An even better example is actually UW - Madison. For the entirety of my childhood, the Badgers were a joke athletically. The were awful on the football field and on the basketball court. They were never ranked in either. They were a joke.

That all changed with one hire - Donna Shalala. When Ms. Shalala arrived she made a point to elevate the profile of the entire athletics program, starting with football. She hired Pat Richter. Richter hired Alvarez. Richter also got the Kohl Center built, renovated Camp Randall, and turned a deficit of $2 million into a surplus reserve of over $6 million. Rose Bowls, Final Fours and perrenial national ankings followed. Now they are among the elite in the two most important college sports.

None of that happens without Shalala first. She had the vision, and provided the leadership. Once UW had become a full fledged member of the Super Majors, there is instituional pressure t stay there, so even is a new chancellor is brought in, they must continue to serve Ms. Shalala's vision and prioritize athletics.

Meanwhile, UWM is rapidly becoming the University of Phoenix, and we hire chancellors who are more interested in the Library and the Drama department than sports, and conduct social justice experiments in the athletic department.

Does anyone think that a certain US Senator could call the UW chancellor and demand that her "personal favorite" be named the athletic director. I think the phone would be slammed down before the entire sentence was finished.....but at UWM, it's "yes ma'am. anything else I can do for you?"