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The study by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics concludes that Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution presidents are frustrated with some institutions increasingly spending in unsustainable ways on college sports. Between 2004 and 2008, the median operating budget among the 120 FBS athletics programs increased by 46%, to $41 million. The continuing divide between academics and athletics is also a challenge, one that is only exacerbated at some institutions by the perception—and the reality, in certain instances—that provosts and deans are cutting budgets while athletics is awash in money. But the presidents view reform as unrealistic, instead indicating that finding the new revenue needed to continue to compete was their only option. The Knight study addresses nicely the question of what is occurring. But why are these behaviors happening? Identifying the challenges, such as financial ones, associated with intercollegiate athletics within the FBS is a necessary first step toward reform. But success in reform requires a deeper understanding of why institutions are acting as they are, even when, for some, it is seemingly not in their best financial interests. The question is thus not only whether spending by universities on intercollegiate athletics is sustainable. It is also why some institutions are engaged in such behavior despite such clear signals that it is potentially damaging. I suggest four reasons why so many universities are spending seemingly beyond their means, arguing that legitimacy gained by institutions through FBS athletics is more compelling than the sustainability that comes with greater restraint.

Intercollegiate Athletics, Institutional Aspirations, and Why Legitimacy Is More Compelling than Sustainability