Don Read came back from our first Championship game against Georgia Southern frustrated after seeing their program and facilities. He had an offer in hand to join the Houston Oilers coaching staff. UM administration was tentative in support for athletics. Over coffee, at Gordie's Press Box, he was asked what it would take to build a football program capable of being a consistent top 10 ranker and competing for a national title. He said--more than one shared VCR machine for the coaches, a room where the entire tram could meet; rather than being spread out in position meetings all over campus, a new weight room, and lockers, and 60 yards of artificial turf. Not a word about salaries or recruiting budgets; just necessities. A small group of boosters sold lockers @ $1000 a pop and with Bruce Danielson 's Touchdown Club paid for what we now have (plus the Rhinehart treatment center-for which UM couldn't find the money to pay for). You build a program with basic tools not smoke and mirrors. With all of the past success of Grizzly football, the administration hasn't re-invested any money to upgrade athletic facilities--other than the Stadium to sell more tickets with revenue flowing to the UM Foundation instead of back to football. Oh, and adding a toilet and some paint to the women's BB locker room so they could host a tournament. Ticket and booster money meant less "state money" was allocated to athletic department (to stay competitive MSU had to allocate more to their athletic departments). In short, instead of UM using our outside money for upgrades and improvement--at UM it was added it to the general fund...helping the other departments, but not giving athletics the benefit of UM's superior booster and ticket funds compared to MSU. We've been running the Cadillac for twenty years without even changing the oil. We're no longer an example of national excellence. We can be. We need the Academic Center NOW. We need new weight rooms and lockers NOW. Dominating safeties, rebounding centers, and creative coordinators will not change the current direction of the program. We need to rebuild the foundation and use all of our coordinated efforts in bringing our tools and facilities back to a level that is not embarrassment to our great University. (Now I'm going back to my room to lie down).