Life's Pleasures Quote by Dean Smith

Smith’s line lands like a blunt halftime speech: stop pretending you can “manage” the problem and start acting like leaders. The key move is his refusal of the comforting middle ground. “Limit” is the language of committees, sponsors, and PR - a promise that sounds responsible while changing as little as possible. “Get rid of it” is coaching language: a clear rule, enforced, with consequences. He’s calling out the culture of negotiated compromise that lets alcohol keep its seat at the college-sports table.

The target isn’t just beer in the stands. It’s the entire ecosystem that treats drinking as a revenue stream and a bonding ritual: stadium sales, tailgates, sponsorships, the wink-wink “tradition” that turns campuses into weekend entertainment districts. By putting the onus on “presidents of colleges,” Smith goes straight to the people who can’t claim ignorance. Coaches can plead competitive pressure, athletic directors can cite budgets, but presidents are supposed to embody the institution’s values. “Some courage” implies they’re not lacking information; they’re lacking backbone.

Context matters: Smith built his reputation on moral authority as much as wins. When someone like him says this, it’s not temperance scolding. It’s a systems critique from inside the machine: college sports can’t keep selling itself as an extension of education while normalizing a substance that routinely fuels assaults, injuries, and academic fallout. The subtext is stark: if you want the benefits of big-time athletics, you don’t get to outsource the harms to students and campus police.