December 16, 2009 5:45 AM

'Course, I wouldn't pay God $5 million a year

An unofficial resolution passed by Texas' Faculty Council declares the football coach's $5 million pay package to be "unseemly and inappropriate." Unfortunately, he couldn't hear them as he was trapped under a suitcase full of $50 bills.

I'll admit to being a HUGE fan of UT football. No, I'm not an alum, but during my 10 years in Texas, I pretty much became addicted to Longhorn football. I suppose one national championship and the possibility of another will do that.

Outside of football, the UT athletics department has become a self-supporting cash cow, profitable in a way and to a degree that's the envy of athletic directors from coast to coast. This success hasn't come without detractors, though, especially in the light of last week's news that Coach Mack Brown will be making $5 million a year...to coach football. As much as I love Longhorn football, even I'm struggling with this one.

Even though no tax dollars go to fund the UT athletic department, the symbolism created by Brown's salary is difficult to ignore. The UT Faculty Council approved a resolution calling Brown's compensation package to be "unseemly and inappropriate"...and who can really argue with the way that sentiment? In a down economy that's driven up tuition costs and priced some out of a college education, the University of Texas is paying their football coach $5 million?? And it's not as if Brown was undercompensated prior to this raise. By some calculations, he was making $3 million per year. I could deal....

If anyone needed a reminder that Division I college football has as much to do with education as Sarah Palin does with principled governance, this should suffice. Whether or not Brown's salary is paid with tax dollars (which it's not) or money generated by the UT athletic department, paying a football coach $5 million a year in a down economy just sends the wrong message. Rightly or wrongly, the message created by Brown's compensation is that the University of Texas values success on the football field over success in the classroom and the research lab. While I certainly don't fault Brown for accepting the offer (Who among us would turn down that kind of money?), even he has to understand the negative symbolism created by his salary.

Wow...things really ARE bigger in Texas...and, at least in this case, that's not a good thing.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on December 16, 2009 5:45 AM.

Me? I'm eagerly awaiting the Second Coming of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.... was the previous entry in this blog.

This is what happens when you mix Republicans and household chemicals is the next entry in this blog.

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