSU does it with a 5 year contract, nobody says a word.

Sincerely,

A Buff Fan (I will let my peers and history decide if I am educated, because claiming one is educated is contradictory to the idea of being educated)

RumblinBuff said...

What happens when those donors paying off Kowalczyk's 4-year golden parachute are asked to donate for some on-campus project? Do they double down on donations this year, or do they say 'no', forcing CSU to ask taxpayers for capital construction funds?

In the end it's all convenient book-making, and we're all paying for it in the end. I'm not saying it isn't needed or justified; Fairchild was a failure. I just want the same braying jackasses to light up when CSU does this as did when we wanted to fire Hawk in '09.

--

CSU fired Coach Fairchild and hired a search firm for a combined total of $600k according to the Loveland paper. Is that coming from donor funds too (haven't heard, but I doubt it; even fewer deep, willing pockets in FoCo than there are in Boulder)? I'll also bet money that the next coach makes more than Coach Fairchild, including a signing bonus, that's more taxpayer dollars being flushed down the drain.