Gongol.com Archives: August 2026
August 9, 2026
Big business can still lose money
The GAO has issued a report on the cost of collegiate athletics that contains this stunning pair of highlights: "Across DI colleges, 94 percent of athletics programs, including 49 of the 69 Power colleges, spent more than they generated in revenue in the 2023-24 academic year [...] All DII athletics programs spent more than the revenue they generated in the 2023-24 academic year." Considering the revenues raised through broadcasting rights, on-site advertising and sponsorship, concessions, tickets, merchandise, and booster club fundraising, it's pretty incredible that such a very big business can be so very unprofitable. ■ There's good reason for college athletics to exist as a common practice, of course: It provides a common base for entertainment, offers publicity to colleges, gives alumni a reason to feel bound to the alma mater, and (theoretically, at least) encourages the formation of a well-rounded person. ■ But these things are also not exclusive to athletics; collegiate notoriety and common cause can be found in the arts, social events, publications, community service, and academics. As with all such things, balance is essential. ■ It's hard not to see certain expenses as outliers, as when the report notes, "The 14 highest spending Power colleges each spent more than $38 million on coaching." That's a lot of money to spend on management for a pursuit with wildly uncertain returns on investment and a very high rate of unprofitability. ■ Much like the case with economic-development spending, it's hard for any individual institution to opt out of the practice of high spending on athletics, no matter how irrational the behavior might be. It's a real collective-action problem: Nobody has the incentive to rationalize those budgets if it would mean taking the risk of irritating alumni and others by under-performing on the field of play. But it would still make sense for cooler heads to weigh in before the subject becomes yet another matter for overheated political rhetoric.
US farmers hope ethanol demand overseas will support prices
BMW feeds Spider-Man ads into cars, honking off drivers
Maybe what we need is more passive radar
