I served as the Faculty Athletic Representative at UAA for 10 years. I worked closely with Dr. Steve Cobb and am dismayed at his firing.
Dr. Cobb has done much for UAA athletics. He initiated the Seawolf Hall of Fame and the Seawolf Legacy Fund.
He improved UAA's improvement in the NCAA Director's Cup, which ranks all collegiate institutions according to their success in all sports.
The typical winner of the cup competes in 20-25 sports; UAA has 10 sports.
When Dr. Cobb came to UAA it was ranked 172nd. During his tenure UAA placed in the top 20 over the past several years, advancing to 10th place last year.
However, winning is not everything to Dr. Cobb. I have often heard him say that "it's all about the kids."
He has consistently honored scholarship commitments when students were injured and could have lost that support.
I was disappointed that President Gamble and Chancellor Case knuckled under to pressure from the governor.
This will only harm the university's reputation in both athletics and academics.
— P.J. Hill
Anchorage