I would like to begin with saying I think it is very unfair and unethical to publish the salaries of employees at Northern Illinois Univerisity. I realize you have the right to do this, but nontheless, I feel that the amount a person makes is strictly their business—not the business of 25,000 people.

My letter is regarding the back page of The Northern Star on Thursday, Sept. 26, and the article on Mr. O’Dell. It seems to me that the writers of these “salary” articles do not realize the amount of money athletics brings into the school.

Last year the NCAA allocated $72,874,699 to 34 Division I and 16 independent institutions. An amount of $1,562,957 was given to the Mid-Continent Conference, of this NIU received approximately $173,662.

However, if any of our teams were to finish higher in the NCAA tournaments, more money would be granted to NIU. Therefore, it makes sense to hire successful coaches and experienced support personnel.

They have the ability to recruit excellent students both academically and athletically, which in turn will lead to more prosperity on the athletic field and more quality exposure for NIU in national newspapers and TV, not to mention the huge amounts of revenue TV exposure can bring along with it.

However, maybe my opinion is way off base and all The Northern Star “salary publishers” would rather attend a school with no athletics—no football games, no Homecomeing, no basketball games and no national TV exposure to promote our school …

Furthermore, have any of you ever witnessed the amount of time and energy the athletic personnel devote to their jobs or all of the pressure they encounter day to day?

I think what it all boils down to is that behind every successful athletic program you will find hard-working, experienced, quality people. These people, most of which have families to support, deserve to make a decent salary.

I realize students have a lot of financial needs because I am one of these students, however, if you are looking for someone or something to lay the blame on—do not place it on athletics.

Colleen Sullivan

Business

Freshman