Editorial in Today's NY Times on College Sports

One thing I never understood about US colleges is the amount of money pumped into their sports teams. It's an open invitation to wasted resources and (in worse case scenarios) corruption.

From today's NY Times:

College Sports Get a Warning

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's enthusiasm for fighting corruption in college sports is partly driven by the fear of federal intervention. That fear came a step closer to being realized last month, when the House Ways and Means Committee fired off a tough-minded letter demanding that the N.C.A.A. explain how profit-seeking, win-at-all-cost athletic departments operate on campus.

The letter showed that Congress has noticed the recruiting violations and the athletes who sometimes remain eligible to play without progressing or by attending bogus classes. It also implied that the N.C.A.A. might eventually lose its tax exemptions unless it forces athletic departments to conform more closely to an educational mission.

The N.C.A.A. president, Myles Brand, defended the group's reform effort and reaffirmed his commitment to holding athletic programs to higher standards. But an N.C.A.A. report released last week touches on some of the same issues cited in the blistering letter from Congress. The problem is that athletic departments have more influence on university affairs than they should. They often use that influence to undermine the institutional mission.

Run by celebrity coaches who can earn more than $1 million a year -- and supported by adoring fans, boosters and trustees -- the campus sports machines easily overshadow the college faculties and presidents, some of whom seem frankly fearful of speaking up about abuses. The athletic departments derive much of their power from the widespread but mistaken belief that they pay their own way, and even earn money for their universities, through television revenues and other sources.

The truth, laid out in recent reports, is quite to the contrary. Only a handful of high-end college sports programs earn more than they spend. Among the rest, many struggle to balance their budgets and can do so only through subsidies from their universities. Sports budgets are growing two to three times faster than higher education as a whole.

The N.C.A.A. report calls on college presidents and administrators to rein in the campus sports machines and dial back spending. But the facts suggest that many college administrations have been outflanked by athletic departments that are deeply invested in the bad old ways. If that doesn't change, the N.C.A.A. can expect more scrutiny from Congress.