Art Coulson, columnist
Saint Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press

"Mascot supporters say some Indian people feel honored by the caricatures and the nicknames. Sports Illustrated, hardly a disinterested party, even trotted out a survey it conducted awhile back in Indian Country showing widespread support for the continuation of mascots. Don't know where they polled, but surely not in any Indian community I've ever visited.

"And why is it that Indian people are the only group that must be unanimous in their opposition to hurtful names and images? No one asked for a unanimous vote of Latinos to oust the Frito Bandito. Frito-Lay ended that campaign because it was the right thing to do, no matter how few or how many people were offended.

"After all, if one person says a word or deed offends him, isn't that enough to make us apologize? Or should it take 10 people who take offense? 100? 1,000?"

Football issues

Bo Schembechler, former head football coach
University of Michigan
Detroit News

Discussing whether college football scheduling is out of control:

"The other thing is, you expand your stadium, you increase your ticket prices, and you start to operate on a budget that absolutely requires a butt in every seat. You're the coach, you're the player, and you're under heat, because if you don't have a good team, they (the fans) are not going to be there. First, no-shows, then no buyers. Do we want that in college football? I like all the enthusiasm. I like the 111,000 (fans in the stadium). I like all that, but I'm just wondering if we can saddle football with the responsibility of financing elaborate programs."

Conference realignment

Philip E. Austin, president
University of Connecticut
Chronicle of Higher Education

"The fact is, the integrity of the (athletics) program and of the student-athletes is most important, but we have to pay for it. And these days, the exciting level of winning, competitive football is what the American public, through the marketplace, has determined that they're willing to pay for. So, in order to protect what we have and enhance our offerings, it's important that we be able to compete at the top level (in football), whether that's the BCS or whatever replaces the BCS."