Last week’s announcement by Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter that state funding will be held back by 1 percent sent University of Idaho officials scrambling to assess how the reduction — just less than $1 million for the school — will affect programs and institutions.
The President’s Cabinet has developed a Program Prioritization model that will put proposed programs through a vetting process involving the president, provost, Provost’s Council, Faculty Council and the President’s Cabinet.

With all these people taking a close look at what programs are really necessary in hard financial times, it’s clear the university is taking the cutback seriously.
Why then, are athletics exempt from Program Prioritization?
Some members of the Faculty Council have expressed concerns the program will not allow for as much input as they would like. One member said his fellow faculty members may be even more upset knowing athletics won’t be cut, at least initially.

To cut academic or research programs when this country needs smart people devising smart solutions to our problems is always going to be unpleasant. If the cuts go on long enough, they will reduce the overall quality and reputation of a UI education and will potentially deny academic and research opportunities to students, faculty members and by extension, the community.
Athletics bring money and tourism to UI and Moscow, but are they worth investing in over brainpower? How many UI athletes will make it to the professional leagues or to the Olympics? A few, but they will definitely be fewer than the number of UI graduates who will go on to write books, help cure diseases or run innovative, economy-building businesses.

If the president’s Program Prioritization program is truly serious about prioritizing university spending, it seems logical for Idaho to return to its roots and do what it does best — which certainly isn’t athletics.

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