Tonight the mighty Hoyas of Georgetown University will square-off against the Vanderbilt Commodores in a Sweet 16 hoops tilt.
In light of Georgetown’s dominance this season (28–6 overall, winners of 17 of their last 18, champions of the Big East Conference, and easy victors over the Commodores back in November), it’s probably a bit cruel to make Vandy face the Hoyas again. At least in the big picture, though, this is a fair match-up: both teams are from relatively small, private schools with pretty high academic standards, and both rely on voluntary fan and booster support to compete.
Unfortunately, a bit of breaking college basketball news on ESPN.com yesterday demonstrates that the latter is not always the case. The story was about Steve Alford leaving his head coaching job at the University of Iowa to take the reins at the University of New Mexico, a move many college hoops fans consider a bit of a step down. Iowa, after all, plays in the powerful Big Ten Conference, while New Mexico toils in the lesser Mountain West. So what was Alford’s inducement to trade corn for sand?
One possibility is that Alford was on his way out of Iowa anyway. He had only three NCAA Tournament appearances in eight seasons there, and not every Iowa fan exactly loved him. But, important as this might have been in Alford’s decision, it wasn’t what ESPN said ultimately attracted him to Albuquerque (it also wasn’t the city’s famed petroglyphs):
Sources said Alford was thrilled with the commitment from recently hired New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs and impressed by the university’s decision to upgrade the famed Pit, which, according to Krebs, will receive $12 million from state government for renovation. There also is hope that the figure could rise to $20 million. [Italics added]
Now, as a matter of principle, I’m against forcing taxpayers to fund entertainment venues, arenas, or any of the other “bread and circuses” projects on which politicians love to lavish public dollars. But what really makes me angry about public schools like UNM building new basketball arenas with taxpayer funds is the unfair advantage it gives those schools over little private schools like Georgetown and Vanderbilt, who need people to give them money voluntarily. Facilities have been an especially big problem at GU, where the on-campus gym seats at-most 2,500 people, forcing the team to play almost all of its home games at the downtown Verizon Center and lose lots of revenue in rent.
Of course, UNM is not the only public university where the sports teams benefit from forced taxpayer largesse. Last May, for instance, the State of Minnesota decided to pay $10.25 million per-year for 25 years to help finance a new U of M football stadium. Similarly, the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center, where the school’s basketball teams play, was financed with $10 million from the couple after whom it was named and $53 million from state taxpayers who, as always, have remained nameless.
Now, colleges and universities in general — both public and private — benefit from all kinds of tax breaks, pork projects, and government subsidies, so don’t feel too sorry for Georgetown and Vanderbilt. When it comes to big-time sports, though, recognize what private schools are up against, and perhaps root for them a little harder. And, come to think of it, maybe do feel sorry for Vanderbilt. Georgetown is going to crush them tonight.
(In the interest of full disclosure, Neal McCluskey in a Georgetown graduate and a huge Hoya fan.)
