Pardon me while I snicker.

As a group, I’m sure that most college presidents are smart, wonderful people with the proper perspective on academics. But as CEOs of their athletic programs, I wouldn’t let most of them out of my sight. Owners of major league baseball teams have a better track record than these guys do recently.

Look at the farce going on at Alabama right now. Or the inevitable round of coaches using the hiring process to squeeze out more in salaries or facilities. Honestly, though, none of this should be begrudged in a free market; nobody is holding a gun to any college president’s head. And who’s to say, given the level of performance and profitability that he’s taken his program to, that someone like Mark Richt isn’t worth every penny he gets?

Enter Myles Brand:

… During a session at the annual Street & Smith’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum here, Brand and other panelists were asked what they thought would be the most important story to follow in the upcoming year.

“Coaches’ contracts,” said Brand, who added “agents have the upper hand” now and schools may need outside help negotiating these deals. Antitrust laws bar the NCAA from setting salary limits.

Those pesky antitrust laws! Don’t you just know what the NCAA wishes it could do right now…

By the way, here’s what has Mr. Brand and others of his ilk so concerned:

SALARY DATABASE: See what NCAA football coaches make

I wonder how much of this stems from basic jealousy. It sure would be interesting to see a chart comparing college football coaches’ salaries at D-1 schools with college presidents’ salaries.

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UPDATE: Wonder what Mr. Brand thinks of this offer.

 

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