[Roberton3]

You're ignoring the political cost of keeping Lupoi.  In addition to the brobdingnagian tuition increases, the UC system has also implemented a lot of budget cuts that have really hurt faculty and staff.  So the students and parents are feeling like they're getting totally screwed financially, the faculty and staff are feeling like they're getting totally screwed financially -- and in that atmosphere, you're advocating giving a brobdingnagian raise to a total douchebag, when athletics is already losing money hand over fist?  Even if it were a great idea from a purely financial standpoint, you'll never get everyone else to believe that, so from the standpoint of university politics it would have been a disaster.

[Roberton3]

You're ignoring the political cost of keeping Lupoi.  In addition to the brobdingnagian tuition increases, the UC system has also implemented a lot of budget cuts that have really hurt faculty and staff.  So the students and parents are feeling like they're getting totally screwed financially, the faculty and staff are feeling like they're getting totally screwed financially -- and in that atmosphere, you're advocating giving a brobdingnagian raise to a total douchebag, when athletics is already losing money hand over fist?  Even if it were a great idea from a purely financial standpoint, you'll never get everyone else to believe that, so from the standpoint of university politics it would have been a disaster.