Texas A&M found its man, price be damned, and the outrage came swiftly.
Determined to place its football program among the nation's elite after winning just one conference title in the previous two decades, the Aggies went out and paid a record sum to land one of the nation's best coaches. It was a coup, but the gaudy contract called into question the priorities of a university.
A Michigan mathematics professor said it was a "sad sidelight on American society." A Wisconsin professor predicted a faculty revolt if such a deal were made in Madison. "I just wonder how they can do that," said the athletic director at Arizona.