College Sports

Yesterday’s Chronicle of Higher Educationreports that a study commissioned by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics has determined that “[a]thelitic programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision spent on athletes at a rate that far outpaced academic spending per student during a recent five-year period.”  One extreme example at the athletic conference level found that one league, the Southeastern Conference, reported academic spending of  $13,471 per student in 2009 while athletic spending per athlete was $156,833.  These results will no doubt inflame Senator Grassley and will add to the public’s growing the public’s growing skepticism about whether revenues from college athletic programs ought to be tax exempt because of their close connection to education.

TAK