IMHO, this thread.
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IMHO, this thread.
You're saving some shiek from collecting the profits. Sure, ethanol is imperfect and there are much better sources than corn (and they're being aggressively pursued). But at the end of the day, if I get to choose between my money going to Saudia Arabia or Iowa, I choose Iowa every time. As a country, we're exporting $700 billion a year on oil. Let's keep some of that coin stateside.
The Ohio State University...from faculty to the athletic teams BLECH! I'd rather burn $12,000 in a fire than give another cent to that university
I'm prouder than ever to say I've never heard of Radiohead!
Viva los 80's!!!
Arguing about Radiohead on the zone, entirely overrated.
Oh, Starbucks and American Idol as well for sure
Correct at your alma matter (IIRC, you're a Kansas alum). Incorrect at most colleges and universities. Football in particular is a big time expenditure and the money is not recouped directly by the institution. The only justification for it would be psychic or indirect benefits (e.g. a wealthy Tulane Univ. alum comes back for the University of Tulane Univ. of football game, and is so pleased by his experience that he gives $1 million to build a new science building).
Warning: this pdf takes a long time to open, and despite this article being very PRO-intercollegiate athletics, demonstrates that athletics are $$$ losers in most instances.
I'm a firm believer that the psychic and indirect benefits are grossly overstated. If Congress tomorrow BANNED intercollegiate sports from any institution receiving federal funds (but allowed schools to do intramurals), I believe that we'd be a better educated society and we'd get more for our education dollar.
Probably.
On the other hand, for lots of schools the only way they ever get high-roller alums back onto campus (where they feel apropriately nostalgic enough to loosen the wallets a little bit) is for a big sporting event of some sort.
Coming from two smaller D1 programs (Tulane and Toledo), I dispise the "more for me, to hell with you" attitudes that major college athletic programs employ. But, that seems to sit well with the major players involved, so it isn't ever going to change.
What about recruiting? I'll bet we see a spike in enrollment at KU in the next couple of years thanks to the performance of the football and basketball teams. Those additional tuition dollars are another indirect result of athletics, at least at the big-name schools. And those students eventually become alumni, with sports as their main connection to the university.