Athletics director role

Gene DeFilippo, athletics director
Boston College
Kansas City Star

"Behavior of student-athletes, behavior of coaches, making sure boosters and supporters follow recruiting rules -- people look to athletics directors when something along those lines goes wrong. With those kinds of responsibilities, the job is tougher than it's ever been.

"We're supposed to be Harvard on Monday through Friday and Alabama on Saturdays."

Facilities

Rick Perales, executive director of facilities management
University of Dayton
Allentown (Pennsylvania) Morning Call

Discussing the trend for colleges and universities to renovate existing facilities or create new ones that focus heavily on fitness equipment:

"If a college doesn't have state-of-the-art, or at least close to state-of-the-art, fitness facilities, it's got to hurt recruiting. This is a much, much bigger deal than it used to be. Fitness is a much more important aspect of (prospective student-athletes') lives. We have a much more fitness-savvy society. Students who grow up like that need and expect that."

Sports wagering

Henry Bienen, president
Northwestern University
Dallas Morning News

"I know the programs we had in place, I know the sanctions that we put in. It looks like maybe you recruited the wrong kid. But I don't think that these (gambling) cases correlate to anything. Income? Race? They're all over the place. They were middle-class kids; they were not middle-class kids. It was bewildering.

"What are people thinking? How do they put their whole lives on the line to do something so stupid? How do you police against it?

"We have programs about gambling, programs against alcohol ... and people still do it. You're hostage to individual behavior. Sometimes it can be one person or sometimes it can be five people. But I just don't think there is any sure way of guarding against it. You're just always vulnerable to it. It still happens."