Like an absentee parent wiring money for their kid's birthday

Tonight, Caltech men's basketball snapped a 207 game losing streak in Division III athletics by beating athletic powerhouse Bard College. This scenario is funny on numerous levels beyond the gaudy number of losses involved. First, I have a hunch that Caltech went out of their way to fly Bard out to play this game, because the president mentioned going out of his way to attend the game. Not unlike that time when Oberlin and Swarthmore scheudled each other for football games (as both had massive losing streaks that they couldn't snap in their confernces), Caltech scoured the country looking for someone to beat. Cross-country trips for non-conference games probably don't about in D-3 hoops. Secondly, the article notes that Caltech has won against non-D3 opponents during this streak (the overall winless streak was at a paltry 60). This raises the question of what sub-D3 opponents Caltech was beating. Wellesley? High schools? Middle schools? Midnight basketball teams of homeless people? Further, why did it take 207 straight losses for the university to finally invest in the program to fly out some sacrificial lambs to snap the streak?

It's also funny because Caltech persists in having a horrifically bad basketball team (and I'd conjecture, athletic program). Could being this bad for an athletically prestigious institution be a badge of honor? Does Caltech have athletic boosters that would quit donating to the school if they went the way of Reed College and totally abolished intercollegiate athletics (and instead focuses on intramural sports, which everyone can partake in)? The Reed scenario is significant, because I feel that one could throw institutional theory out as an explanation why Caltech still bothers to have an intercollegiate athletic program. The legitimate form of prestigious, big time universities includes athletic programs of some incarnate. Even if that form is broken and shoddy, it's still important to possess and shine up with a date with a slumpbuster.