<p>...serves what purpose, other than having the biggest and baddest SPORTs teams at at SCHOOL?</p>
<p>Go for it.</p>
<p>Some schools make a lot of money off of it.</p>
<p>But for most schools, especially Ivy League and other elite institutions, it’s about being the biggest fish in the nerd pond.</p>
<p>Yeah, the money is a big deal. I know UNC made $26 million off of its basketball team last year. Also, publicity from sports usually translates into an overall increase in applications for admission.</p>
<p>Most major athletic programs are basically self run. While UNC made $26 million on basketball, I would imagine that the vast majority of that was spent on other sports.</p>