I am writing in response to the letters written by Willard B. Shapira and Judy Grandbois. I think it is preposterous to imply that athletics are going to be the undoing of our great university.

First, the sale of TCF Bank Stadium is not plausible. It is not nearly big enough to house an NFL team.

Second, intramural athletics are great, and we have them, but extermination of the athletic programs? Every university in America has an athletics program; I find it hard to believe that everyone is wrong. Athletics give a university identity and bring the student body together.

Finally, the so called “terrible waste of money” generates revenue and excitement, which creates revenue. Do you think more people are buying shirts for the hockey team or for the College of Science and Engineering? Athletics are the glue of any good institution and eliminating them would be a travesty. We have been playing sports here for over a century and yet, somehow, the University of Minnesota has survived.