in how not to manage an athletic program. While making more money in sports is certainly not the #1 mission of any university, in Maryland's case it is now a prioritized goal of the school just to recover the amounts already loaned by the school to the department to cover deficits. Maryland is the poster child for the athletic tail wagging the university dog which got them deep in a financial hole years ago. The bad decisions by Debbie Yow, and even some prior to her arrival, would take far more time and space than we have here to appropriately chronicle.

In steps the consummate opportunist, little Wally Loh. He couldn't get to the top chair at a Big Ten School moving through the ranks so he moves on to Maryland. He has no clue about managing the far flung activities of a major university and makes several missteps academically and athletically upon his arrival at Maryland. Along comes Jim Delaney with his Big Ten checkbook and suddenly Loh sees the promised land. He not only gets Big Ten money but, magically fulfills his lifelong dream of being a Big Ten president by sliding in the back door at night. During all this he is still making decisions that effect athletics and doing the impossible by making the athletic situation even worse despite the Big Ten money windfall. Maryland alums as well as Maryland taxpayers should be demanding a wholesale housecleaning from the top(Board of Regents) down. It is pretty astounding that a university like Maryland can be in the position it is in considering the advantages it has enjoyed over the years including geography(proximity to the Beltway and DC research money machine), corporate ties(Under Armour, United Communications, etc.), major conference membership(ACC and now Big Ten) and a host of powerful and politically connected alumni.