Saturday’s game against Liberty was never supposed to be a fair fight.
News & Observer beat reporter Andrew Carter tweeted that UNC paid $350,000 for the Flames to show up.
Some may find this reprehensible, especially because students fund 9.4 percent — $7.1 million in the 2012-13 academic year — of the athletic department’s revenues. That such a sum was paid out to Liberty University is cause for further concern.
Liberty was established in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr., a figure well known for his evangelism and as an opponent of integration and Martin Luther King Jr. Its student code remains as repugnant as one might expect.
Student participation in protests or political demonstrations — on or off campus — is subject to the administration’s permission. Couples are not allowed physical contact beyond hand-holding. R-rated movies are banned, and womens’ dress is closely monitored for “modesty.” In addition, creation studies classes are taught for academic credit.
The type of deal-making that dilutes larger schools’ schedules is only conscionable if it gives a hand up to smaller institutions with similarly credible academic and social missions. Otherwise, UNC’s own intellectual mission is undermined.
