About 20 years ago, when I first started covering higher education from a journalistic perspective in addition to working in the field, the big discussion was how colleges should function more like businesses. Rather than restricting themselves to an older model that placed the mission of the university in the hands of faculty and administrators who purported to know best what students need to learn and that depended on a great deal of state support to get the job done, institutions should be responsive to their customers, who were increasingly seen to be the student and, to an extent, businesses.

Ted Lasso’s Playbook for Higher Education Hiring Practices
The Emmy-winning Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso (2020–) has not only taught us that football is life; it reminds us that leadership can make a significant difference in sport and