From: pdunn@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Patrick L Dunn)
Subject: Re: Rebuttal and the truth (was Reflections on I-AA Championship)
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 00:35:38 GMT

In article <1h9b2jINNb97@agate.berkeley.edu> dpassage@soda.berkeley.edu (David
G. Paschich) writes:
>My best friend recently graduated from Marshall University with a
>degree in math, and over her years there she told me many tales of
>how academics were consistently given the shaft in favor of athletics.
>The new stadium was built in six months.  They have been working on a
>relatively minor renovation of the science building for over six years.

Well, for a math major, she can't count very well; nor is
she destined for a career as a building contractor.  The Stadium took well over
a year to build, not counting demolition and landscaping.

AS far as the "relatively minor renovation" to the Science Building goes, the
project will double the size of the facility by constructing an entirely new
addition.  Then, the older part of the building, dedicated in the 1940's, will
be completely refurbished.  Hardly a minor renovation--more like a major 
remodeling.

Since the contracts were awarded for that project, there have been several
lawsuits with the contractors which have held up completion of the project.
You can hardly blame that on the administration--in fact, if anything, that
speaks of them wanting to assure that the work is done properly for the benefit
of the students and faculty.

>Several academic scholarship programs have been cut to the bare bones.

Academic scholorship programs were at bare bones levels long before the stadium
was built.  This is West Virginia we are talking about, a pretty poor
state--not California where your undergraduate tuition is taken care of by
state taxes.  Marshall University is lucky to get anything from the state 
legislature after WVU  gets its cut.

What did having the stadium built have to do with this?  Marshall was offered a
football stadium, not money for physical plant improvements in general.  And,
considering that the old stadium had been condemned in the early-1960's as
unsafe, that part of it collapsed several years ago (luckily, no one was there
at the time), and that the entire west side had to be demolished in 1984 and
replaced with 'temporary' seating, I think that Marshall was damned lucky to
get it when they did--before several hundreds or thousands of people were
injured or killed.  Or did your freind neglect to tell you that?

But, I guess that they could have just dropped football to begin with, right?
Please refer to my original post.

>Athletic scholarships in the major sports, football and mens' basketball,
>are still fully funded.

That is because the athletic programs at Marshall are
fully self-supporting.  And, what supports them? Revenue from evil men's
basketball and heinous football.  You can't draw revenue if you don't have a
place to sell tickets for people to sit--like a new stadium.  Seems to me,
considering this, that the new stadium is going to free up money that would
have been used to fund scholarships in athletics, and it can now be used for
other things at the university.

Did your freind mention that since 1982, Marshall has dropped wrestling,
swimming and diving, men's tennis, and women's golf?  How embarrasing for a
university so dedicated to athletic prowess!!

>Several students in one particular science program have not been able
>to graduate for two years because the department has not had the
>funding to give a class these students need to graduate.

Which program, and which class?  if you are going to try to make points,
people appreciate clarity and specificity.

>To me, Marshall University represents not the best of college football,
>as Mr Dunn would imply, but the worst.

And just where did I say that?  Not only are you taking liberties with the
truth, which is not unusual for most posters who have to rely on the opinions,
or at best half-truths, of best freinds, but you are attempting to put words in
my mouth.  That is just flatly rude.

>The athletic program has been
>consistently favored over academic programs at a university where the
>academics quite often weren't much to shout about to start with.

For the first part of that statement, see above.

For the seond part of that statement, I am a Ph.D. candidate at one of the
finest Universties on the face of the earth.  I got there largely because of
the hard work and the fine education I received at Marshall University, I am
quite well prepared because of the education that I received at that
institution.  When you have acheived this status in life, you may make another
comparison and then tell me that the school I did my undergrad at is nothing to
shout about.  As for right now, you are talking out your ass and as far as your

freind goes, if she was so unhappy with Marshall, why didn't she transfer?
>I congratulate the players on the football team on their success.

Ooooh--that sounds soooo sincere.

>I do not congratulate the administration of Marshall for making it
>possible at the expense of the student body at large.

Sounds more like they didn't listen to opinions and immaterial priorities of 
one uninformed and clueless math major who was not a football fan.  The vast 
majority of the student body was rabidly in favor of the stadium project.

>David Paschich

You have every right to epress your opinion, Mr. Paschich.  You also have the
undeniable right to make an ass out of yourself in a public forum by talking
about something you know very little about.  You have done both admirably.

PDunn
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college