Federal prosecutors reportedly are eager to start recovering up to $2 million in ill-gotten gains in connection with the Kansas Athletics Inc. ticket scandal.

That’s nice, but even if they are able to collect the full $2 million, it won’t come close to compensating Kansas University for the damage this situation has done to its reputation.

Earlier this week, prosecutors asked the U.S. District Court in Wichita to order forfeiture of up to $2 million in money and property from three defendants who already have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The three — Charlette Blubaugh, former head of the KU ticket office; her husband, Tom Blubaugh, a former consultant to Kansas Athletics; and Rodney Jones, former assistant athletic director for the Williams Fund — all have agreed not to oppose the legal proceedings, in which a judge can order them to forfeit money generated illegally in the ticket scam.

How much money and property will be forfeited in the case isn’t certain. A fourth defendant, 28-year-old Kassie Liebsch, admitted receiving $100,000 in illegal proceeds from ticket sales but wasn’t included in the forfeiture filing perhaps because prosecutors believed the 2008 Toyota Camry she already had given up was the only asset she had worth pursuing. A fifth defendant, Ben Kirtland, former associate athletic director, also could be faced with a forfeiture request if he pleads guilty to conspiracy, as expected, later this month.

As both a legal and moral matter, it’s only right for these people to face some severe financial pain, as well as incarceration, for their involvement in the ticket scam. However, prosecutors and Kansas Athletics may or may not be able to recoup even the direct financial losses of the ticket scam.

What is certain, however, is that any amount of money that will be recovered is a drop in the bucket compared to the damage done to KU and its reputation by this situation. The $2 million may be a low estimate for the actual financial losses to Kansas Athletics, and the indirect losses — both to athletic and academic programs — may never be known. For instance, how many donations were waylaid because donors had lost confidence in how KU or Kansas Athletics would handle their funds?

Doing whatever is possible to reclaim property and money gained through the illegal ticket operation is fine, but it will never cover the damages suffered by KU in this case.