Thousands of stolen tickets and a blackmail case were only the latest in a series of questionable acts committed by U. Kansas Athletics. And not surprisingly, many are calling for the head of Athletic Director Lew Perkins.

KU announced May 26 the findings of its internal audit, which found that nearly 20,000 basketball and football tickets — with a value of at least $1 million — were sold from 2005-2010 by several athletics’ employees for personal gain — all unbeknownst to Perkins. Shortly after, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little ordered an investigation into claims that Perkins inappropriately accepted free athletic equipment for personal use.

As the chief executive, Perkins should be held responsible for the actions of his staff. It seems unlikely that he was completely in the dark to his staff’s siphoning of tickets. His professed naivete is no excuse — he should know what’s going on within the department. So calling for his termination seems reasonable. Someone needs to be held responsible, or at least take the fall.

But right now we can’t afford to lose Perkins, the aggressive businessman that pulled the athletics department out of mediocrity.

With as many as eight teams possibly leaving the Big 12, the conference’s long-term viability is sketchy at best. If the Big 12 doesn’t survive, Perkins is our only chance at getting into another BCS conference such as the ACC or the Big East — where Perkins has connections from his days at UCONN. Our legendary basketball and up-and-coming football programs won’t mean much if Kansas is put into a non-BCS conference like the Mountain Sky or Missouri Valley conferences.

Now is not the time to chop the head off of KU Athletics. Now’s no time for an interim director or a reorganization of the athletic department.

We need our best batter at the plate.