For over a decade, Creighton’s Spanish department fought to increase the number of necessary credits for a major from 21 to 33.

At most other universities, 21 credits would only constitute a minor, yet Creighton’s administration opposed the change because of financial concerns.

Now, the Spanish faculty is similarly pressing to introduce a master’s program, yet the administration is once again reticent because of concerns about the cost.

The Spanish department is not alone in these difficulties, and this supposed lack of funding compounded with the disproportionate capital spent on athletics makes one wonder if Creighton is not wasting its academic potential.

Omaha is the largest urban area between Minneapolis and Denver and could attract countless students.

However, thousands of accomplished high school seniors in this substantial geographic region choose state universities instead, while Creighton attracts only a relatively small number, given its above 80 percent acceptance rate compounded with its small undergraduate student population.

Paradoxically, many Creighton students are convinced that they are receiving a much better education than their peers at state schools.

Our university lacks many professionally-oriented majors, such as engineering and architecture, that are standard at other universities its size. As a bachelor’s degree is quickly becoming what a high school diploma was several generations ago, many students choose to go to college somewhere they could get an advanced degree as well.

Apart from its professional schools, Creighton has only a few post-graduate degrees with few students enrolled in them.

It cannot be argued that this is because Creighton is committed to a liberal arts education. The College of Business and the School of Nursing are clear indicators that not all Creighton students are interested in a liberal arts degree.

As the aforementioned example of the Spanish department’s struggles shows, the university administration’s primary argument against the creation of new academic programs and the improvement of already existing ones is a lack of funds.

However, the well-known fact that our basketball coach Dana Altman receives an annual salary of $1.2 million shows that this is untrue. Creighton clearly has the financial resources necessary to provide greater opportunities for academic and professional fulfillment, yet it must ask some questions about its identity.

Is Creighton a university or a sports arena? Do Creighton graduates spend countless years of hard work to pay off loans that were spent on the accumulation of knowledge or on Friday night escapism?

There is nothing wrong with the presence of college athletics, but the fact that some of Creighton’s athletic coaches are literally millionaires while faculty members receive modest wages that do not reward the exhausting years they spent working on a doctorate and are often unable to pursue their research interests due to a lack of funds raises some uncomfortable questions.

Creighton has the potential to be an academic powerhouse. Its location is enviable, its professors are accomplished scholars who build close relationships with students, and many Creighton graduates have achieved inspiring success in the professional and academic spheres.

For Creighton to take advantage of its potential, the administration must rethink its expenditures.