Is College Football an Expensive Luxury for Many Universities?

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | September 25, 2020 | Laurence Peterson

[karpov]

The importance of college football to university education is vastly overrated. Rather than an integral part of the college experience, football means more student debt, another burden for taxpayers, and a compromised education for athletes.

The COVID-19 pandemic is prompting universities to develop costly new teaching methodologies, require expensive campus protection strategies, and has caused severe revenue declines due to reduced enrollment. Consequently, universities expect to lose millions of dollars, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Yet, surprisingly, no university administrators have canceled their high-cost, money-losing football programs to avoid academic cuts.

Why do so many universities overlook the high cost of college football when dealing with budget deficits of 15-20 percent due to COVID-19? Football contributes little to the academic mission but is the biggest athletic expense and a money-loser for the vast majority.

For the sake of their academic mission and financial survival, colleges need to consider shutting down football programs.

Judging by the financial priorities of higher education, football is a sacred cow. The ballooning salaries of coaches exemplify its larger-than-life role. More than 65 university head coaches earn over $2 million a year before bonuses. In 28 states, the highest-paid employee is a football coach.

[Flavious_Maximus]

Without football, the other sports won’t even exist. Say goodbye to Title IX and all of womens sports. Say goodbye to all the athletic scholarships.

Come to think of it, maybe this is a good thing.

[FatherofFive]

Before you get rid of football, get rid of gender studies, black studies, women's studies (except in the dorm room, of course), transgender studies, art history and all the other BS degrees that qualify you for a career as a barista.

Then sports will be a break from a hard weeks work.

[niteowl77]

It has been many decades since I went through the diploma mill, but even then the athletic programs were virtually separate entities from the university, though the latter had to accommodate and provide cover for the former. I had the dubious pleasure of being housed for a time with some of the pampered, imported jackasses who were the pride and joy of the morons who thought that college sports were important, and I learned pretty damned quickly about the relationship between sports and character at that level (hint: in about 80% of the cases, the proportions were inverse).

College sports are just farm teams for the sports/entertainment/media complex and the sports betting industries. Kick 'em off campus and within four years, nobody there would care.

[Ron H.]

Seems all I ever heard for decades is that college football is what attracted the big names into the college and the sport and what kept most colleges viable regardless of all the other costly programs and without football there would be no other sports on campus as it usually paid for all the excesses of the other less profitable sports and etc..

[TigerClaws]

Yes. Shut it down. End the free farm system to the anti-white NBA and NFL. Stop the tax subsidies and worshiping of morons.

All sports like this need to go. Keep those dedicated student athletes who get real degrees. Kick out the thugs.

[Abathar]

I don't know how much tickets cost these days here, but do the math. Between this, sales of merchandise, vendor sales, broadcast rights, this is a HUGE cash cow for most state universities. When they said they were cancelling the Big 10 season I just laughed, no way they would give up that cash cow, ain't going to happen and there is way too much pull in alumni politicians to force it to.

[FreedomPoster]

You left out diversity deans and their underlings.

[2111USMC]

For fiscal year 2019 the University of Iowa had revenues of $116 Million from the football program. That’s not pocket change.

[babble-on]

It would definitely be a good thing. How the higher education system became a huge entertainment business is an accident of history we should take a do-over on.

[babble-on]

It’s a cash cow, but not a profit center for the university. They spend all the athletic revenue in the athletic department. From the college’s POV it’s just a branding exercise.

[lurk]

The football and mens’ basketball teams are the cash cow for the major schools. Which is why P5 schools pay their coaches millions.

[KarlInOhio]

Where I went to college still doesn’t have a football team, but when I was going there the university president was trying hard to get one. Fortunately, everyone else realized that with our size of college a football team would likely be a huge money loser and fought against it.

[Psycho_Runner]

Yes, College Football is a big cash cow for the universities. The reason a college football coach makes 4 million plus dollars is because the football program brings in hundreds of millions dollars in revenue. And by the way, why are college football stadiums way bigger than the professional stadiums?

[Abathar]

Much cheaper to build back then for the old ones, and it’s outdoors so the overhead is lower. That and ticket sales are still reasonable, unlike pro sports as well.

[ealgeone]

That and ticket sales are still reasonable, unlike pro sports as well.

Are you kidding?

IF I wanted to get season tickets from my school I'd first have to make a "contribution" to the athletic department...somewhere north of $10000.

Then, IF, I'd contributed enough I can buy seats....in the end zone.

And that's only for select home games.

To get the good home games and the away games is more.

Then there's a parking fee.

I estimate to sit on the 25 yard line is about a $18,000 "investment".

If I go to a game I'd rather buy the tickets off stubhub or some outlet like that.

[ealgeone]

Could perhaps be the best economics lesson they learn.

I know the wnba knows this.

[Reily]

Is that $116M gross or net?

[Zathras]

It is a major income for many universities.

[PAR35]

College football is a profit center for most universities.

Some smaller programs are losing money this year since they couldn’t play a “money game” against a bigger opponent, but traditionally football money carries the womens’ sports and most of the remaining men’s programs.