On Jim Delany & Excesses of Power in College Football
By Kyle Kensing
The Chronicle of Higher Education issued a report Thursday morning stating that Big Ten Conference officials are mulling the possibility of granting league commissioner Jim Delany and “a committee of university presidents” the authority to dismiss coaches from member athletic programs.
Add this to the growing list of knee-jerk reactions in the wake of Jerry Sandusky’s arrest and conviction, and allegations of a cover-up at Penn State. Not coincidentally, PSU is a Big Ten member and what transpires in its athletic department reflects on the conference. The Chronicle columns reports to that end:
"Big Ten officials are still in the early stages of debating how to handle fallout from the scandal. Among other ideas, the league’s presidents and chancellors could consider removing Penn State from the conference, one Big Ten leader told The Chronicle."
Removal from the conference is an interesting twist that I have not read discussed previously. NCAA death penalty talk is prevalent, and a gutted PSU athletic program does the Big Ten little favor. Incidentally, loss of a member is a backdoor to having opportunities for membership with Notre Dame though any such discussion is purely speculative.
However, this in no way addresses preventing future Sanduskys, or even matters of NCAA jurisdiction that carry far less gravity like a program giving athletes improper benefits.
From an execution standpoint, this asks the conference commissioner to be omnipotent, and omnipresent, two requests that are simply impossible. Impossible, and dangerous.
Isn’t the crux of the outrage against PSU that it potentially allowed one man, or a very small group of men, to become too powerful? We’re all familiar with the adage on absolute power. The allegations leveled against PSU, if true, are the byproduct of imperfect men with absolute power.
Delany’s intentions could be noble, and likely are. Still, most misdeeds are fueled by good intentions. Systems of checks and balance have to be in place, otherwise power is inevitably abused. It’s not a problem unique to Delany’s situation either.
Where is the line drawn for Delany if he’s given such authority? This feels like Senator Palpatine being granted emergency powers. Does Emperor Delany use his Force Lightning to fire a coach for simply being unsuccessful? Indiana losing to North Texas isn’t good for the conference’s resume. Can Delany then oust Kevin Wilson?
Problems facing college football are systemic. Adding to, even strengthening the system solves nothing. It only compounds the situation.