To the editor:

As suggested in a recent sports editorial, Mr. Keegan thinks that the solution to KU’s football woes is to fire the athletic director.

With all due respect to Mr. Keegan, firing the athletic director or the head coach is not the solution. KU has tried that route for the past 50 years and it hasn’t worked. KU has gone through nine athletic directors and 10 football coaches since 1966.

It is time to stop putting the blame on the athletic directors or the head coaches. Football teams succeed primarily because of outstanding athletes. Outstanding athletes are recruited by many programs. All opposing coaches have to do is to show the half-empty Memorial stadium or Journal-World articles calling for the firing of the AD or head coach to deter a player from coming to KU. Allen Fieldhouse is a great recruiting tool because of its electricity and crowd support. Memorial Stadium is the opposite because the lack of those two elements. Before ANY coach or ANY athletic director can succeed at KU for a long period of time, the fans have to show up and help the team.

I don’t buy the “win and they will come” argument (Coach Mason had the Jayhawks ranked near the Top 10 in 1995 and when Nebraska came in, half the stadium was red). In reality it is “come, be loud, and they will win.” Fans, the solution is to show up and CHEER LOUD for our team regardless of the outcome of the game.