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NCAA programs do not make billions of dollars. All NCAA programs combined might have that much total revenue. http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/ http://

NCAA programs do not make billions of dollars. All NCAA programs combined might have that much total revenue. http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/ http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/ Clemson, where I went to school and the current defending champs had a budget of $104,000,000. Of that, they spent $103,000,000. If you'd be so kind as to identify the shareholder who's rolling in that $1 million profit I'd appreciate it. When I was in school around 2000 it was a $30,000,000 budget. All of that extra money happened because of Tivo and Netflix making it so much easier to skip commercials on anything that you didn't need to watch live...which make live sports (that people watch) the most viable advertising channel for traditional broadcasters. Couple that with college sports having the added benefit of mostly aiming advertising at the eyeballs of alumni and you have the most valuable advertising resource in TV. In the mean time, have a look at the new facility that the team gets to enjoy. http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18614393/take-tour-clemson-tigers-ridiculously-cool-new-facility http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18614393/tak... In regard to not being paid professionals, if you'll explain walk-ons...the people without scholarships who work to join the team on their own dime and have to meet the exact same requirements to be on the team yet might not ever see the field. The ones who clearly seem to think that there's enough value that they'll pay for the chance to participate. Or then this: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americas-growing-student-loan-debt-crisis-2016-01-15 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americas-growing-student-l... I'm sorry, but this whole "everybody get the NCAA" thing is just getting tired.

creaghpatr 9y ago
$104M was the budget, Clemson produced $45M in revenue last year, notably less than half of Alabama the other national championship team. But these two teams are likely outliers, way less revenue per school on the long tail. http://www.businessinsider.com/football-revenue-alabama-clemson-2017-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/football-revenue-alabama-clem...
hyperbovine 9y ago
Why in God’s name should an institution of higher learning have a nine-figure athletics budget? That is just pure lunacy. The NCAA represents everything that is sleazy and wrong with the relationship between colleges and athletic programs, that is why everyone hates them. When the reckoning finally comes, and it will, we will look back upon this period and marvel.
- brightball 9y ago
  Why shouldn't they, exactly? As earlier stated, they supporting multiple programs with multiple facilities, scholarships, Title IX, coaches, strength programs, trainers/medical support, practice facilities, etc. Of all of those programs, at most schools only 1 or 2 actually MAKE money. At Clemson, the football program supports EVERY other scholarship sport that competes at the D1A level.
  - wils1245 9y ago
    Is the profit you’re counting at Clemson including stadium outlays?
    - brightball 9y ago
      As in the cost of building/improving the stadium? Those are usually multi-year projects so I'm not sure how it figures in to the accounting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Stadium_(Clemson)#Construction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Stadium_(Clemson)#Con...
      - wils1245 9y ago
        Yes, that’s what I mean. Pointing that out because athletic programs are sometimes “profitable” because they bill the school for stadiums. My alma matter charges a yearly fee straight to the students for their new football stadium.
        brightball 9y ago
        As long as I’ve been getting donation requests, the school has touted its pride in paying for everything with fundraising in terms of facility improvements.
  - hyperbovine 9y ago
    Again, what is the purpose of our universities spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year managing multiple athletic facilities, coaches, strength programs, trainers/medical support, practice facilities, etc.? How is that at all related to their core mission of research and educating young adults? If we as a society think that we should be devoting those sorts of resources to running what is essentially a shadow professional sports system for unpaid athletes, fine. But let's dispense with the fiction that this is somehow aligned with the goal of higher education.
BearGoesChirp 9y ago
>Clemson, where I went to school and the current defending champs had a budget of $104,000,000. Of that, they spent $103,000,000. If you'd be so kind as to identify the shareholder who's rolling in that $1 million profit I'd appreciate it. How does one account for the potential of Hollywood accounting when looking as just a few top numbers? If you look at the cost verses income of movies using the same standards, most box office hits were financial disasters, no?
- slg 9y ago
  Because unlike Hollywood the books are open for examination. A large percentage of these schools publish budgets that tell you were the money is going. You are free to look through them and if you find anything suspicious you can file a Freedom of Information Act requests for more details since many of these schools are state universities that receive government money.

creaghpatr 9y ago

$104M was the budget, Clemson produced $45M in revenue last year, notably less than half of Alabama the other national championship team. But these two teams are likely outliers, way less revenue per school on the long tail. http://www.businessinsider.com/football-revenue-alabama-clemson-2017-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/football-revenue-alabama-clem...

hyperbovine 9y ago

Why in God’s name should an institution of higher learning have a nine-figure athletics budget? That is just pure lunacy. The NCAA represents everything that is sleazy and wrong with the relationship between colleges and athletic programs, that is why everyone hates them. When the reckoning finally comes, and it will, we will look back upon this period and marvel.

brightball 9y ago
Why shouldn't they, exactly? As earlier stated, they supporting multiple programs with multiple facilities, scholarships, Title IX, coaches, strength programs, trainers/medical support, practice facilities, etc. Of all of those programs, at most schools only 1 or 2 actually MAKE money. At Clemson, the football program supports EVERY other scholarship sport that competes at the D1A level.
- wils1245 9y ago
  Is the profit you’re counting at Clemson including stadium outlays?
  - brightball 9y ago
    As in the cost of building/improving the stadium? Those are usually multi-year projects so I'm not sure how it figures in to the accounting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Stadium_(Clemson)#Construction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Stadium_(Clemson)#Con...
    - wils1245 9y ago
      Yes, that’s what I mean. Pointing that out because athletic programs are sometimes “profitable” because they bill the school for stadiums. My alma matter charges a yearly fee straight to the students for their new football stadium.
      - brightball 9y ago
        As long as I’ve been getting donation requests, the school has touted its pride in paying for everything with fundraising in terms of facility improvements.
- hyperbovine 9y ago
  Again, what is the purpose of our universities spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year managing multiple athletic facilities, coaches, strength programs, trainers/medical support, practice facilities, etc.? How is that at all related to their core mission of research and educating young adults? If we as a society think that we should be devoting those sorts of resources to running what is essentially a shadow professional sports system for unpaid athletes, fine. But let's dispense with the fiction that this is somehow aligned with the goal of higher education.

BearGoesChirp 9y ago

>Clemson, where I went to school and the current defending champs had a budget of $104,000,000. Of that, they spent $103,000,000. If you'd be so kind as to identify the shareholder who's rolling in that $1 million profit I'd appreciate it. How does one account for the potential of Hollywood accounting when looking as just a few top numbers? If you look at the cost verses income of movies using the same standards, most box office hits were financial disasters, no?

slg 9y ago
Because unlike Hollywood the books are open for examination. A large percentage of these schools publish budgets that tell you were the money is going. You are free to look through them and if you find anything suspicious you can file a Freedom of Information Act requests for more details since many of these schools are state universities that receive government money.