Our new President Eric Kaler can best serve students and taxpayers by drastically downsizing the athletics department. I challenge any Minnesota Daily reader to tell me what big-time, intercollegiate athletics has to do with the UniversityâÄôs purported primary mission of education.
Just before giving athletics director Joel Maturi a âÄúmaroon and goldâÄù parachute, Kaler was begging the legislature for more money for education. The athletics department was also caving into demands from the Vikings to install heating coils for the TCF Bank Stadium turf, just in case they have to play there. The fact of the matter is the University or the Legislature or maybe the Daily itself needs to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the athletics department, then decide whether the program should be continued at its current level, be downsized or even be abolished. We need some true public input on this costly question.