Let me take a slightly different angle, gang.  All the mail I have been
getting points to the obvious:  supply and demand, coaches and teams
raking in big profits for the schools, non-union versus unionization, etc,
etc.
 
MY POINT IS:  it is sad how our society is putting more and more pressure
on schools to win at all cost.  The results are many, amongst them,
cheating, and the condoning of such.  Also buried in there is a
degradation of the primary function of the school, education.  I see both
sides of the coin, believe me, and I like mine best.  When you say "Notre
Dame" what do you think of first?  How about UCLA?  Or Georgetown?  Or
USC?  Until these types of institutions are held in high esteem for the
education and research activities they perform, it is a sad commentary on
our society and its attitudes towards edcuation.  Maybe it is worse here
in Calfornia lately, but I can tell you, it certainly does foster
resentment when the first thing that happened at Cal Poly here, when the
students voted tomove to DI (paying higher fees for that was OK, but they
were fighting the tuition increase tooth and nail in Sacramento!), we
hired a 70K per year "compliance officer" to keep us out of trouble with
the NCAA!  Now my department has not bought a new computer or any piece of
equipment in four years!  NOr has their been grader money for teaching, or
travel for meetings ..... and we have fired 20% of our faculty.
 
You tell me, sports fans.  Where is it all heading?
 
Tony Buffa
Physics Dept
Cal Poly, SLO,... gone DI when it shoulda gone DIII.