[gailtate]

No, he doesn’t.  The Leland years were pretty lean for football, but at least we had Mike Montgomery and basketball (though I think he was a Geiger hire).  Regardless, though, Leland never had NCAA tier 1 sanctions, never had a scandal that saw a coach be sentenced to jail (1 day, but still), never tried to cancel sports, and then backtrack, and never presided over a sprawling deficit.

But the proble, as Phogge noted, starts above Muir.  MTL and Drell would be fine if there weren’t a div 1 athletics program at Stanford.  At least when Gerhart Casper was puzzled by the concept of collegiate athletics, his Provost was a phenomenal sports fan who is still talked about as a possible NFL commissioner.  Without an ally at the top, Muir’s replacement, though likely not to continue to dig holes, will still be limited in what they can accomplish.

BC

Stanford has always been more inclined towards putting a platonic arm around big-time sports rather than a full-frontal embrace. Think Robin Mamlet (ugly thought I know). So far, I see MTL and P. Drell as the Axis of Benign Neglect for the future of FB and MBB. Depressing. The world doesn't need another Harvard or CalTech. It does need a full-bore Stanford.

[gailtate]

No, he doesn’t.  The Leland years were pretty lean for football, but at least we had Mike Montgomery and basketball (though I think he was a Geiger hire).  Regardless, though, Leland never had NCAA tier 1 sanctions, never had a scandal that saw a coach be sentenced to jail (1 day, but still), never tried to cancel sports, and then backtrack, and never presided over a sprawling deficit.

But the proble, as Phogge noted, starts above Muir.  MTL and Drell would be fine if there weren’t a div 1 athletics program at Stanford.  At least when Gerhart Casper was puzzled by the concept of collegiate athletics, his Provost was a phenomenal sports fan who is still talked about as a possible NFL commissioner.  Without an ally at the top, Muir’s replacement, though likely not to continue to dig holes, will still be limited in what they can accomplish.

BC

Stanford has always been more inclined towards putting a platonic arm around big-time sports rather than a full-frontal embrace. Think Robin Mamlet (ugly thought I know). So far, I see MTL and P. Drell as the Axis of Benign Neglect for the future of FB and MBB. Depressing. The world doesn't need another Harvard or CalTech. It does need a full-bore Stanford.