Kentucky Basketball: Why Does No One Understand Us?

Thriving On Chaos was a book that was given to me back in the 1980’s by my employer at the time in an attempt to improve my management skills at the time. It was one of several books that were recommended to us written by Tom Peters. Peters is a guru in learning how to handle the ever-changing world in which we live. Titles such as “Who Moved My Cheese?”, “In Search Of Excellence”, etc. were all a part of my reading library up until I finally grasped the true nature of what happens in the world, and that is the true and honest fact that 99.9999999% of the people in the world cannot stand change. However, John Calipari is not one of those people.

John Calipari could have made Tom Peters look like the Bobby Knight of how to handle stress and strain. And it is a good thing, because John Calipari is under assault. Like most successful people, Cal has his critics, that is a given. But he has driven the UK Basketball program to heights of success and new worlds of fame and fortune that everyone is now getting in line for a slice of the pie. And they are not taking any prisoners. Even the University of Kentucky itself is turning against itself in an attempt to ride on the Calipari gravy train. And it is ugly.

The staff of the University of Kentucky is doing it’s own version of a shakedown towards UK Athletics. And they should be ashamed. Ernie Yanarella started this whole circus a few months ago when he started erroneously blasting away at UK President Lee Todd concerning the University’s position administratively towards athletics. He whined then about the school’s financial situation, and that the Athletic Department should start increasing their funding of the school because education should come first. And to the extent that the work of the University should be to educate the students whose desire is to be educated, it is. The big difference here is that UK Athletics is much more than the University of Kentucky. My friend Glenn Logan over at A Sea Of Blue makes some of these points much more diplomatically, however, I am not a diplomat.

If you live inside the Commonwealth of Kentucky, you are aware of the University of Kentucky. If you live anywhere in the south, you are aware of the University of Kentucky. And when John Calipari gets done, if you live anywhere in the world, you will be aware of the University of Kentucky. The simple truth is that he is going to put UK on every map in the world. And what does the faculty of UK do in return? They attack and want their cut. Taking over from Yanarella, Joe Peek now makes it his quest to keep his hand extended in an attempt to increase the school’s funding from athletics.

This is so wrong on so many levels it disturbs me. But what disturbs me even more is that these short-sighted people are teaching our youth how to get through this world on their own, and they cannot even see what huge mistakes they are making in their own house. John Calipari raised 1M in one afternoon for Haiti simply by making a few phone calls. And Peek and Yanarella cannot come up with anything any better than to assault UK Athletics and demand they give more money to the University. Did it ever occur to them to simply call Calipari up and ask for his help?

Which would you rather have to work with? An angry and reluctant John Calipari, who has a tendency to make his enemies eat their words and other things, or a john Calipari who is helpful and understanding of your plight, and is willing to step in with both feet up to his waist in helping you solve the problem? How does the faculty think John Calipari feels when they make demands and basically extort funds from his programs which are a financial success due to his hard work and diligence? Add in Joker Phillips, Mitch Barnhardt, and the rest of the UK Athletics Department and you have a recipe for disaster when it comes to how things are done at UK. If I am the next President of UK, as it appears that Eli Capolouto is about to be, I call John Calipari and beg for his help in getting the University’s funding back on track. And then I call the Faculty representative to the Board Of Trustees and tell them to shut their trap.

Separating UK Athletics and UK Academics is not something that is going to be a smart move for either side. And venting and griping by the faculty in the Newspaper, Internet, and TV News is just plain stupid and beneath their positions as educators first and foremost. I don’t want the money I am about to have to spend every year for my daughter to attend UK to pay the salaries of people who are no smarter than this. We need people who understand how the world works in these positions, a la John Calipari. I want my daughter to learn from people who know better than to bite the hand that feeds them when it comes to funding a public university that relies on the goodwill of the people to keep it’s doors open.

The reason I am going to spend 100K for my two daughters to attend UK is because of John Calipari and UK Athletics. I moved to this state in part because of UK Athletics. And UK Athletics will continue to keep UK funding on track for years to come if it is handled properly. And someone needs to tell the Peek and Yanarella show that very thing. Success breeds success. Don’t these people know that?

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