Since the conclusion of just the second losing season in the Dick Tomey era of Wildcat football, there has been a lot of talk about building new facilities so that Arizona can be competitive in the recruiting process.

Some people say that Athletic Director Jim Livengood is going to announce this grand plan for new facilities sometime soon.

But unless Livengood can get big-money benefactors like Jim Click, George Kalil and Wells Fargo Bank to dig deeper into their pockets, he'll be making a big mistake.

I have to question the idea of an athletic department already strapped for cash deciding to dump all available money into new football facilities.

Yes, it is true that the Wildcat weight room is more like the Wildcat weight closet, but there are a lot of reasons not to build this thing with money from the school's budget.

Namely, the reasons are Marisa Baena, Amy Skieresz, Barb Bell, Leah O'Brien, Jeff Gjerde, Heidi Hornbeek and Adia Barnes, just to name a few.

I find it difficult to justify having an 11-0 football team every year if you have a gymnastics team with a balance beam that doesn't stand up straight, or a softball team that doesn't have the money to hire the right coaches.

(Oh, Mike Candrea should be the highest paid coach at this university, but that's for another column.)

Would you trade four softball national championships and one golf title for a shot at an Alliance bowl berth? No.

Do you drop your baseball program because it can't manage a .500 record? Only if you think that running away from problems is the best answer.

Do you drop the track team to give some cash to the football team? No way.

I'll take a football team that's gone 29-16 the last four years for the opportunity to see other teams on this campus win some titles.

How many other titles do you hear Notre Dame and Nebraska winning? Not many. Have you ever watched Florida's basketball teams? Aside from a fluke Final Four visit by the men in 1994, they pretty much stink.

The football team's problems aren't about facilities. The problem the athletic department seems to be having is a lack of fundraising skills.

Jim Click can only donate so much. It's time somebody got out there and really pushed somebody in this town to open up their wallet.

I just hope it doesn't take an 0-11 football team before somebody gets a clue.

Sports editor Craig Degel's column normally appears Wednesdays in the Wildcat.

---

Daily Wildcat News Opinions Sports PoliceBeat Comics Sohcahtoa