According to a Nov. 29, 2005, Post article, [OU football coach] Solich was found slumped over the steering wheel of his car, which was facing the wrong way on a one-way street.

He had trouble opening the car door when police arrived and refused a Breathalyzer test.

His license was suspended for 180 days, and he was fined $250 and sentenced to a three-day driver intervention program.



But despite Solich's legal problem, this university would not give up on him.

And kudos to them for that decision. Nothing says party school like a president and athletic director who decide to retain a coach who breaks the law - especially a law involving alcohol - when the first-year students at the "party school" must complete an alcohol education requirement before starting classes in September.

The State Highway Patrol did, however, decide to stop using posters on which Solich promotes safe driving, according to a Jan. 4 article on ESPN.com.

I suppose if the first-year football coach can't yet give us a winning season and consistent national exposure, the next best thing he could have done was improve our party school reputation. And what better way to show the country we are a party school than to have one of OU's highest-paid employees publicly embarrass the university (and himself) by reaffirming the image of OU students around the nation.



But it doesn't stop there. Even OU's president, who has repeatedly pleaded with students to drink responsibly, told Solich that it's OK and he can keep his job, as long as pays his fine and acknowledges his mistake.

I wonder if McDavis will begin extending that type of amnesty to students who just smoke pot, just drink underage or just plagiarize. I mean, we don't really pay thousands of dollars in tuition to learn and obtain a respectable degree, do we?

…OU students don't pay for college; we pay the four-year cover charge - plus the cost of drinks.