Richmond is all a flutter over the news that Virginia Commonwealth University men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart has agreed to a long-term contract with the school.  While the exact terms aren’t known, reports say that Smart, who took the team to the Final Four, will earn up to $1.2 million per year for eight years. That’s good money.  Great money. And he’s not alone in making a very lucrative career at a taxpayer-funded institution.

That’s not to begrudge Smart the deal.  If anything, VCU is getting him at a bargain price (North Carolina State offered him $2 million per year for six years).