KU ticket scandal offers a glimpse into functionary hell

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Last week, two guys who used to work at the University of Kansas Athletic Department pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the ticket skimming scandal.

Their names are Brandon Simmons and Jason Jeffries, and their titles are unimportant. All you need to know is that they were functionaries, organization men lucky or skilled enough to insert themselves into the ecosystem of big-time college athletics. Their talents were immaterial to the success of KU sports — most literate people could handle the duties necessary to work in a ticket office at a major university. But they had access to something a thousand times more rare than themselves: seats at Allen Fieldhouse. Corruption took hold.