Imagine a son pleading with his mother to give him money to go to the toy store. The mother agrees, but instead of giving him a set amount of money, tells him to spend whatever he needs to, and that she’ll approve or disapprove of that amount after he’s come home and thrown away the receipts.

For a responsible parent — especially one on a fixed budget — this is unlikely to ever happen.

Place NIU in the role of parent and the NIU football team in the role of the son. Keep in mind that NIU is on a stingily tight budget — over the last decade, it’s pleaded with the state for funding for a much-needed Stevens Building renovation and a multi-million dollar computer science facility with no avail.

The NIU Board of Trustees placed the role of the mother in Vice President Eddie Williams’ hands Thursday. Williams will oversee all expenditures the NIU football team incurs and report back to the BOT in March — three months after the game, and the team’s posh six-day stay in San Diego.

Teams participating in bowl games typically incur costs, even after receiving money to go to the games. Bowl games are positive investments for any university; it gives the program exposure which results in increased student interest.

NIU gets $750,000 from the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl for playing in the game, and the NIU Foundation also covers the cost of some of the extra expenses for the game. After the BOT’s decision Thursday, NIU will cover the remaining costs.

We have no qualms with NIU spending the amount of money it needs to adequately provide for the football team’s well-deserved postseason game, but the BOT’s decision raises some interesting questions that anyone paying student fees should demand an answer to.

What sort of message does it send to other departments in this academic institution when an athletic program that already gets a quarter of student fees receives what is, in essence, a blank check to do whatever it wants? What sort of checks and balances are set up when one individual has the authority to give away whatever figure is necessary?

We’re not going so far as to say Williams will abuse this power, but it goes without saying there is potential for abuse, and that should raise a red flag for any NIU student.

Instead of granting a blank check, the BOT should have used NIU’s 2004 postseason appearance at the Silicon Valley Football Classic as a guide, then allot a reasonable amount for the team’s expenses.

President John Peters’ comments on the matter?

“Rest assured we will be watching this closely,” he said.

For the sake of all students paying fees, we hope so.