Many of the big D1 programs are self-supporting ; paying for the coaches, athletic scholarships and all of the non-revenue athletes too. Bama even partly funds its NMF scholarships from logo royalties, TV and tickets. So for some of the large D1 schools you can make the case that sports enhance academics. Football draws more male students which helps the gender imbalance too. Many small colleges have D1 teams, look at BB and WBB powerhouses and hockey schools like Union.