Do you or any of your friends want to help the UA athletic department? All you need is your own private or corporate jet.

That's right. It's so easy to become a part of Arizona athletics, just let the football coaching staff use your jet on their next recruiting visit. That's what the current edition of Bear Down Bulletin said when it crossed my desk with the rest of the mail yesterday. Bear Down Bulletin is a publication of the UA athletic department, and if you don't think college sports are a big-time operation, the Bulletin should be required reading.

Besides the article about the jets, which are "essential," the Bulletin said, because of "the limited flights available to many locations and the competitive nature of football recruiting," there are also such helpful articles as "Compliance Corner: Sure. That's O.K.," where the athletic department discusses what boosters can legally do for athletes without breaking NCAA regulations. Here's a sample: If you were inclined to invite an athlete over to dinner, it must be held at a home (although the dinner can be catered) and must be restricted to holidays or on infrequent occasions. Because of new ordinances passed by the NCAA in August, it is now okay to drive the athlete to your house and back for dinner, but be sure to check with the coach before hand.

Also, if you want to give the athlete a summer job (hint, hint), be sure to pay him on the same scale as everyone else, and don't give him transportation unless all the other employees have the same option.

While they ran out of room, the Bulletin promised to discuss the do's and don'ts of how boosters could help in the recruitment "of the nation's best student athletes" in the next issue.

I'm not sure which is worse, that boosters have this much effect on the recruiting that schools feel it necessary to publish material telling them what they can and can't do, or that these rules governing student athletes are this cumbersome. Who cares whether a dinner is catered or not or that the athlete was driven there by the boosters? Obviously the NCAA really cared about this at some point. Why?

If I were a head coach, I would be so paranoid about letting my athletes participate in community functions, I just wouldn't let them. What if one of them accidently accepted an illegal ride to work one July day? Why take the chance?

The Bulletin also provides information on how you could join The Captain's Club, a group dedicated to the economic security of the athletic department through the donations of "qualifying trusts, bequests, gifts of whole-life insurance, gifts of securities, and other planned giving devices."

Huh? I hope I get to the point in my life where I can turn over my securities to an athletic department. Heck, I hope I get to the point where I have securities.

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While we're on the subject of security, it must make UA head coach Lute Olson sleep a whole lot better knowing his team has the ability to adapt to whatever situation is thrown their way.

Their performance against Washington Sunday was just another example (example No. 1 would be surviving � no, make that thriving � without Joseph Blair) of the resourcefulness of this year's Wildcats. With Ben Davis picking up two quick fouls, and then his third later in the first half, UA didn't fold. Instead, they went at UW's monolith, Todd MacCulloch, and got the 7-footer into foul trouble of his own early in the second half. They did the same thing against Cincinnati's Danny Fortson with Davis on the bench.

Even the last shot against Washington was originally designed for Miles Simon, but when Simon was covered on the inbound pass, the Wildcats didn't panic. Instead Reggie Geary took control, recognized the defense would follow him if he drove, and penetrated. That left Corey Williams wide open near the foul line for the winning shot.