As we watch the revolution in college sports that is taking place, it’s essential to focus on financial realities and be cognizant of the impact of current and possibly growing future student subsidies. At a substantial majority of Division I schools, university subsidies, student tuition, and student fees (i.e., program losses) represent well over half the total revenues of sports programs. It’s important to consider… who is paying for all this? To be fair to students and their families paying the bills, transparency is especially important. It is also arguably true if there is to be any chance for sustainability. In the end, a system providing, for example, revenue sharing for athletes, must be viable over time. While the roughly 30 mega-programs at the top do make a profit on an operating basis, well over 90% of Division I schools do not. At present, athletic programs at dozens of D-I colleges and universities lose between $20 and $50 million every single year. Largely, students and their families pay the tab, and they have little idea this is happening. A stellar lineup of panelists address the issue of financial transparency, the challenge that adding to current high levels of subsidization might present, and possible future sustainable paths.
