And anyone else who frets over “overpaid” college coaches — keep the big picture in mind. Losing can be very expensive, even if you keep you coaches’ pay down. Ted Rook cost do0k $544,000 per win — among the top expenses in the country — because he only won one game.

Then there is the fact that winning — or even the prospect of being competitive with a coaching upgrade — brings in many more dollars to the institution. UNC hired Butch Davis, paid him $1.4 million a year, and saw its average home gate zoom up from 48,000 to 57,000.

All college administrators know that the key to getting cash out of alumni is getting them back on campus. Football can — if done right — be a cost effective way of doing that. Besides, in the case of UNC, its massive non-revenue sports program virtually demands that football maximize its revenue potential.

It is either that or hike student fees to pay for the fencing, field hockey, etc. Or cut those programs outright.

Bill Friday and friends need to go ahead and tell us which one of those they prefer to the current path.