Two heavy hitters took the time to weigh in on the debate about what the true role of the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s Athletic Board should be. Steven Underwood and Donald Downs wrote a guest column which appeared on the Cap Times website Monday.
….At the October meeting of the UW-Madison Faculty Senate, the University Committee — the senate’s governing board — announced it had formed a seven-person ad hoc committee composed of faculty members to review the Athletic Board and determine whether it is fulfilling its oversight duties of the athletic department. It will be interesting to see what conclusions the ad hoc committee comes to.
Only one thing seems clear: As long as there is an athletic department on the UW-Madison campus, there will be an ongoing debate regarding the level and method of control that faculty on campus should be exerting over the athletics enterprise.