Give_Him_6!
WE Back Pat!
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Just saw this on the internet thought it was interesting:
The Georgia Bulldogs, when they played (and lost) to Oklahoma State two weeks ago on the road, did not feel they could win the game without quarterback Joe Cox on the field with the team. Understandable. However, Cox was suffering from [swine?] flu and wasnt on the team plane when it left.
So UGA was left with a problem. (Um, how do we get Joe Cox out there?) The solution? Spend $6,000 and change to fly Cox out separately. For serious, folks.
Georgia spent $6,274 for Coxs Sept. 4 flight from Athens to Oklahoma City on an Athletic Association plane, according to an invoice obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald under an open records request.
Now, obviously, this is not the standard cost for any old flight from Athens, Georgia to Oklahoma City.
In fact, I just hopped on Kayak and found one that leaves first thing tomorrow morning (one-way, natch) for $583. Is the layover ideal? No. Is the departure time that great? Of course not. Could it involve multiple airlines? Why, yes, yes it could. Does it cost a public school in the state of Georgia and by association the fine taxpayers of that state an additional $6,000 to fly on? Why, no, no it does not.
And thats one of the biggest problems here apparently the AD, head coach Mark Richt and several other bigwigs at Georgia got together and decided that it was in the universitys best interests to give Cox an extra day of rest and fly him solo on a private plane that costs roughly $1,000 an hour.
Now, not only is that taxpayer money, but as MDS pointed out, its a very, very clear indication that sports >> school when it comes to big-time colleges.
Its worth noting, of course, that Georgia has one of the best public school college systems in the country (IMHO): if you make a 3.0 or above in high school, your college education is on the house, thanks to the lottery system theyve had in place for a while. But that doesnt excuse what is more or less a flagrant misuse of funds (seriously, six THOUSAND dollars for an airplane flight?) that could have easily have been avoided and which manages to slap notion of caring about education right in the face.
The Georgia Bulldogs, when they played (and lost) to Oklahoma State two weeks ago on the road, did not feel they could win the game without quarterback Joe Cox on the field with the team. Understandable. However, Cox was suffering from [swine?] flu and wasnt on the team plane when it left.
So UGA was left with a problem. (Um, how do we get Joe Cox out there?) The solution? Spend $6,000 and change to fly Cox out separately. For serious, folks.
Georgia spent $6,274 for Coxs Sept. 4 flight from Athens to Oklahoma City on an Athletic Association plane, according to an invoice obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald under an open records request.
Now, obviously, this is not the standard cost for any old flight from Athens, Georgia to Oklahoma City.
In fact, I just hopped on Kayak and found one that leaves first thing tomorrow morning (one-way, natch) for $583. Is the layover ideal? No. Is the departure time that great? Of course not. Could it involve multiple airlines? Why, yes, yes it could. Does it cost a public school in the state of Georgia and by association the fine taxpayers of that state an additional $6,000 to fly on? Why, no, no it does not.
And thats one of the biggest problems here apparently the AD, head coach Mark Richt and several other bigwigs at Georgia got together and decided that it was in the universitys best interests to give Cox an extra day of rest and fly him solo on a private plane that costs roughly $1,000 an hour.
Now, not only is that taxpayer money, but as MDS pointed out, its a very, very clear indication that sports >> school when it comes to big-time colleges.
Its worth noting, of course, that Georgia has one of the best public school college systems in the country (IMHO): if you make a 3.0 or above in high school, your college education is on the house, thanks to the lottery system theyve had in place for a while. But that doesnt excuse what is more or less a flagrant misuse of funds (seriously, six THOUSAND dollars for an airplane flight?) that could have easily have been avoided and which manages to slap notion of caring about education right in the face.
