The late Pete Taylor once told a journalism class, “Athletics are the front door of a university.” Never have those words resonated more fiercely than they do currently with our men’s basketball team and its reoccurring woes.

Adam Haluska leaving and joining the enemy — the Iowa Hawkeyes — is simply another layer on top of a stack of problems and embarrassments for the team. The embarrassments not only cast negative light on the team, but on the university as a whole.

Recently Jackson Vroman smeared the reputation of the university.

Vroman was taken into custody May 24 and charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The most notorious of all the recent blunders surrounding the team is Larry Eustachy’s late night party antics.

A firestorm erupted after the Des Moines Register printed photos on April 28 of Eustachy drinking Natural Light and kissing girls less than half his age on the cheek.

Alumni sent letters to the editor demanding his resignation; students protested to let Eustachy retain his job as head basketball coach. Athletics Director Bruce Van De Velde eventually requested Eustachy’s termination, and ultimately, Eustachy resigned.

Add to the list of problems for the team a number of OWIs, a serious assault charge for a player and child pornography charges for former assistant coach Randy Brown.

Few names are more recognizable than Vroman’s or Eustachy’s, but not even Iowa State’s beautiful campus, low crime rate and nationally renowned engineering department can trump the negative light these athletes and (former) coaches have shed on this university.

It can certainly be argued that athletics should never overshadow the academic achievement of a university, but unfortunately, they do even if they shouldn’t.

With the country’s blatant emphasis on sports and achieving a high-rated team, members of all ISU athletics must learn that their actions represent the entire university to the national audience.

It is now time for new head coach Wayne Morgan to take control of the rowdy bunch of gentlemen on the basketball team. His actions in response to Vroman’s arrest — suspending him indefinitely and calling the behavior “unacceptable” — are a positive start. He needs to show his team his disciplinary principles are firm and will be maintained, even if the player is one of the stars of the team.

If the university must be represented by athletes, let them provide a positive image as opposed to the shameful one they have been manifesting.

Editorial Board: Nicole Paseka, Amy Schierbrock, Alicia Ebaugh, Ayrel Clark, Lucas Grundmeier