[A] Texas physics professor who grew up in the Bronx, taught at Harvard and won the Nobel Prize in 1979, [Weinberg was] wooed to Texas three years later in one of the university's most famous hires this side of Darrell Royal.

He is the best-selling author of "The First Three Minutes" - a chronicle of life after the Big Bang - but that doesn't make him an outsider in a state ribboned by Christian conservatism.

"I think it's hard to say that our day-to-day work in research and teaching is hurt by the football program, but at the same time, I have to say I find it somewhat embarrassing," Weinberg said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I love this university; and the universities with which I'd like to have us compared are places like Harvard and M.I.T., not the ones at the top of B.C.S. rankings."

This protractor across the bow is dead on. But boosters don't line up to buy No. 1 foam fingers to salute overachieving mathletes. Instead many donate tax-deductible millions into boutique-style giving: athletics only, please.

"It's argued that football makes money for the university and the large sums paid for coaches and facilities are more than earned back by ticket sales and television rights," Weinberg said. "I'm a little skeptical." [Along these lines, see UD on Portland State.]

The skepticism is valid. Odd how university officials happily itemize what their football programs make but rarely what they spend. How much to house a 90-man roster in five-star hotels the night before a game? Sometimes, as has been the case at the University of Colorado, it's a home game.

Last spring, the total price tag was $235 million, but now the university says the delay has added $13 million to the total cost. The state's contribution remains at $7 million a year, but that price is coming under greater scrutiny.

…Sen. Sheila Kiscaden, IP-Rochester, said some of her constituents are concerned about the state's share, which works out to about $1 million for every home game.
"A million dollars a game, $7 million a year, for 25 years," Kiscaden said. "And with the economy not in the greatest shape, energy prices going up and property taxes going up, people aren't as persuaded as the alumni are that this is absolutely necessary."

…Some lawmakers object to giving the stadium a corporate name [The bank that’s putting up a lot of the money wants to have the thing named after it -- like Enron Stadium]. State Rep. Tim Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul, said he'll push to change the name to "Veterans Memorial Stadium." The university had a Memorial Stadium for 68 years, before it was demolished.