Only the top five college football teams in the nation are profitable. The other 800 teams are supported out of the general revenue fund – your tuition.
Ditto for all the other sports teams on campus.
Teams like the University of Texas make a tidy profit every year. They set the gold standard for all the competition.
It costs a fortune for every other team to even try to compete at that level, in the quality of their uniforms, their stadiums and the facilities they provide to their student athletes.
As the universe of professional teams has expanded, the loyal audience for college teams has decreased, and even the best college teams are less profitable. College basketball teams even more (less) so. None of the other intercollegiate teams even comes close.
Why do colleges need world class athletic teams anyway? Why do we spend so much money on these athletes when only a fraction of them are there for the education?
Many athletes graduate without degrees, and even then their coursework is so watered down their diplomas aren’t worth the sheepskin they’re printed on.
American education isn’t world class any more. It’s not even close. You don’t see this level of intercollegiate competition in Japan or China or Germany or any of the other thirty nations who have a better college system than we do.
They know their priorities. They know the importance of a good solid education.
It’s time we stopped being the cheerleaders for our competition and start concentrating on the basics. Every college athletic program should be modeled on Notre Dame.
Besides, rotting for your college (or professional) sports team can be hazardous to your health. Studies show that testosterone levels skyrocket when your team scores a big one. It’s called basking in the glow.
Testosterone peaks for both men and women. Testosterone? Men become more aggressive, women too. Men lose their hair eventually, women too. If your team is a perpetual loser, be grateful for small favors – and your thick head of hair.
Our athletes should be scholar-athletes not moron-athletes. Their fans should be; well, not bald.
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