[BostonCard]

I mean, it was hyperbole, but the fact is, we did own a mall operation for many years.  Perhaps a better example is that we don’t compete in ice hockey at an NCAA level, we long ago quit trying to have a semi-professional band, and our cheerleaders are not engaged in cheer competition.  For those student activities, we are aiming for it to be fun (well, at least we used to) for the students involved; we weren’t pursuing ”excellence” at all cost.  I think my broader point is that Stanford cannot, and should not, have the same standards of excellence for everything, and if you are going to pick something, not hosting a quasi-professional sport where the competitors are ever more loosely affiliated students, might not be the worst place to “give up”.

I would add, that Stanford’s mission statement

to extend the frontiers of knowledge, stimulate creativity, and solve real-world problems, prepare students to think broadly, deeply and critically, and to contribute to the world, and deploy Stanford’s strengths to benefit our region, country, and world

Is something that collegiate athletics are basically irrelevant to, unless you think having a strong college football team that no one watches is key to benefitting the Bay Area.

BC

[BostonCard]

I mean, it was hyperbole, but the fact is, we did own a mall operation for many years.  Perhaps a better example is that we don’t compete in ice hockey at an NCAA level, we long ago quit trying to have a semi-professional band, and our cheerleaders are not engaged in cheer competition.  For those student activities, we are aiming for it to be fun (well, at least we used to) for the students involved; we weren’t pursuing ”excellence” at all cost.  I think my broader point is that Stanford cannot, and should not, have the same standards of excellence for everything, and if you are going to pick something, not hosting a quasi-professional sport where the competitors are ever more loosely affiliated students, might not be the worst place to “give up”.

I would add, that Stanford’s mission statement

to extend the frontiers of knowledge, stimulate creativity, and solve real-world problems, prepare students to think broadly, deeply and critically, and to contribute to the world, and deploy Stanford’s strengths to benefit our region, country, and world

Is something that collegiate athletics are basically irrelevant to, unless you think having a strong college football team that no one watches is key to benefitting the Bay Area.

BC