….Some academics on the UW-Madison campus are asking if the sports side of the equation â?? Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and league athletic directors â?? wielded too much power in making the University of Nebraska the 12th member of the conference earlier this month.
â??Itâ??s an unfortunate, to my mind, reflection of the times that athletics are driving academics,â? says UW-Madison communication arts professor Rob Asen. â??The fact that the primary decision makers here are Jim Delany and the athletic directors to me is disturbing. It seems to me like the educational leaders at UW-Madison and elsewhere are sort of abdicating their role as leaders.â?
Donald Downs, a UW-Madison political science professor, sees it the same way.