Few topics elicit more heated discussion among University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty leaders than the schoolâ??s athletic department. And to a certain degree, says David McDonald, thatâ??s understandable.
“A number of faculty, and this has gone on for 110 years, have wondered what big-time athletics are doing on a college campus,” says McDonald, who chairs UW-Madisonâ??s history department.
“I think a big part of the tension today is the apparent discrepancies in resources. Even though the athletic department is self-supporting, we read the salaries these coaches are making in the big sports and see the money being spent over at Camp Randall, and some feel a certain amount of resentment.”