First of all, everyone, Jack did not write that, it was me!  Either I or a
glitch in theis system attributed my opinions to him.  I apologise!
 
You penalize the institution by money, yes.  You say, okay, if this team is
good enough to go to the playoffs, the institution does not receive money
from the NCAA to pay for this honor.  You tell that institution that although
the team may be seen on television, the institution may not profit from these
contracts.  How long these restrictions hold true could be related to the
severity of the violations.
 
Yes I do not feel Maine was penalized in proportion to their sins.  One of
the reasons there were so many of these little piddly penalties was directly
related to updating the compliance department.  That process alone uncovered
many of the things we were penalized for.  Whose fault is it that the
compliance system was inadequte to catch these problems before?  Was it Kevin
White?  Was it Mike Ploszek?  I say it is ultimately the taxpayers of Maine
who consistently underfund our land grant University, making it difficult if
not impossible to keep up with the times.  Just look at the equipment some of
the academic departments are forced to use, although it is hopelessly
outdated.
 
Yes, I feel strongly that this present team should not be bearing the brunt
of ten years of violations.  These young men were kicked for telling the
truth, and it seems to me no where in that decision was there acknowledgment
and reward for that integrity.  I have been accused of living in an Andy
Hardy world, but I sincerely feel that should have happened.  Justice should
have prevailed.  I can't see any here.
 
Yes, the air is different.  There's a wind blowing.  Hopefully by next fall,
all this will be only brought to our attention when we acknowledge our
present compliance system, in all it's comprehensive excellence, and
remember, like veterans of some war, what it cost to get us here.
 
Now, this is signed by me, not Jack!
 
Cathy Hart