Academic

How many times have university professors heard this? If you are at a big sports school, then it is likely that you hear it a lot. When I was in law school at the University of Tennessee I took a sports law class taught by the Dean at the time, Marilyn Yarbrough. In addition to being one of the first female African American law school deans, she knew a heckuva lot about sports law and particularly the NCAA.  In an off the cuff comment in class one day she noted that the vast majority of college sports programs ‘ran in the red’ - meaning that they operated at a loss. Of course, the class was dumbfounded by this observation and likely few, (other than me) believed it.

Of course, Murray Sperber has known this for some time and has written a number of books on the subject of the business of college sports, including College Sports, Inc.: The Athletic Department vs. the University. But, this is one of those things that you can tell people until you are blue in the face and exhausted by presenting the facts - to no avail. However, perhaps there is hope. Recently, an article appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education that outlines the results of a recent NCAA report which reveals that only about 5% of the 300+ Division I sports programs make a profit (i.e. run in the black). In most instances sports programs’ budgets are supplemented by university operating revenues.

[Hat tip to Sports Law Blog]