The Golden FootballHow Greed and Athletics Changed a College TownAfter a hard day at work, Dr. James Conway, president of Western Montana College (WMC), settled into his favorite arm chair and opened the morning edition of the Missoulian. As he stared at the headlines, a shock wave of anger flowed through his body. It read: "WESTERN MONTANA TO JOIN THE SOUTH ALABAMA CONFERENCE." His athletic department, primarily the football program, had unilaterally accepted a massive television deal worth millions to bolt from the Western Conference and join one two time zones away. He was the last to know. The writing was on the wall-he had lost control of his beloved college to big money interests and booster organizations. In a war of good versus evil (i.e., spiritual warfare), meet the main characters in this fast-pace saga:Bo Jensen: fantastic running back for the Western Montana College Bears with a promising future in the NFL. Changes in NCAA regulations allowed him to prosper from the sale of a variety of items including ladies thongs.Milton (Milty) Douglas, Esq.: senior partner at The Douglas Law Firm and former Bears football star. His practice was limited to defending "student-athletes" and fraternity/sorority members in their encounters with the law. Almost all the students on campus were familiar with the expression: "If you're guilty, call Milty."Bob ("Rooster") Jones: ill-mannered, corrupt, and abrasive billionaire; and financial supporter of Bears football and former player.Queen Esther: Sigma Phi Beta sorority president, Madam of the sorority's prostitution ring, and occasional student at WMC after her daily beauty treatments.Jimbo ("The Bear") Collins: unscrupulous head football coach for the Bears.Mark and Hannah Anderson: pastors at Calvary Chapel, Missoula. They served as counter-weights to an immoral culture that was quickly sliding Missoula and the country into the sewer.Jill Hansen: 20 year-old sophomore at WMC. Raised in a small farming community of Darby, Montana, she was the woman nearly every parent hoped their son would someday marry.
