[If] newspaper sports sections published a standing feature, perhaps headlined "The Wayward," the column rarely would lack for names university athletes -- generally football or basketball players -- suspended for unacceptable behavior or violating a statute.

Years ago it should have been obvious to university presidents that every graduate be required to have passed a course in ethics -- one shaped, where practical, to conform to a student's academic interests and including lectures by law enforcers, attorneys and former judges.

If you're a believer in big-time college and professional football, don't despair. Neither is likely to suffer permanent damage from the Vick case. His former employer will be hit with a loss of revenue for a year, maybe two. But those who envision the gridiron as the citadel of courage and virility won't adopt a new set of standards.

Nor will the cycle of the lack of respect for the law, exemplified by the Vicks, and the scores of other professional and college football players suspended or dismissed for unacceptable conduct, be silenced until boards of regents agree that ethical standards and graduation rates of athletes are as much a priority as building new stadiums and expansions to existing ones.