(10-31-2024, 12:25 PM)TonyLima Wrote: Re dissolution of the Pac-12, iirc the board of directors was the 12 university presidents. With rare exceptions (John Hennessy comes to mind), they are ill-equipped to run athletic programs.
Agreed, 100%. And not only are they ill-equipped to run the programs, some senior administrators are particularly discinclined to support the athletic part of the overall University mission and may, in fact, view top-flight athletics to be deleterious to the overall brand -- particularly football. Without persistent, consistent support over the years and decades, particularly at a program that faces the challenges that Stanford faces, the program will suffer and wither.
From my perspective, if it's worth doing at a place like Stanford, it's worth striving to be the best. And may I suggest that a not insubstantial portion of the high school seniors applying to Stanford are attracted by its very unique combination of extraordinary academics and athletics? Keeping a competitive football team in place keeps the acceptance rate ridiculously low and the yield ridiculously high.
Audaces fortuna iuvat