Why are Athletics so important to most colleges?

<p>TheGFG -
[quote]
In turn, a school with a good basketball team will interest other African-American students. And at our high school at least, Asian-Americans are well-represented among the academic and musical elite, but almost non-existent among the athletic elite. Accepting only the academic elites could produce an Asian-dominant student body.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That doesn't seem to have hurt Jews - who make up a significantly HIGHER % of the student body at the Ivies and other elite universities.</p>

<p>And oh, btw, Harvard has about 25 Asian males on its athletic teams (including 3 on the FB team, the best player on the hockey team and the top scorer, a frosh, off the bench for the BB team).</p>