I love the way Richard writes. He is humorous and has a strong command of
vocabulary and structure. So strong that what I have to say will hardly stay
in the mind of the reader as long as his last correspondence. I agree with
much of what he said pertaining to the library but must take issue with his
comments on athletics.

I watched as Kansas State outgrew the University of Kansas Marching Band in
three years. The reason.... BOWL GAMES! If you were in the K-state band you
knew you were going to travel. If you were in the KU band you knew you were
going to perform for half filled stadiums and be partially blamed for almost
every loss. Basketball was a different situation. I had over 100 students try
out for 32 Men's Basketball spots every year...and...they had to have spent
one year playing in the women's basketball band before they would even be
eligible to try out. K- State was not so lucky. But... strong athletics does
not just make the band directors job easier...it makes your job easier as
well.

Money spent on successful coaches is an investment and should be placed in the
black...not the red. Yes we get loads of grants and gifts from the public but
I would challenge someone to state that it would not increase if we had more
"W's." How many of you actually think that the majority of students pick their
institution solely for academic reasons? Further, successful teams lend to a
more socially active student body and a more socially active student body is a
happier student body. I have learned that the best recruiter for my program is
happy students. When the babies are happy... momma's happy.

Positive Exposure equals excellence in the mind of the public. Winning teams
get television, kids watch television, parents watch television. Kids and
parents rarely attend the lectures of famous (to us) academics. Ask our own
population how much money was endowed to UTC or who the last two prize winning
speakers were and I doubt you will get an answer that is close to correct (you
may be lucky to find someone who can define endowment in non sexual terms).
Ask whether we had a winning or losing season and I would be willing to bet
that they would know.

The public likes a winner, the public backs a winner, the public rarely asks
how much the winner knows. Is this right? I hardly think so. Is it pandering
to public interests? Probably. Should we try to fix it? yes. Can it be fixed?
Only if all Universities suddenly decide to keep playing but stop keeping
score.

My argument will not change any minds but I just wanted to make it clear that
not all professors are against high salaries for coaches. The fact may be that
no single professor will ever be famous enough or interest the student
population enough to have the effect on a university the way a winning coach
can. Further, I would hate to have the public second guessing every decision,
lesson, lecture I made all week long on talk radio. (they hit me about once a
week as it is). These people earn their salaries. They put up with more crap
than any of us and the expectations are higher and perhaps more unrealistic
than any of the rest of us have to face. I would not have their job for what
they get paid (unless I was really good at it). Think what Knoxville just did
with the Men's basketball coach. They lose a coach with a winning record
because he can't win the "big games." Yet, this guy had a great record...
where were they at the end of last year? Every year someone brings up tossing
Roy Williams out of KU because he can't win the big one...... what?........ A
nicer man and better coach I have yet to work with, a truly wonderful human
being. Yet...the public cries... WIN OR GET OUT! This is no job for the timid.

I hope they have the foresight to give Sloan what he needs to get the best
coach money can buy... I thought the world of Don and still do....but since
they have decided to replace him they need to give Sloan the reigns and let
him do his job. If we need to change the local monetary measurement from
Lexans to Ferrari's I'll be first in line to cash my check that would be equal
to the price of the lug nuts.

stuart

Stuart M. Benkert
Director of Athletic Bands
Associate Director of Bands
423/425-4736