These trees didn&rsquo;t fall in the woods.</p><p>The Kansas Board of Regents chopped down Jon Wefald, Bob Krause and Bill Snyder in the public arena, choosing to disclose a financial audit the regents surely understood paints Wefald, Krause and Snyder as shady, clueless and drunk on power.</p><p>I read the 34-page report. I read the newspaper accounts summarizing the audit. I&rsquo;m still unclear of who did what, when and where.</p><p>My impression is that Wefald, Krause, Snyder and anyone connected to Kansas State athletics during the school&rsquo;s &ldquo;football powerhouse era&rdquo; cashed in on the record <em>and</em> off.</p><p>Even Tim Weiser, who had little to do with the golden era, received a no-questions-asked $500,000 loan. Thirteen payments to Krause, Snyder, Weiser and others totaling close to $1 million cannot be accounted for or explained. </p><p>The $3 million secret buyout Krause agreed to give Ron Prince seems to be part of a pattern of financial mismanagement at K-State under Wefald&rsquo;s presidency. </p><p>No wonder Kirk Schulz, Kansas State&rsquo;s new president, said he welcomed the regents&rsquo; decision to make the audit public. Schulz is the lone winner in this fiasco. He escapes Wefald&rsquo;s shadow and gains valuable leverage over Snyder, the iconic football coach.</p><p>&ldquo;The Miracle in Manhattan&rdquo; now has an enlightening postscript, &ldquo;The Madoff in Manhattan.&rdquo;</p><p>In retrospect, there is virtually no reason for surprise. </p><p>You do not dig out from an NCAA football hell hole, become celebrated as the saviors of a self-esteem-challenged university without cutting a few corners and believing you&rsquo;re above the ethical standards of transparency that you preach.</p><p>My opinions of Jon Wefald and Bill Snyder have not changed. I respect them immensely. I&rsquo;m astonished by their accomplishments. But I always regarded them as human and therefore flawed. Greed, arrogance and a sense of entitlement can invade their mind-set as easily as yours.</p><p>The truth is, Wefald, Krause and Snyder needed to be chopped down for the university to move forward.</p><p>I suspect the audit would&rsquo;ve remained private had Wefald and Krause not renamed Snyder as head football coach on their way out the door. Re-installing Snyder as the unofficial president of the university was/is a serious impediment to Schulz.</p><p>Prince should&rsquo;ve been left in place for one more season, which would&rsquo;ve allowed Schulz and the new athletic director to fire Prince and hire their own football coach.</p><p>Now, after the disclosure of the audit, Snyder can be removed as coach without sparking a civil war in Manhattan. Unless Snyder ignites an amazing resurgence, I expect the university to convince him to re-retire after the 2010 season.</p><p>There is also the possibility that Snyder will retire again after the conclusion of the upcoming season. This would be the ideal solution. </p><p>Krause&rsquo;s influence has already been stripped. He resigned from his golden-parachute job at the school&rsquo;s Olathe campus after the Ron Prince payoff came to light.</p><p>Wefald&rsquo;s influence in Manhattan has now been substantially diminished. He will be fondly remembered as the man who hired and empowered Snyder. Wefald will still get credit for energizing the entire campus, elevating enrollment and improving the school&rsquo;s academic standing.</p><p>But it&rsquo;s now clear Wefald&rsquo;s time has come and gone. He spent the last five years trying to duplicate the Bill Snyder hire. That desperation led to Bob Huggins using and embarrassing the university. That desperation led to Ron Prince demanding and receiving a raise after doing very little. That desperation led to Dalonte Hill receiving a ridiculous salary for an unproven assistant basketball coach. </p><p>K-State&rsquo;s athletic department has been completely out of control for years. </p><p>The release of the audit gives Kirk Schulz a chance to restore order to the university&rsquo;s front porch. </p><p>People who love the university should politely pressure Wefald and Snyder to resist any urges to fight the changes that Schulz plans to implement. </p><p>Wefald and Snyder had their era. It was an incredible success largely because people allowed them to lead. They should give Schulz the same freedom.