How much do three years cost? For the University of California, it’s a hefty $725,000 – a nice lump of money that could have gone to better uses than that of an opportunistic wrestling coach.

UC Davis coach Michael D. Burch declared he was wrongfully dismissed when the university refused to renew his employment contract, following a theatrical episode that embroiled coaches, players and administrators alike.

Six years ago, a small group of female wrestlers claimed they were ousted from the men’s varsity wrestling team. Burch backed the women’s cause publicly and said campus administrators forced him to leave four women off the final roster list. He contended that they then refused to renew his employment when the disgruntled wrestlers lodged an official complaint with a federal office.

At a closer glance, this is a case of unfortunate timing more than true discrimination. UC Davis has been a proven state lynchpin for female sports, gaining accolades from Sports Illustrated for being the top Division-II school for females and welcoming female wrestlers into its practice rooms over the past decade. The latter fact exposes the traditionally informal kind of female participation in UC Davis wrestling – in fact, there is no “”official”” wrestling team on the campus, and few of its women had shown interest in the sport during Burch’s tenure. Those interested in underdeveloped sports have an avenue of establishment through club sports – the peeved wrestlers overlooked that option. Instead, Burch and his contingent went public and loud, spurring a seemingly retaliatory, and perhaps unfair, university response.

Unfair or not, this is a sad, wasteful coda that can’t be washed away by any amount of money.