Viewpoint by stephen j. trachtenberg it advanced to the Final Four in 2006. First-rate coaches develop star- power celebrity on and off campus: Coach K at Duke, John Wooden at U.C.L.A. and Pat Summitt at the Uni- versity of Tennessee, for example, are living legends. In the springtime, Mike Krzyzewski addresses prospective stu- dents on the Duke campus — those Sports on young people who have been admitted Campus but not yet committed to enroll. He’s a powerful motivator. And many coaches are committed to academic excellence, mentoring student-athletes, encourag- The year before I arrived at George Washington ing them to stay in school. I’m concerned, however, that the University as president, the men’s basketball team’s compensation of coaches has gotten record was 1-27. Yes, the order of the numbers is out of line and sends the wrong signal about a university’s priorities. When a correct: one win and 27 losses — a fact prominently coach is the highest-paid person on the college’s payroll and there aren’t com- reported by Sports Illustrated! parable resources for the faculty, it is time to call a time-out and take a hard I invited the coach in for a chat. often, we were a ”safety” school for ap- look at strategic priorities. “Plausibility is what I’m looking for,” plicants who had been denied their A coach once told me he had an of- I said. “When coming to a game, fans first choice. And, likewise, too often fer to move to another school where need to believe that the team just might we hired our second candidates for he would be paid a seven-figure salary. win. You can’t regularly field losing faculty or dean positions. He indicated he wanted to stay with teams, unless you are lovingly watch- In part, because of the national us and hoped that I would match his ing my own alma mater’s football team, visibility that came from an invest- other offer. I thanked him for his past which won the Rose Bowl in 1934 and ment in sports, both situations were success with us and then wished him has been going down ever since. It is reversed within a few years, starting well in the new job. To accommodate important to have an even chance of with a surge in undergraduate applica- him would have distorted the school’s coming out ahead.” tions. As the university became more mission and conflicted with other The coach seemed surprised that selective, more students wanted to strategic priorities. I showed interest. It was clearly time come, and applications increased even Talent is a sought-after commodity. to give the team a fresh start. One of more. Not surprisingly, the better the Athletes have special abilities, and my early hires was a new coach, who quality of students, the easier it is to those skills may tip the admissions led the team to seven post-season recruit comparable faculty and senior scales, much as might occur for tuba tournaments in his eight years on the staff. The more notable the faculty, players or women physics majors. The job (four N.C.A.A.s and three N.I.T.s). the more students want to study with obligation of a university is to ensure That was plausibility. And it was also them. Sports jump-started a process that each student-athlete has as much strategic. that has a symbiotic academic relation- time for scholarship as for practice. Sports can be a catalyst for change ship that continually reinforces itself. It is too easy for an undergraduate to and a statement of institutional values. The shorthand for this picture is believe that one more hour at the free A high-quality sports program has the called “the Flutie effect,” named after throw line will improve his chance in potential to increase a school’s profile , the College quarter- the N.B.A. draft. But we know that not and thus can enhance admissions and back whose dramatic “hail Mary” pass everyone has the talent and success of faculty and staff hiring. Our goal was to in 1984 won the game for B.C. over Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant or Le­ attract students and faculty to a campus Miami. Flutie’s play caused a jump in Bron James. More likely, torn ligaments, to which they wanted to come, rather B.C.’s applications. George Mason Uni- shoulder injuries or a lack of three- than to a place where they had to go. Too versity had the same experience after pointers will derail future dreams.

14 Q4.2012 The Korn/Ferry Institute Briefings onTalen t &Leadership Courtesy Athletics Dept. — “Sesame Street” isreplacedonthein- “the mostperfectthreeweeksinsports,” Also, yes, butnotonlyso. Collegeath- Yes, but notonlyso. Itisalsodivided That That staggeringly largefigurealone yond the basketball tournament. This This yond thebasketballtournament. reacting. Readingbooks, interpreting read anupcomingmovesecondsbe- men’s bracket andthewomen’s bracket. fore theopponentbeginsexecution. with thehackneyedphrasecomesan- Coaches mustcontinuallyremindstu- into DivisionIandallothercategories. ing the integrity of collegeathletics.ing theintegrityof is asignthatsomethingundermin- it isnosurprisethatofficeproductivity and women’s basketballtournaments a poem;gettherebound,solveanequa- as indispensiblemasteringon-the- who worksatapublictelevisionsta- vided intotwodistinctcamps:the femaleath- athletes and7percentof alsostated at thesametime,F.B.I. across thenationdiminishesduring pastime istoreciteacliché.Butalong The WallStreet Journal benign. CalledbyThe tion. Life is a series of drills.tion. Lifeisaseriesof that malecollege nearly 30percentof tion saysthatduringMarchMadness, Afriend thetournament. the weeksof to the N.C.A.A. that $2.5 billionwas that$2.5 to theN.C.A.A. illegally wageredonMarchMadness. history andstudyingphilosophyare his orhergame house feedbybasketballgames. dent-athletes thatthinkingprecedes letics ismostsignificantlydivided into letes admittedtobettingonsportsbe- $2.5 billion $2.5 gal, goeshandinwithsports, cent of theAmericanpopulationfilled cent of court maneuvers. Blockthepass, recite even oncampuses, andthisistroubling. out brackets for the 2012 N.C.A.A. men’s out bracketsforthe2012 N.C.A.A. other truism.Gambling,legalandille- of madness!Evenmorealarmingisthat of somethingthatonthesurfaceseems According toarecentsurvey, 45per- A fineathleteusuallyhasESPabout To saythatsportsareanAmerican The world of collegesportsisdi- worldof The However, reported in 2007 the F.B.I. — qualifiesasadefinition — heorshelearnsto —

With notableexceptions, thecoststo in a world of sports that is itself made sportsthatisitself in aworldof fense andspecialteams(andtheir a fewweekends, lying emptytherest never been president of auniversity never beenpresidentof players isgreat;andintoomany cases the world of footballandalltheother the worldof that hadafootballteam,sport the benefits;studentscholarshipdol- distorts campuslifeintoomanyways. lion-dollar facilitiesareusedfor only up of lots of heavyweights. lotsof up of lars areconsumedbytheoffense,de- coaches andsupportstaff);multimil - sports. onand Footballrulestheroost, support theteamfrequentlyoutweigh off thefield.Itis800-poundgorilla off of theyear;potentialforinjuryto of One of myblessingsisthatIhave One of — fields inordertoattractticketbuyers, regulators. To however, talkaboutthat, rather thantotheireducation. marching bands at the expense of the marching bandsattheexpenseof we’d havetogointoovertime. into upgradedarenasandplaying athletes are devoted to N.F.L. dreams athletes aredevotedtoN.F.L. athletic (ratherthanacademic)power- all of collegesportsisnotthecoaches,all of not adefiningpresence. thecampus.academic sideof Sports the players, thefans orthebenefactors houses by allocating millions of dollars houses byallocatingmillionsof learns quickly a dominating factor of learns quicklyadominatingfactorof entertaining fanclubsandoutfitting should be an ornament of campuslife, should beanornamentof it is the N.C.A.A., the godfather of thegodfatherof itistheN.C.A.A., And as a college president, one And asacollegepresident, Many schoolsaspiretobecome reinforces itself. realtionship thatcontinually academics haveasymbiotic The Flutieeffect:sportsand Q4.2012 15