Top of the morning

The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports this morning that the Rutgers University Board of Governors is set to approve a plush new football recruiting lounge as part of an upgrade of the school’s football stadium.

Inside Higher Education has more of the details.

The funds were cut amid complaints about cost overruns on the stadium, at a time that the economic woes of New Jersey were forcing major cuts in other sports, not to mention academics at the university, and many faculty members were complaining about excess spending on football

But now private donors have swooped in and pledged the $5 million for the lounge. Thank goodness. At there’s still some sense of priorities at Rutgers. 

The whole thing sounds sort of familiar, putting athletes ahead of academics. Sort of like giving athletic booster clubs at UNC schools a windfall by allowing out of state athletes to pay in-state tuition. 

That’s comes with a $10 million price tag while UNC schools are cutting classes and laying off workers. And remember, unlike at Rutgers, the money for the Rams Club comes from taxpayers, not private donors.

I wonder if anybody has checked out the recruiting lounge at UNC? Might be time to cancel a few more classes if an upgrade is in order.