Down with Gator Nation... up with Geek World !!!

Speedy just visited the University of Florida. Wow, impressed with the physics department and all the bikinis on campus. But seriously... Simply put, the University of Florida is the most successful major sports program in the country. Before the Gators did it, no school had ever held NCAA titles in football and men's basketball at the same time. That doesn't happen without the money, and thanks to the Gator Boosters, Florida has the money. In 2006 the school's athletic department took in $82.4 million in revenue - that's No.1 one in the SEC and No. 5 in the country.

The University of Florida's Athletic Corporation is separate from the University itself. It's there to make money and it makes money like a parasite. College sports needs big money. First, there's the war for talent. As athletic director Jeremy Foley says, "Coaches make it all happen in college athletics." He hired Urban Meyer three years ago for about $2 million a year. Now the coach makes over $ 2.5 million a year.Gator basketball coach Billy Donovan, who got a raise from $1.7 million to $3.5 million after he first agreed to and then walked away from an even more lucrative NBA job. Foley himself is the highest paid A.D. in the U.S. - up to $1.2 million a year including bonuses.

But the really mind-blowing dollars in college sports are going into a facilities-building boom. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, from 2002 to 2007 schools in the nation's six premier athletic conferences raised at least $3.9 billion for stadium expansions, new practice facilities, and such. Now Speedy says that big college sports are a cancer to university education. Universities themselves too should be to blame for not luring donors to support the building of solar panels, fuel cells, time machines, and flying cars. What's more important - running a 40 in 3.9 ? or creating nanotubes for micro processors ? ( enjoy the photo - that's Coach Meyer... down with Gator Nation... up with Geek World ! )