this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023
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[–] eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Athletics is actually petty profitable, since athletes can't be paid, so the school gets all the money for sponsorships, tickets, merch, etc.

It can actually be a problem for the schools, since athletics isn't allowed to be profitable. They have to spend all the money athletics brings in on athletics, which is why the athletics department ends up with all the fancy new buildings.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

What's the point of having an athletic program if you're not using it to subsidize programs that actually matter?

It kinda does do that, just indirectly. Even if the university can't profit directly off of athletics, a successful sports season increases application rates and donations. Basically it boosts the brand recognition and brand identity of the school.

It's still painful to me that the class size at my engineering school basically doubled the year after the university won some basketball championship. I don't want to believe that people, and especially engineers, are that influence-able but the numbers don't lie