Almost 20 years ago Texas Christian University (TCU) faced a choice.
It was losing the cash cow of the Southwest Conference. It could accept that or double-down on athletics.
It chose to double-down. The school now has state-of-the-art facilities, a football coach making millions a year, and additions to its football stadium estimated to cost $100 million.
In doing this TCU tied its reputation to the behavior of 20 year old kids. So when some of those kids turn out to be using drugs common to 20-year olds, TCU is as shocked as Captain Renault.
TCU could have put its money into academics. It could have gone after some Pulitzer Prize winners, some Nobel Prize winners. It could have built great laboratories with the money it poured into athletics. It could have hired some real stars, the kind who draw great students, the kind who raise a school's academic standing.
TCU chose to put its reputation in the hands of 20 year old athletes instead. You reap what you sew.
The scandal here isn't just what the kids did. They will pay for it for the rest of their lives. The real scandal is the choice the TCU Administration made, one they continue to make, one far too many colleges and universities that could be great make every day.
There's your scandal. And throwing those kids under the bus won't wipe the stain from your hands, guys.
