How much do you currently pay to subsidize your school's sports?

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by curtisc83

This sums up why universities are all about sports.

High-Visibility Athletic Programs and the Prestige of Public Universities | The Sport Journal

Athletic programs are part of the school's overall MARKETING budget.

[curtisc83]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Athletic programs are part of the school's overall MARKETING budget.

And it works. I'm from Texas so I'm all about watching sports

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Athletic programs are part of the school's overall MARKETING budget.

As academic institutions, wouldn't that money be better spent on academics and promoting the quality of education and research at the schools? Such an approach seems to work well for lots of schools.

A wasteful, money-losing distraction is not needed to market universities.

[NJBest]

Originally Posted by JasonF

As academic institutions, wouldn't that money be better spent on academics and promoting the quality of education and research at the schools? Such an approach seems to work well for lots of schools.

A wasteful, money-losing distraction is not needed to market universities.

It indirectly is promoting the quality of academics and research. Marketing attracts a greater body of applicants. The result is a larger pool of students to choose from. A school that gets a small number of applicants might have to accept B students in order to maintain enrollment.... while a school that gets a large number of applicants can get by with just good students.

A school of higher quality students promotes increased learning (peer to peer) and improved academic and research performance.