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Much to his credit, Gov. Joe Manchin plans to ask the National Governor's Association to reform the disgusting system in which millionaire football coaches now have professional agents, milk state-owned universities, taking far more money than university presidents and professors.
Taxpayer colleges and universities were created for education, not developing multi-million dollar sports programs and paying coaches millions of dollars.
The Charleston Gazette says Manchin's ire is high because of the shameful departure of coach Rich Rodriguez, who abandoned his West Virginia University team to take a $2.5 million post at the University of Michigan.
"There is some very, very high-priced bidding, with all the scruples taken out of the process," Manchin told Charleston sports editor Mitch Vingle. "That's happening because of agents, who are gaining on the side."
While fans are railing against Rodriguez, few have called the agents
"hired guns," or expressed discontent that public schools and universities are really suppose to be about education, not multi-million dollar football coaches and programs.
Manchin pointed out that many restrictions are imposed on unpaid athletes who risk their bodies for school glory. If a player switches to a different university, he must wait a year before playing again.
If the player takes hidden compensation, he's banned.
"Shouldn't the person who is teaching values also have to live up to values?" Manchin said.
"I'm going to see if enough governors can collectively ask the NCAA if this is truly the collegiate atmosphere we're trying to promote."
"If it's not, let's take a hard look, because something is wrong."
Only five American football coaches earned more than $1 million in 1999.
Now the number has soared to over 50, according to USA Today.
Several are making about $3 mil a year.
That doesn't include thousands of dollars in perks and benefits, such as cars and country club memberships.
Football has nothing to do with higher learning - yet it has become the most visible facet of most universities.
New York Times writer Michael Lewis said school football programs are "mainly a business," and he asked: "Why are these enterprises that have nothing to do with education and everything to do with profits exempt from paying taxes?"
He called the unpaid players "serfs," who enrich others.
Football is exciting fun for millions of Americans.
But it shouldn't dominate higher education and turn coaches into tycoons, wrote the Charleston Gazette.
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