Success Quote by James E. Rogers

Rogers is picking a fight with a familiar campus reflex: the idea that athletics are a glossy distraction from the real business of scholarship. His provocation is blunt and strategic. By calling sports “the front page,” he’s not flattering jocks; he’s describing how attention works in a crowded, status-driven higher-ed marketplace. Front pages aren’t the whole newspaper, but they set the mood, the narrative, the first impression. He’s arguing that universities ignore that reality at their own risk.

The intent is partly defensive (protect the legitimacy of big-time sports) and partly managerial (sell academics on brand logic). “Like it or not” is doing heavy lifting: it signals resignation, a nod to critics, and a warning that cultural visibility isn’t optional. The subtext is that campus life is not built solely in seminars and labs; it’s built in shared rituals that make a place feel like a place. Winning seasons, televised games, and packed stadiums manufacture belonging quickly, especially for students who don’t arrive already fluent in the institution’s traditions.

Context matters: this is the language of an era when colleges compete for applicants, donations, media coverage, and legislative goodwill. Athletics become the public-facing shorthand for “success,” even when that shorthand is messy. Rogers isn’t claiming sports are more important than academics; he’s admitting they’re more legible to outsiders. That’s the uncomfortable point: universities may want to be judged by research output, but they’re often recognized by a scoreboard.