In the wake of yet another sex scandal at Louisville. It made me think about how different the hiring and firing processes are between Division I and II.

Rick Pitino, the head mens basketball coach for the Louisville Cardinals, who has been at that position since 2001, is in the midst of his second sex scandal. The first of which was when he had an affair with a member of his staff’s wife. This time there are allegations that assistant coaches bought and paid for an escort service to have sex parties in the athletic dorms to lure in recruits.

Pitino is a well regarded coach, who has brought a national championship to Louisville. He has denied the allegations and will probably survive this storm. But, would a Division II coach? I don’t think so. In the same way that Division II coaches don’t get fired as often because they don’t have millionaire boosters calling for their heads after every loss, they also can’t carry the same big names as Division I coaches because, well, let’s face it, there are a lot of students on the Emporia State campus that can’t name our own head men’s basketball.

Because everyone on the Cardinal campus knows the name Rick Pitino, he will have enough support to keep his job. If Shaun Vandiver, the head men’s basketball coach at ESU was involved in one scandal he would be asked to resign immediately, let alone two.

On the contrary, coaches at the Division II level are basically given all the time they need to build a program. Coach Vandiver is entering his fifth season, he has a 52-61 record. That isn’t the way it works with the big boys. If you aren’t winning within three years, you’re out as head coach. If you have no ethics or morals, you can keep your job, as long as you win. I guess it’s true what they say, winning really does cure all.