Two stories in a row dealing with Bud Selig? What is the world coming to?!?!  🙂

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and his wife, Sue, endowed the Allan H. Selig Chair in History at the University of Wisconsin, “supporting a new faculty position that will focus on the relationship between sports and society from 1900 to the present.”

As a new full-time member of the world of academia, I took a special liking to this news. The field of sports is interwoven with our society, our history. Studying it, gaining an appreciation and understanding for the good and bad in sports, will help position current and future leaders in the industry and even the average fan, to make decisions that build upon the foundation so many have worked to establish. Mr. Selig, as we mentioned in the previous posting, is a figure whose legacy will be written by many, including historians. While not all will be kind, all will have to acknowledge his commitment to sport and our society.

The announcement of the Selig scholarship was accompanied by news of two other scholarships that will further benefit the students at Wisconsin. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio joined with Oakland A’s owner Lew Wolff, a former UW roommate of Selig’s, and Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner to establish a “Great People Scholarship” in honor of Bud and Sue Selig.  In addition, baseball legend Hank Aaron’s Chasing the Dream Foundation endowed a “4 for 4” scholarship designated to help students with financial need from under-represented groups.

In these stories we had three different stakeholders – baseball executive, baseball team owners, and baseball legend – all commit themselves to the furtherance of great people, young and old, who will have a hand in making sure sports will be a forum for their great works.

Photo: Bryce Richter