4 ms·

Anybody have any good data as to what % of a $200K 4-year degree actually goes to pay faculty and classrooms, vs. stadium, $2m/year football coach, etc.?

chrisco255 7y ago
None. Football programs have their own income in the form of tickets, licensing, retail sales, broadcast rights, etc...
- burkaman 7y ago
  Only the very best Division I programs generate positive revenue: https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/growth-division-i-athletics-expenses-outpaces-revenue-increases https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/growt...
  - bb2018 7y ago
    I think it is a bit misleading. A college may reasonably come to the conclusion that a certain percentage of their alumni contributions are because of a high-profile sports program. Additionally, at many schools alumni networking revolves around large football and other sporting events. I admit I do not have the numbers to back it up, so attack it all you want, but it is undeniable a high amount of social cohesion is created by these sporting events at many schools. Is it ideal - no - but like marketing, it is often about what people want rather than what they say they want.
  - chrisco255 7y ago
    That article is mixing football revenue and sports overall. Lots to parse there, and it is from 2014. But to OP's point about $2 million salaries, that only occurs in the best Division I teams. And those teams pull in upwards of $214 million a year in revenue: https://247sports.com/ContentGallery/College-sports-top-25-money-makers-by-gross-revenue-119496046/#119496046_1 https://247sports.com/ContentGallery/College-sports-top-25-m...
- pmiller2 7y ago
  Most football programs are not self sustaining: https://college.lovetoknow.com/campus-life/does-college-football-make-money https://college.lovetoknow.com/campus-life/does-college-foot...
  - chrisco255 7y ago
    From that article..."According to the Texas Tribune, "a successful football team can prop up an entire athletic department." However, more often than not, college athletics programs are not fully self-supporting, even with football money." Football money gets spent to prop up other sports in college, typically, and that's where the confusion may be here. I'm sure there are some schools charging some minor fees to students for one athletic program or another, but its not like tuition is going towards football, by and large. At my alma mater, the football program pays into the university (UF).
- nitwit005 7y ago
  Quite a few programs lose money, and have used student fees to pay for some of the deficit: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2018/06/28/college-football-overspending-catching-up-these-big-time-schools/736222002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2018/06/28/colle...
Anon1096 7y ago
At my school (Georgia Tech) the athletic program not only doesn't take any money from the rest of school, it actually earns money for our school through licensing deals and ticket sales.
- bsanr2 7y ago
  But you went to Georgia Tech. Most schools with athletics programs are not Georgia Tech. The last time I saw Howard memorabilia was in US.
  - froindt 7y ago
    Starting a few years ago, all Iowa public university Athletics programs were required to basically have separate finances and not be pulling funds from the rest of the university. It took the University of Northern Iowa a bit longer to achieve, but all three regents universities are successfully not taking money from tuition or normal state funding. It certainly can be done. Iowa also has a balanced budget provision in its constitution. Not sure if it's in any way related, but it'd be understandable that taxpayers wouldn't want to be pouring money into athletics programs. That's not the primary intent of funding universities.
    - xellisx 7y ago
      Only of they would do this at the high school level. I'm sick of my property taxes to fun large stadiums (football is life in Texas....)
      - froindt 7y ago
        I'm from Iowa and went to a high school of around 2,000 students. They built a ~15M dollar stadium which was completed right after the marching band season. Not quite the $50M stadium(s) of Texas, but still excessive.
    - bsanr2 7y ago
      I'm not sure how another anecdote proves the rule.
aatharuv 7y ago
The real question is what percentage goes to pay administrative staff, and how that's increased to other parts of college costs.
m3kw9 7y ago
They are all the same they use extra left over to reinvest. Not different than how bank uses some of the deposits

chrisco255 7y ago

None. Football programs have their own income in the form of tickets, licensing, retail sales, broadcast rights, etc...

burkaman 7y ago
Only the very best Division I programs generate positive revenue: https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/growth-division-i-athletics-expenses-outpaces-revenue-increases https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/growt...
- bb2018 7y ago
  I think it is a bit misleading. A college may reasonably come to the conclusion that a certain percentage of their alumni contributions are because of a high-profile sports program. Additionally, at many schools alumni networking revolves around large football and other sporting events. I admit I do not have the numbers to back it up, so attack it all you want, but it is undeniable a high amount of social cohesion is created by these sporting events at many schools. Is it ideal - no - but like marketing, it is often about what people want rather than what they say they want.
- chrisco255 7y ago
  That article is mixing football revenue and sports overall. Lots to parse there, and it is from 2014. But to OP's point about $2 million salaries, that only occurs in the best Division I teams. And those teams pull in upwards of $214 million a year in revenue: https://247sports.com/ContentGallery/College-sports-top-25-money-makers-by-gross-revenue-119496046/#119496046_1 https://247sports.com/ContentGallery/College-sports-top-25-m...
pmiller2 7y ago
Most football programs are not self sustaining: https://college.lovetoknow.com/campus-life/does-college-football-make-money https://college.lovetoknow.com/campus-life/does-college-foot...
- chrisco255 7y ago
  From that article..."According to the Texas Tribune, "a successful football team can prop up an entire athletic department." However, more often than not, college athletics programs are not fully self-supporting, even with football money." Football money gets spent to prop up other sports in college, typically, and that's where the confusion may be here. I'm sure there are some schools charging some minor fees to students for one athletic program or another, but its not like tuition is going towards football, by and large. At my alma mater, the football program pays into the university (UF).
nitwit005 7y ago
Quite a few programs lose money, and have used student fees to pay for some of the deficit: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2018/06/28/college-football-overspending-catching-up-these-big-time-schools/736222002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2018/06/28/colle...

Anon1096 7y ago

At my school (Georgia Tech) the athletic program not only doesn't take any money from the rest of school, it actually earns money for our school through licensing deals and ticket sales.

bsanr2 7y ago
But you went to Georgia Tech. Most schools with athletics programs are not Georgia Tech. The last time I saw Howard memorabilia was in US.
- froindt 7y ago
  Starting a few years ago, all Iowa public university Athletics programs were required to basically have separate finances and not be pulling funds from the rest of the university. It took the University of Northern Iowa a bit longer to achieve, but all three regents universities are successfully not taking money from tuition or normal state funding. It certainly can be done. Iowa also has a balanced budget provision in its constitution. Not sure if it's in any way related, but it'd be understandable that taxpayers wouldn't want to be pouring money into athletics programs. That's not the primary intent of funding universities.
  - xellisx 7y ago
    Only of they would do this at the high school level. I'm sick of my property taxes to fun large stadiums (football is life in Texas....)
    - froindt 7y ago
      I'm from Iowa and went to a high school of around 2,000 students. They built a ~15M dollar stadium which was completed right after the marching band season. Not quite the $50M stadium(s) of Texas, but still excessive.
  - bsanr2 7y ago
    I'm not sure how another anecdote proves the rule.

aatharuv 7y ago

The real question is what percentage goes to pay administrative staff, and how that's increased to other parts of college costs.

m3kw9 7y ago

They are all the same they use extra left over to reinvest. Not different than how bank uses some of the deposits