So, do you know what concerns me about Warren as the new B1G commissioner? When asked to describe the achievements that led him to this position, he specifically mentioned the exponential growth of the Minnesota Vikings front office, and he specifically mentioned various equality initiatives, such as hiring more women, etc. I have absolutely no problem with hiring a woman for any job, as long as A) she's the most qualified candidate, and B) the job needs to exist at all. One of the least talked about things in college education that has affected so much is the rapid growth of the bureaucracies that run universities over the past few decades. A lot of that has been connected to various positions involving equality, rights, etc. Again, using the same standard as B above, I don't mind as long as there's a need for the job, but pick some of the most prestigious universities in America and look at where they have spent train-loads of money over the past few decades, and you'll find a disproportionate amount of money has been spent on new construction and new administrative positions. Is this what he wants to do with the B1G? Isn't it foreboding that a non-American introduced him while talking about how the other sports matter? Of course they do, but does that mean that football exists only as a means to that end?
I think that that is how the university presidents see the world. It is going to take someone pushing back against that to say, "You know, I like the idea of having an Interpretive Dance Team, but you're going to need football and basketball to make more money to pay for that, and you're going to need to continue to invest in those sports in order to continue to get more out of them." Is Warren the guy to say that? It's concerning to me that he pretty much bragged about how Minnesota hired a lot of people--especially a lot of women--and he stressed that their front office is often envied by the rest of the league ... yet nobody is envying the Minnesota Vikings as an NFL franchise championship juggernaut. The Vikings will never be confused with the Patriots in terms of the sort of success that fans want. Does it matter to Warren that the Vikings weren't playing in, let alone winning Super Bowls? What is the standard that he is going to use to judge success in the B1G? National championships? or more women hired to work in the B1G conference offices?
I realize that I'm about to get torched for raising such non-PC questions, so, again, I stress that I have absolutely no problem hiring anyone of any gender, race, religion, skin color, political views, or any other factor that you can come up with,... as long as A) that person is the most qualified person for the job, and B) that job needs to exist. Did the B1G university presidents just make a PC hire in the hopes that he's going to make a bunch more PC hires? Don't get me wrong: he seems very qualified as far as his background and experiences, but it bothers me that he didn't actually point to any athletic success at any level when talking about his credentials. He was doing top-level legal work for the Rams when they won the Super Bowl in January of 2000; did he play a role in that? could he tie that to himself in any way? Why not at least mention it?
I loved his demeanor, and I love his life story, but the more that I reflect on what he and the B1G officials who were with him said and--possibly more importantly--didn't say, the more that it has me at least mildly concerned about where things are supposed to be heading from this point forward.