CINCINNATI — College sports create undeniable campus pride and identity, but spending has increased so fast it’s taking money from academics and student services. The University of Cincinnati and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, for example, added $6 million and $1.2 million, respectively, this year to prop up their already heavily subsidized sports programs and keep up in the national arms race. “There’s always a ripple effect. They say, ‘We’ve got to keep up to be competitive,’” said Brit Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland and co-chairman of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. “When we reach the breaking point, I don’t know.” The Knight Commission says Division I schools with football spent $91,936 per athlete in 2010, seven times the spending per student of $13,628. Division I universities without football spent $39,201 per athlete, more than triple the average student spending. Nearly every university loses money on sports. Even after private donations and ticket sales, they fill the gap by tapping students paying tuition or state taxpayers. more
