Football money isn’t going to the community
Three days a week, I usually make a brief stop at Ned Seaton‘s column in the Manhattan Mercury on my way to the paper’s crossword puzzle. The Nov. 1 column was about $38 million coming annually to the K-State Athletic Department for the broadcasting rights to K-State football games.
Mr. Seaton crowed about this money coming to Manhattan and its benefits to our community. But he failed to look closely at where the money is actually going, where the money is not going, and where the money is actually coming from.
The money is actually going to the multi-million dollar salary of the head coach, to the huge salaries of assistant coaches (which are triple the salaries of professors who have worked for decades fulfilling the mission of our university — to teach!), and to build the athletic buildings that over the last decade have cost several hundred million dollars (those dollars went to out-of-town contractors, to a mostly out-of-town workforce, and for purchasing building materials from out-of-town sources).
This football money is not going to fixing the potholes in the streets of Manhattan (though it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the contrast of the streets’ conditions around the football stadium compared to the conditions of the streets in the rest of Manhattan), nor is it going to making life in Manhattan more enriching (think about the city’s parks and recreation budget and closed swimming pools). Worst of all, not a penny is going to the university, and the university desperately needs money! And, let’s be honest, very little of this money is making its way into the pockets of Manhattan citizens.
And Mr. Seaton fails to acknowledge where this money is coming from. It’s coming from us. These millions of dollars are coming from us every time we pay our cable television bill, and it comes from us every time we buy products advertised during a game. You can watch your money just pour from us to them during the seemingly forever TV time out.
Not being one to complain without proposing a solution, some, just some, of those millions of dollars should go to the University for, what else, education. After all, isn’t it the university’s football team? If 10 percent of the football broadcasting money went to the university’s educational mission, that would be a win-win situation — it would be a badly needed boost to the university’s financial woes and it would putting to rest the resentment of the faculty when they look at the lopsided standing of college football today.
The Manhattan Mercury once said that football is the “character of Manhattan.” I hope that’s not true, but if it is, well, we’ve gotten ourselves into a very bad situation. Manhattan, let’s stop being complacent about big money in college football. Let’s send some of these football dollars to the academic departments.
Ned Gatewood
2921 Tatarrax Drive
Please join us for Kevin Coffey blood drive
The American Red Cross will hold the annual Keep the Drive Alive blood drive Nov. 17-18 in memory of Kevin Coffey, a Manhattan native and committed blood donor. The blood drive will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, and from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, at St. Thomas More, 2900 Kimball Ave.
To date, 4,389 pints of blood have been donated at the blood drives held in Kevin’s memory. Those who come in to donate will receive a free Keep the Drive Alive commemorative t-shirt.
The first Keep the Drive Alive was held in November 2010 in memory of Kevin Coffey, a 19-year-old Temple University honors student who had donated more than a gallon of blood during his lifetime. Memorial blood drives have been held every year since that time in both Manhattan and Philadelphia.
For more information or to schedule an appointment to donate blood, visit www.redcrossblood.org or contact Kristi Ingalls at the American Red Cross (316-641-3972 or Kristi.Ingalls@redcross.org. Thank you/
Maxine Coffey
1728 Kings Road
Thanks to all
who supported veterans
at poppy drive
On Oct.29, the VFW Post 1786 and Auxiliary held its annual Buddy Poppy Drive. It was a beautiful fall day, K-State shut out OSU, and our community turned out in record numbers. As Veterans’ Day approaches, our donors showed how much they care for and support our veterans and their families.
The funds we raise go to things such as; members who need financial assistance, the VFW National Home for Children, Cancer Aid and Research, perpetuating the memory of deceased veterans and comforting survivors, promoting patriotic art and youth writing programs and much more. Already we are using some of these funds to honor our fallen by purchasing wreaths for graves in Ft. Riley and Manhattan, awarding local youth for writing essays about “Why is the Veteran Important?” and, hosting a Christmas Dinner/Awards Ceremony for adopted military families and student and First Responder awardees.
We would like to thank our many volunteers: Post members, Auxiliary members and Irwin Army Community Hospital volunteers. In all, we had 20 volunteers putting in over 100 hours of volunteering.
We would also like to thank the local businesses that assisted us in our drive: Westloop Dillons and Walmart. And of course, “Thank You Manhattan!” for supporting our veterans, their families, and promoting patriotism in our youth.
Julie Gleue
VFW Post 1786 “Buddy” Poppy/National Home for Children Program Chair
2613 Stagg Hill Road
