I got a bunch of books earlier this year because a local private academy abolished its library, and a friend of mine works there and hauled away a carload.
The argument (by the trustees, anyway) is that college sports generates a lot of revenue for the schools. Whether that revenue gets invested in new libraries, laboratories, or faculty isn’t discussed. My thought is that supporting the athletic teams and paying championship coach salaries eat up as much revenue as they generate.
ehtaniguchi: You are correct for direct revenue. I think the revenue is indirect – it is to bring back alums, get them drunk in the sky boxes, and hit them up for a donation. They are not there for education – after the first million, they think they know it all, anyway. They will rarely endow a chair, but will give anything for an architectural extravaganza named for them. Infinitely increasing tuition and fees, and faculty being replaced by minimum-wage adjuncts will take care of what education is left.
It’s possible that new stadium at Colorado State will bring in more revenue from football games that will help underwrite every other sport at CSU that lose money (and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a program in any sport besides football and men’s basketball that isn’t a loss leader) but provide scholarships for their athletes. If a football program can subsidize a school’s athletic budget while allowing hundreds of athletes to have their college educated for, I can’t find much wrong with that.
Besides, the internet and devices like Kindle and Nook are making libraries superfluous, sad to say.
The sports tail has wagged the university dog for decades now, but the modern TV contracts make things even worse. I sometimes wonder if at least a small part of Americans falling behind students in the rest of the modern countries in so many academic disciplines can be blamed on our tendency to have universities attached to sports teams as an after-thought………
GuiltyBystander: “Athletic scholarship” is an oxymoron, like military intelligence. Call it by its original name, “athlon”, the prize given for sports victory, and stop implying scholarship has anything to do with it.
Ravenswing over 9 years ago
I got a bunch of books earlier this year because a local private academy abolished its library, and a friend of mine works there and hauled away a carload.
the old professor over 9 years ago
Amen, sister.
ehtaniguchi over 9 years ago
The argument (by the trustees, anyway) is that college sports generates a lot of revenue for the schools. Whether that revenue gets invested in new libraries, laboratories, or faculty isn’t discussed. My thought is that supporting the athletic teams and paying championship coach salaries eat up as much revenue as they generate.
loner34 over 9 years ago
Wichita built a multi-million dollar arena downtown, but they are arguing about funding a new modern library.
hippogriff over 9 years ago
ehtaniguchi: You are correct for direct revenue. I think the revenue is indirect – it is to bring back alums, get them drunk in the sky boxes, and hit them up for a donation. They are not there for education – after the first million, they think they know it all, anyway. They will rarely endow a chair, but will give anything for an architectural extravaganza named for them. Infinitely increasing tuition and fees, and faculty being replaced by minimum-wage adjuncts will take care of what education is left.
Guilty Bystander over 9 years ago
It’s possible that new stadium at Colorado State will bring in more revenue from football games that will help underwrite every other sport at CSU that lose money (and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a program in any sport besides football and men’s basketball that isn’t a loss leader) but provide scholarships for their athletes. If a football program can subsidize a school’s athletic budget while allowing hundreds of athletes to have their college educated for, I can’t find much wrong with that.
Besides, the internet and devices like Kindle and Nook are making libraries superfluous, sad to say.
Godfreydaniel over 9 years ago
The sports tail has wagged the university dog for decades now, but the modern TV contracts make things even worse. I sometimes wonder if at least a small part of Americans falling behind students in the rest of the modern countries in so many academic disciplines can be blamed on our tendency to have universities attached to sports teams as an after-thought………
Bob Blumenfeld over 9 years ago
I’ve always been bemused by the fact that we call the participants “student athletes” rather than “athlete students.”
tiyapakhi over 9 years ago
I still say the most impressive venue in intercollegiate athletics is the River Thames.
Value: Priceless.
hippogriff over 9 years ago
GuiltyBystander: “Athletic scholarship” is an oxymoron, like military intelligence. Call it by its original name, “athlon”, the prize given for sports victory, and stop implying scholarship has anything to do with it.