Ohio University is now bowl eligible
and must give significant thought on how to cough up an estimated $350 000 to cover the team's expenses if picked for a bowl game. We anticipated today's editorial beginning a little something like this: With the Bobcats' win on Saturday afternoon in front of adoring parents
Ohio University is now bowl eligible
and must give significant thought on how to cough up an estimated $350
000 to cover the team's expenses if picked for a bowl game.
Maybe we got a little bit ahead of ourselves.
For President Roderick McDavis, however, this loss might be a blessing in disguise. It gives him at least another week to map out how OU could dig up more funds for Athletics.
The current lack of a plan leaves us more than a bit uneasy. When asked last week where the funds for this trip would come from, McDavis said he does not know.
We'd like to point out these are expenditures the school can anticipate ahead of time. The Bobcats' success on the football field this year might be somewhat surprising, but the thought of paying for a bowl trip should not catch the school's president off guard.
Unfortunately, this game's potential price tag is a prime example of OU's attitude toward Athletics. Like college kids who simply run up tabs on Court Street during the weekend and wait for their parents to send more money, Athletics knows it will be taken care of in the end no matter what it spends.
We understand Athletics Director Jim Schaus' excitement about the Bobcats' playing in front of a much wider audience. It's a great opportunity to showcase our athletes' years of hard work. That said, he's completely wrong about students' concerns for how OU is spending their money.
It's great for the campus
great for student-athletes
great for alumni
it's a wonderful thing
Schaus said. People shouldn't be focused in on the cost of the bowl. That's looking at everything half-empty instead of half-full.
If we're the pessimists for wondering how a cash-strapped university that makes repeated cuts to academics can afford to run up the credit bill some more, well, somebody has to play that role. Maybe the director of Athletics should share that concern as well.
