To the editor:

Do your editorial writer and chief sports writer ever compare notes? While the former claims that “Fiscal restraint at KU is welcome,” the latter suggests that KU ought to pay a salary in seven figures for its next athletic director. One modest proposal for squaring this circle to “trim $20 million from its budget” while still paying megabucks for a new AD would be to simply cancel the university’s academic programs. Instead of attending classes and studying, students and faculty could watch reruns from past seasons, develop new KU chants or help to merchandise KU sportswear, etc. … Administrators could be enlisted to change policies to attract the best student athletes to attend KU and to develop methods to increase ticket sales to sporting events (e.g., mandatory attendance for all students and faculty). The libraries could sell their collections to raise the necessary funds for the football stadium expansion. These are just a few suggestions. No doubt if we all commit ourselves, we can help KU transform itself from a poorly funded academic institution into an entertainment powerhouse.