Dive Brief:
- Outgoing Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics chair William "Brit" Kirwin says the spending disparities between the haves and have nots in college football will eventually price out a majority of Division I institutions.
- The "Power 5" conferences earned more than $570 million in 2005, and that number is expected to exceed $200 million by 2020, while some institutions, like the University of Birmingham, have or are considering cutting football from their athletic programs.
- Many programs are heavily dependent on student fee subsidies for athletics, with more than 20% coming from the funding area.
Dive Insight:
The big business of college sports is more than an institutional enterprise, but a civic investment which drives small business, civic participation and legislative lobbying in many respects. For college leaders, the review of costs, alumni engagement in fundraising and student enrollment all play a role in determining of athletic success, but without television deals and multi-million dollar private gifts or corporate sponsorship, there is little value in trying to ascend to the highest level of competition.