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MARSHALL: KU's Perkins: It's time to go
Published 8/17/2010 in Sports
While it drew early interest, the retirement announcement by Lew Perkins at the University of Kansas as the Jayhawks' athletic director (effective at the end of the 2010-11 academic year) has been somewhat quiet, at least out here in the western part of Kansas.
That is, until this past weekend when the Kansas City Star (see related AP story) broke a story about excessive use by Perkins of private jets to fly here and there around the country to various sports contests, meetings, outings and, yes, even some "family" events.
The related story today tells of lavish travel by utilizing private jets, some of which are owned by Jayhawk boosters. What do we make of this?
It's this kind of gluttony that causes department staffers to think, "Well, if Lew can do that, then we can do this." The example has been set.
While off on his "business" trips, some of Perkins' staff was calculating how to sell a multitude of tickets to make thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars. Thus, the KU ticket scandal.
Perkins defends his travel style by saying it is necessary and saves him time. And in his world, time is money.
He raises money. He builds buildings. He improves facilities. He hob nobs with alums and big donors. That's what collegiate athletic directors do in today's world of m-o-n-e-y. Perkins is really good at this.
All one has to do in understanding this is to look at the improvements in KU's Memorial Stadium for football, Allen Field House for basketball, the baseball complex and many, many others. Kudos to Lew for capital improvements.
He'll also point to the fact that KU's athletic teams are vastly improved since his arrival in 2003.
Let's consider this: In 2010, the Jayhawks finished a dismal 11th out of 12 teams in the Director's Cup competition, a cumulative tally when taking all sports standings and adding them together. There's not much room below No. 11.
KU's men's basketball won a national championship in 2008, but then we all know Jayhawk basketball is always good. With or without Lew.
I remember him when he was at Wichita State and I was writing for The Hutchinson News in the early 1980s. Pompous is a word that comes to mind.
Perkins' attitude about the executive-style jet lifestyle seems to say, "I raise the big bucks and I can spend them, too."
Enough is enough.
KU football has improved during Perkins' stay in Lawrence, but by and large it is still only average. Last year proved that again.
Most of KU football is average, some better, many below.
It's the other sports that seem to be lacking and one can only wonder why. The athletic budget has doubled, skyrocketing from $27 million to over $55 million.
That's a big increase to have mediocrity in the non-revenue team sports. According to estimates, Perkins has overseen more than $70 million of improvements in KU facilities.
What I'm trying to figure out, though, is does all that extra money translate into an attitude of "I can do whatever I want and when I want and how I want." That's the way Perkins presents himself.
He's already announced that he will retire next year, but I can only think that KU would be far better off to fast forward the calendar and find someone who can return some integrity to the Jayhawk athletic department.
We've seen these things elsewhere — Perkins has overstayed his welcome. It's time for him to go.
Sports Editor Brett Marshall can be reached at bmarshall@gctelegram.com
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