"Defenders of the current system will often claim that football is profitable for universities and provides funding for academics" It is spectacularly profitab

"Defenders of the current system will often claim that football is profitable for universities and provides funding for academics" It is spectacularly profitable at some schools, and often provides funding for the entire athletics departments (every scholarship for every fringe sport, etc). https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2019/09/12/college-football-most-valuable-clemson-texas-am/#206ed6d7a2e7 https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2019/09/12/college-f... Of course it isn't profitable for all schools, but it certainly is for Alabama, and for most of the other schools that generally come up in the "football is expensive" discussion. It isn't academic, but at the same time neither is music, or the arts, or many other essential elements of many post-secondary experiences. It has always been about more than the pure sciences or maths.