Learned some interesting things about UC and Brian Kelly yesterday. One reason this supposed "top 10" team can't even fill their puny stadium has to do with the fact that Kelly and the football program find themselves seriously at odds with other scholarship sports programs at UC. The reason? Kelly and his staff received sizable bonuses for their 2008 team performance - and those bonuses were deducted entirely from the budgets of those other sports. (This intel comes from a UC athlete who shall remain nameless.) Consequently, those athletes find themselves to be on the short end of the stick relative to equipment, facilities, travel, etc. They refuse to attend UC football games, and fans of the other sports also stay away in droves.
Obviously Kelly and has staff have done a terrific job on the field. But equally clear is that he cares little about the effects of his actions on athletes other than those in his direct charge. Maybe that's the way one needs to do things to be successful at a historically non-football school like UC, but if I were AD at a more traditional football school such as Notre Dame or Michigan this attitude would raise big-time red flags.
Don't read this as being a slam on Brian Kelly. I think he's done very good things for UC. But smaller schools need to tread carefully before they enter into a commitment to become "big-time" in football. It is an expensive proposition, and relatively few schools can aspire to the on-field or (more importantly) financial success that Ohio State has enjoyed. Universities need to look at the impact of big-time football (or to a lesser degree big-time hoop) on their overall bottom line, and make their decisions holistically. We Buckeyes are blessed to have had our two recent ADs make outstanding decisions along those lines that benefit all our student-athletes, the university generally, and the Columbus and Ohio citizenry. Few schools can say the same.
