A Freedom From Religion Foundation letter persuaded officials at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to halt their practice of offering prayer over the loudspeaker before games, and replace it with a moment of silence that is respectful of the religious beliefs of all attendees. A different conclusion has been reached by officials at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Believing the invocations to be constitutional, they will apparently continue, though officials have yet to formally respond to the complaint letter.

If this were a high school game, there would be no question that the practice violates the separation of church and state as courts have interpreted it. Does it matter that this is a university? Should it?