A Grip on Sports: Is playing college sports at the highest level truly a responsibility for a school or just an ego-driven desire?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s Friday. Thanks be to the calendar. And what do we do on Friday, other than look toward the weekend? Not much. Usually. Today is a bit different. All because we read to the end of a story.
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• Yes, we will get to the TV schedule for the weekend. After all, there is a lot of baseball, a big horse race and the NBA and NHL finals. That’s plenty.
But before we get there, we want to ask a question. Not a rhetorical one, which is our forte. An existential one. An essential one. About responsibility.
Recently appointed Arizona athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois was part of a presentation Thursday before the state’s Board of Regents. The keynote speaker was Big 12 commissioner Brent Yormark, who outlined not only his view of college athletics’ future but also the cost and the payback.
Athletics “drives enrollment, it drives philanthropy,” Jon Wilner reported Yormark telling the board. “I would impress upon you to lean in, to be a resource in every way possible.”
Let’s say we agree with Yormark, though many on the academic side would not. We grant the premise athletics serves as the university’s front porch. Any university. It’s a gateway. But there was something Reed-Francois said a bit later we take issue with. See, Reed-Francois told the regents, “We have a responsibility to compete at the highest level.”
Really? A “responsibility?” Where is that written? The university’s handbook? State law?
Universities are responsible for educating students. They are responsible for keeping them safe. For preparing them for their future. But for having their athletic teams “compete at the highest level?” That’s not a responsibility. It’s a choice. And when that choice begins to chip away at the core responsibilities, maybe it’s time to look in the mirror.
How does one know when it’s time for a change? Simple. Cost. Budget deficits for athletic departments are the norm on the “highest level.” But even that multimillion dollar evidence can be dismissed through the front-porch argument. Such deficits are basically marketing expenses for the rest of the university.
Is that the responsibility to which Reed-Francois was referring? If so, shouldn’t there be strong empirical evidence that schools like Arizona or California or Washington State are actually seeing an adequate return on such unfathomable amounts of spending? It’s not out there. If it were, then the deficits wouldn’t exist. Competing at “the highest level” would seemingly lead to a payoff at “the highest level.” If it isn’t, then why not scale back? Especially when the future Yormark described is going to be exponentially more expensive.
Ego? Tradition? Fear? We’re not sure why, but there isn’t enough discussion being had on if the cost of doing college athletics’ business today, and certainly tomorrow, is really worth it.
But we are certain it’s not “a responsibility.”
• The highest level of TV watching this weekend? We would posit it isn’t just the NBA Finals, which began Thursday night with a 107-89 Celtic victory over Dallas. We would add in the soap opera that is the Los Angeles Lakers’ open head coaching position and the team’s pursuit of Connecticut’s Dan Hurley. Pop some popcorn and see if this quest turns out better than when the franchise pursued UNLV’s Jerry Tarkanian or Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. Epic fails both.
If Boston’s pursuit of a record 18th NBA title doesn’t excite you, then how about Edmonton trying to become the first Canadian team since Montreal in 1993 to win the NHL crown? That series begins Saturday (5 p.m., ABC) in Miami.
The NBA returns Sunday night (5) on the same network.
The Mariners, fresh off another series win, are in Kansas City for three games against the rejuvenated Royals. All three are on Root Sports, with tonight’s game starting at 5:10, Saturday’s at 1:10 p.m. and Sunday’s finale at 11:10 a.m.
There is other baseball too. The NCAA’s best-of-three Super Regionals begin today, though the two West Coast schools still involved, Oregon State and Oregon, don’t start until Saturday. The Beavers are at Kentucky (3 p.m., ESPNU) and the Ducks at Texas A&M (11 a.m., ESPN2).
The other highlights this weekend include the Belmont (1 p.m. Saturday, Fox, with post time at 3:41), French Open finals (women Saturday starting at 6 a.m. on NBC, the men Sunday at the same time and network), the Memorial golf tournament, a tune-up for next week’s U.S. Open, on CBS each day, and the NCAA track and field championships (ESPN throughout the weekend).
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WSU: Anne McCoy continued her tour around the state, sitting down with the Seattle Times yesterday. The big news? The Cougs’ interim athletic director (and the right choice for the permanent position) believes the Apple Cup needs to continue. … We cover the Cougars’ WCC opponents in the Gonzaga section below. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, we have Wilner’s coverage of the Arizona regents’ meeting – the Tucson paper covered them too – as well as a West Coast football recruiting summary he passes along weekly. … One more thing. He examines Oregon’s poor APR performance and the danger the Ducks face from the NCAA. It’s not too worrisome. … The numbers stories continue for Oregon. … Oregon State also learned its men’s WCC basketball opponents. The Beavers and WSU will play once, in Corvallis. … Utah added a basketball assistant with a lot of Big 12 experience. … The Super Regionals on the road are old hat for the Beavers. As is the World Series. … The latter hasn’t happened for Oregon since 1954. … We have track and field championship stories from Oregon. … Oklahoma’s softball dynasty rolled on, with a two-game sweep of Texas in the finals. The Sooners have won four consecutive NCAA tournaments. … A former Washington pitcher will try to help Oklahoma State upend their in-state rivals next season.
Gonzaga: The WCC on Friday released the men’s basketball opponents for next season. The Zags and Washington State, which haven’t played since 2015, will meet twice. Theo Lawson has more in this story.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, there are stories about the NCAA track and field meets from Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona. … A trio of Idaho State football players are holding a camp for the area’s youth players.
Indians: Kyle Karros does what he does – drive in runs – and Spokane ended its three-game losing streak by rallying for a 9-4 win over Hillsboro. Dave Nichols was at Avista Stadium and has this game story. … Elsewhere in the league, Eugene held its ground, winning at Tri-City 4-2. … Everett handled visiting Vancouver 5-1.
MMA: Spokane’s Melissa Amaya is part of an all-women’s fight card Saturday in Miami. Charlotte McKinley has more on her bout with France’s Samantha Jean-Francois in this story.
Seahawks: The NFC West is loaded with outstanding rushing attacks. … The Hawks are about add another quarterback to the roster.
Mariners: Bryan Woo made his first start in Oakland against his hometown A’s. He was almost perfect as the M’s earned a 3-0 victory. It was a great way for Woo to return to the Bay Area, where he grew up rooting for the Athletics. … A couple of Mariners are on this Athletic list of players not seeing offensive results that correspond to their usual metrics. … Ty France, human pin cushion.
Kraken: There is a Spokane connection to the Stanley Cup Finals. Of course there is. Dan Thompson has this story on Derek Ryan, who, with Edmonton, is making his first appearance in the finals. And, yes, it has been a long journey from ice rinks in Spokane to the NHL’s biggest stage. … The Oilers are trying to do something no Canadian team has done in three decades. But they are not Canada’s Team.
Sonics: The opening game wasn’t close. The Celtics dominated throughout. … The NBA’s next TV contract probably won’t include TNT. And that comes with an economic cost.
Horse racing: We were all in with Resilience in the Derby. It disappointed. But we’re ready to double down in the Belmont. Does that make us resilient? Or stupid?
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• Having a yet-to-heal 4-inch incision at your waistline certainly limits one’s golf swing. So does a 5-pound lifting limit. Just when it would be so nice to hit the links. Planning ahead isn’t something we do all that well and it’s showing itself once again. Until later …