35.9 million!
How many young people could we send to college for 35.9 million?

How many people could have good medical care?
How many people could we feed?

Could 35.9 million produce the technolgy for less polluting cars and help getting us off oil?
Guess we shouldn’t think that way. The rich need to be pampered and it’s our duty to except those facts.

It’s easy to get caught up in class envy. I hope Mr. Guardian and his loyal readers can resist the impulse.

Yeah, it would be SWEET to have a paid-for-life luxury skybox to look down from, on the mighty Broncos and the crawling hordes of common rabble. And indeed, it will be the well-heeled (and/or influential) who enjoy those lofty perches. (Does anybody think the Board will say “no” to the proposal? Highly unlikely.)

But bear in mind… the expansion is NOT a gift to the Jack Simplots and Steve Appletons of the community. The $28 million will be repaid by them. And the Athletic Department is sitting on a wad of cash, due to the success of the football program. (And the sold-out bleachers, TV contracts, etc., which have resulted.) Why not invest it in an improvement to the facility? Is there any reason to think it won’t pay for itself, many times over, as long as the Broncos keep winnin’?

Yeah, $36 million could pay for a lot of feedin’ and doctorin’ and book-learnin’. (Advance new low-emission vehicle technology? Not likely.) But eventually we’ll get a Miss America who will take care of all that stuff. GO BRONCOS!!! (/sarcasm)

Guardian: Your open question about “adult beverages” is truly intriguing. It will be VERY interesting to see if the strict no-alcohol policy is relaxed for the mucky-mucks. (And if so, to watch ’em try to spin it so it’s palatable to all the poor and sober fans down below.)

From what I heard the president of BSU state recently is that most of the suites are already sold and thats where some of that cash came from.

I for one think the sports at schools are a good thing, beats having the kids sit around getting fat.

You might be surprised to know…..as I understand it, alcohol is already served in the Presidents box. But if the University wants to make BIG money and pay for all the expansion….SELL BEER AT THE STADIUM!

I’m not a real smart man, but I bet there are a few beer drinkers at Bronco Stadium.

Yup, you can drink in your dorm room (if you’re of-age).

James, don’t let BSU hear you say that their engineering alumni can’t find jobs in Idaho! Unfortunately, a lot of new graduates do have to leave the state to find work and can only return when they’re more established. But the 620 engineering students mentioned above are only about 40% of the total enrollment in the College of Engineering.

Wouldn’t it be great if there would be as much a committment to living up to the oft-repeated KBSU-tagline, “A Metropolitan Research Institute of Distinction” as there is to catering to the apparent hedonism of the Athletics Department?

Maybe I’m wrong. I’m sure BSU will soon be releasing plans for its Fine Arts Department Skyboxes, its English Department Luxury Seats, and its Biology Department Penthouse Suites.

I’ve heard rumors that the Music Department will be forming its own version of the Bronco Athletic Association. They’ve been toying with the simple enough name, Music Department Association – perhaps hoping to capitalize on the acronym MDA. Of course, music majors will have to get used to being called Jerry’s Kids.

I’d be amazed if the sports really do pay their own way. Have “we” — the taxpayers — ever really seen an audit or anything to show our money, and that of the students, don’t go into sports?

But, if sports really do bring in the bucks, why don’t those wonderful sporty people share a big chunk of that dough with the university that makes their lives possible?

After all, doesn’t the academic portion of the school exist only so the athletes can play in the university-level leagues as they prepare for pro sports? Hmmm?

(I don’t see fans cheering or the Boise Daily turning its entire paper over to,say, somebody getting a Rhodes scholarship or suchlike.)

As for the Daily. Isn’t it interesting that a football game gets hundreds more inches of type than a former president of the United States, at the time of his death?

I wonder what affects America — and the world — more: what Gerald Ford did in his brief presidency, or a bunch of guys winning a game. Hmmm ….

And the folks with the orange and blue shirts, faces, etc., sure pushed Iraq and thousands of our military people off the front page, the TV and much of the Web.
Arrrggghhhh!

Please don’t get me wrong I’m a BSU Football suporter. Love my season tickets. The sad part is they are getting so expensive I’m not sure how much longer I’ll beable to buy them.

Acording to the Statesman this morning under the heading Raises there is still a 2.15 million funding gap on the new stadium suites and the 3 million he hope’s to make on the Fiesta Bowl game could be used to fill the gap. Gee shouldn’t that be used more more important things than a nice seat for the wealthy.

What am I not understanding here?
Maybe it has to do with being a growthophobes?

I think a majority of these posts on the subject smack of pure socialism. “Let’s take that ill-gotten athletic money and give it to the engineering department”.

The comparison to President Ford is a poor one within this context. He was a collegiate athlete. After playing football through college, I can tell you that, for me, I learned more about life on the field than in the class room. The need to assemble a team in order to attain a common goal, working for the good of the group rather than flying solo, etc. etc.

The world needs engineers and nurses, and teachers, and historians. But more often than not, it seems the “team”is led by an ex-jock. I hope that some day people will see that we are not all a bunch of pampered idiots that serve no purpose other than to give you something to cheer about on Saturday afternoon. With regard to the stadium expansion, the minds we need to expand our academic efforts are drawn to a successful university.

Like it or not, athletics give the school the platform to emphasize the scholastic. As far as the “sky-boxes” go, the businesses and individuals that are going to shell out the Major bucks to have them are paying their way. And I would wager that the leaders of those successful companies are filled with ex-jocks. the most valid point being made is one of growth. No question that the increased success of the university will spawn more growth. It is what it is!

Ok, several thoughts flit through my sleep-deprived head. One is to mention, yet again, the Roman Circus model to keep the citizenry’s attention away from important topics and on, in this case sports. Another is, did I hear on the media correctly that the stadium expansion would be FOUR STORES tall, is that an increase TO that height, or BY that much?