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I'm sorry, I think I might be misunderstanding you, so I'll try to elaborate some. Each athletic program has a certain number of scholarships they give out. In

I'm sorry, I think I might be misunderstanding you, so I'll try to elaborate some. Each athletic program has a certain number of scholarships they give out. In the case of football, these scholarships are awarded almost entirely without regard to the academic quality of the athlete. How true that last statement is varies greatly from school to school, but in general, they only need to meet some pretty minimum requirements. If your question is _why_ do schools do this its because football brings in a LOT of money. The same thing happens to a lesser extent with basketball, but for the most part other athletes of other sports have to earn there way in to school like everyone else.

cabalamat 18y ago
So the universities do it because it's a money-making proposition?
- arockwell 18y ago
  Yes, college football is insanely popular. I live in a county of 200k people that has absolutely no trouble filling up a stadium of 90k people for home games. The skyboxes sell in the millions, and the best seats in the stands require a 10k/year donation for the right to purchase them. TV deals are also very lucrative, and I would assume so is merchandise.
  - brentr 18y ago
    This sounds a lot like what I experienced at the University of Florida.
    - arockwell 18y ago
      This is not a coincidence :P I don't think UF is really very different than a lot of the other major football schools. Most of them are in pretty moderately sized cities, especially in comparison to cities with professional teams. Green Bay is the only NFL city that's college town sized.
      - brentr 18y ago
        What's your major?
  - alnayyir 18y ago
    Where are you? I'm in Columbus and can't escape the Buckeyes.
    - arockwell 18y ago
      I mentioned this below, but I am at UF. I remember when pg wrote his essay about what messages cities send, the only message I could I think of that Gainesville sends to me is something along the lines of "You should watch gator football." It was a harsh realization, because I do like it here, and now I really wonder if this the right place for me.

cabalamat 18y ago

So the universities do it because it's a money-making proposition?

arockwell 18y ago
Yes, college football is insanely popular. I live in a county of 200k people that has absolutely no trouble filling up a stadium of 90k people for home games. The skyboxes sell in the millions, and the best seats in the stands require a 10k/year donation for the right to purchase them. TV deals are also very lucrative, and I would assume so is merchandise.
- brentr 18y ago
  This sounds a lot like what I experienced at the University of Florida.
  - arockwell 18y ago
    This is not a coincidence :P I don't think UF is really very different than a lot of the other major football schools. Most of them are in pretty moderately sized cities, especially in comparison to cities with professional teams. Green Bay is the only NFL city that's college town sized.
    - brentr 18y ago
      What's your major?
- alnayyir 18y ago
  Where are you? I'm in Columbus and can't escape the Buckeyes.
  - arockwell 18y ago
    I mentioned this below, but I am at UF. I remember when pg wrote his essay about what messages cities send, the only message I could I think of that Gainesville sends to me is something along the lines of "You should watch gator football." It was a harsh realization, because I do like it here, and now I really wonder if this the right place for me.