Is college sports a sustainable business for most universities?
March 72010
I’m wondering how some school finance sports like track and field, swimming or golf.
There was an excellent article in Sports Illustrated recently on this very issue.
Basically, most "minor" sports, such track & field, swimming, and golf, are subsidized by the "revenue" sports, which are basketball and football. Many of these programs are virtual cash cows; i.ei. Louisville basketball provided $17+ million in profit to the university’s athletic program. Football contributed a lesser amount, but it was still several million dollars.
So much for the "big" successful university programs. Most programs don’t turn a profit, especially if you deduct "student athletic fees," which are mandatory for full-time students, and which can be several hundreds per year, per student. Add to the the costs associated with owning a football stadium (which is used, at most, 7 times a year), and most university athletic programs do NOT produce a profit. State subsidies, and contributions by sports-crazed alumni make up the rest.
March 7th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
There was an excellent article in Sports Illustrated recently on this very issue.
Basically, most "minor" sports, such track & field, swimming, and golf, are subsidized by the "revenue" sports, which are basketball and football. Many of these programs are virtual cash cows; i.ei. Louisville basketball provided $17+ million in profit to the university’s athletic program. Football contributed a lesser amount, but it was still several million dollars.
So much for the "big" successful university programs. Most programs don’t turn a profit, especially if you deduct "student athletic fees," which are mandatory for full-time students, and which can be several hundreds per year, per student. Add to the the costs associated with owning a football stadium (which is used, at most, 7 times a year), and most university athletic programs do NOT produce a profit. State subsidies, and contributions by sports-crazed alumni make up the rest.
References :
Recent issue of Sports Illustrated.