To the editor:

The “ticket priority system” (or point system) for men’s basketball described in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal-World confirmed most of my hunches and solidified my feeling that the Kansas University athletic program has little to do with the university’s academic mission.

The only academic components of the plan include a 10-point credit for being a KU graduate and a 10-point credit for being a member of the KU Alumni Association (which, of course, is equally open to nongraduates). The plan is dominated by contributions to the Williams Fund. I note the key provision is that every $100 contribution to this fund since 1978 and into the future generates 1 point, so cumulative donations of $1,000 will garner 10 points while $10,000 will be worth 100 points.

Entirely missing from the plan is anything that encourages donations to the academic programs. Where is the credit for those who contribute to these programs through the KU Endowment Association, for example, Chancellor’s Club members who donate $1,000 or more per year or 1865 Club members who contribute $100 or more per year?

Finally, I note the discriminatory policy that provides point credits for season-ticket purchases only over the past 20 years but no longer. This stands out as a crass provision to ensure that tickets (certainly the best tickets) to the basketball games cannot be obtained without contributing major dollars to the Williams Fund.

The system was labeled as “tentative.” Let us hope that the plan is thoroughly rethought.

Marlin D. Harmony,

KU professor emeritus,

Lawrence