<p>many of you are looking at the the wrong schools in searching for a possible answer. obviously ohio state and williams are going to continue to exist (and thrive as institutions) with or without athletics programs.</p>
<p>but what about the small private down the road with a 90% acceptance rate? the one that recruits all the local solid-but-not-terrifically-talented football players and runners and softball players–who almost invariably would have gone elsewhere if not for a chance to play their sports in college–year after year after year?</p>
<p>the school that currently relies on those recruited athletes to fill their freshman classes each fall? the school that knows those recruited athletes are far more likely than other students to live in revenue-generating dormitories and eat in revenue-generating dining halls? the school that carefully manages the financial aid budgets of its sports teams such that many of them are bringing in hordes of athletes paying MORE to attend than the average non-athlete?</p>
<p>now, perhaps the $3 million that school is spending on athletics could be better spent elsewhere, or at least well enough spent to not seriously threaten its tuition-dollar bottom line. but im not so sure thats a given.</p>