College, or more properly, university athletics are very profitable for certain coaches and entertainment conglomerates. They are largely unprofitable for universities, colleges, students, taxpayers, states and communities and, lest we forget, the student-athletes who make them possible.
As the following pictures illustrates, of the 50 US states, the highest paid public employee in 40 of them is a football or basketball coach. The vast majority of big programs not only do not fund other, less popular sports, but actually cost the sponsoring institution money. For many, something on the order of $10 million a year when financial aid, course offerings and public support are being cut back.
The question is why Americans tolerate this state of affairs. The answer seems to have been answered best by the phrase 'that's entertainment.' Those involved are using public funds for private purposes. But they do so with the full endorsement of their electorates because they are involved in an increasingly rare spectacle: non-political public amusement. In an increasingly global society, local interests are hard to find, at least when it comes to popular acknowledgement. There is value in that convergence branding and personal sentiment, which the broadcasters have brilliantly exploited.
As in so many other aspects of life, there is a growing awareness that external entities are profiting from others efforts and activities. Students who participate in sports at the university level may be the most susceptible, but they are getting recognition and a higher education in return. As in the tech realm, for many, this is no longer enough. And that frustration may eventually be mirrored by the society that supports these expenditures. JL
Alex Mayyasi reports in Price Economics:
Seventy-eight percent of Americans believe that college athletic departments are profitable. Given the ever increasing salaries of coaches, price tags of facilities, and national exposure, the belief is understandable. But this common perception of lucrative football and basketball programs covering the costs of entire athletic departments is a myth. No one knows this better than the colleges themselves. University presidents overwhelmingly view the high cost of athletics as a problem and athletic directors are busy cutting their budgets. Just over half of elite football and basketball programs turn a profit.