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Have the costs of collegiate athletics surpassed their worth?


khaake

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This video 'campaign' may not go anywhere, but I saw it scroll past on social media so I thought I'd pose the underlying question:

 

Have the costs of collegiate athletics surpassed their worth? And as a caveat - what is their worth?

 

The video picks on college football. This overview is not very well written, but it outlines the topic and includes the embedded video: http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/college-athletics-are-stealing-your-future/ Also see http://www.presidentialfootball.com/index.php.

 

I do have to admit I was surprised how much the University of Ohio students were paying in student fees - I think the video asserts that they pay almost $6000 over the course of an undergraduate degree, with the majority of these fees going to their football program.

Obviously, this isn't the case everywhere (Virginia Tech students, for example, pay less than $300 annually for sports programs), but given the atmosphere surrounding student loan debt, I could see arguments being made that it shouldn't be the students who foot this bill. And if it is not the students who pay for it, who should? Big time programs probably carry their own weight, but those big time programs need to be able to fill up their schedules with somebody.

 

Any thoughts?

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UNL student fees don't support the Athletic Department, which in Nebraska is a separate entity.

 

Here's a breakdown of UNL student program and facilities fees: http://asun.unl.edu/upff-breakdown

 

ETA: college has become RIDICULOUSLY expensive. The football team, with their media, licensing and ticket revenue will be fine. But there may not be a university left if we can't get college costs under control ($557 per semester for student fees is ridiculous).

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The video seems to suggest that ballooning athletic budgets are the single biggest reason that the cost of tuition is spiraling out of control. While it may be a contributing factor, I have serious doubts that it is a major factor.

 

Here's a NY Times article (right wing perspective) that pins the rise in cost on an increase in college administrative staff, and a huge increase in their salaries:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/opinion/sunday/the-real-reason-college-tuition-costs-so-much.html?_r=0

 

Here's an NPR story (left wing perspective) that points to a gradual decrease in State public funding against a backdrop of increased numbers of students going to college from 1970 to today
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/18/290868013/how-the-cost-of-college-went-from-affordable-to-sky-high

 

And Here's a lengthy CNBC article that mentions both of those things as major factors, and expanding athletics budgets as a highly visible, but minor factor.

 

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/why-college-costs-are-so-high-and-rising.html

 

"At many colleges, it's a significant cost," said Kelchen. "The biggest subsidies are at these small Division I programs that are trying to make their way up the ladder and get into the big time."

Still, though pricey amenities and big-budget sports programs get a lot of attention, they're the exception, not the rule among universities, say higher education experts.

Higher education payrolls have also been rapidly adding non-teaching jobs in recent years....

"Many of these new positions appear to be providing student services, but whether they represent justifiable expenses or unnecessary 'bloat' is up for debate,"

Meanwhile, teaching salaries, one of the biggest single line items, have remained relatively flat

So if the cost of providing an education has remained fairly stable, why does the price students pay keep rising?

The reason, say researchers, is that deep budget cuts in state funding for public higher education and shrinking subsidies at private schools have pushed a greater share of the cost onto students and their families.

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The rising cost of college tuition is simple: the government will foot the bill and force you by law to pay it back. Only in extreme circumstances can you be forgiven for student loans. Also, do a quick Google on the correlation between rising college costs and administration pay. College and universities are adding administration jobs and not very many actual education positions. Google Dallas mavericks owner and read what he thinks about the situation. He projects a bubble to burst of college student loans and of course the fall out will be a complete collapse of most colleges. An optimistic outlook he has is that college will become MUCH more affordable.

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UNL student fees don't support the Athletic Department, which in Nebreaska is a separate entity.

 

Here's a breakdown of UNL student program and facilities fees: http://asun.unl.edu/upff-breakdown

 

ETA: college has become RIDICULOUSLY expensive. The football team, with their media, licensing and ticket revenue will be fine. But there may not be a university left if we can't get college costs under control ($557 per semester for student fees is ridiculous).

 

About half of the $535 subtotal is for health center stuff. And that really doesn't seem out of line.

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The rising cost of college tuition is simple: the government will foot the bill and force you by law to pay it back. Only in extreme circumstances can you be forgiven for student loans. Also, do a quick Google on the correlation between rising college costs and administration pay. College and universities are adding administration jobs and not very many actual education positions. Google Dallas mavericks owner and read what he thinks about the situation. He projects a bubble to burst of college student loans and of course the fall out will be a complete collapse of most colleges. An optimistic outlook he has is that college will become MUCH more affordable.

 

The entirely strange part about this, is anyone can get this aid(because we need to make sure that college is affordable to anyone, right?). I literally signed on a dotted line with no clue of what I was signing. Yeah...sure...that's my fault, and I was dumb. Thankfully I chose an engineering major and was able to pay back my loans shortly after graduating...but most of the other morons signing this dotted line, end up getting a degree in starbucks barista-ing, and will have no way to pay that debt back. So basically they end up paying back student loan debt the rest of their life.

 

Fortunately, there is government programs available to kind of make up for this. I think most of these should aleviate Cuban's concerns(although they probably won't)....Even if you forgive student loan payments after 10-20 years, 10% of my income for 20 years is still a sh#t ton of money...

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UNL student fees don't support the Athletic Department, which in Nebreaska is a separate entity.

 

Here's a breakdown of UNL student program and facilities fees: http://asun.unl.edu/upff-breakdown

 

ETA: college has become RIDICULOUSLY expensive. The football team, with their media, licensing and ticket revenue will be fine. But there may not be a university left if we can't get college costs under control ($557 per semester for student fees is ridiculous).

 

About half of the $535 subtotal is for health center stuff. And that really doesn't seem out of line.

 

 

What I'm seeing is that only 25%, or $144.28 of that $535, goes to Health Center "operations."

 

Also, the Health Center is more like a clinic. I don't believe it's health insurance. International students are also required to pay $763.95 for the fall term and $1,065.53 for the spring term for health insurance, in addition to the $141.92 per semester Health Center fee.

 

After a little more digging, it seems that $535 amount is no longer correct. This page says for 2015 the fee is $598.00 per semester.

 

IIRC 20 or so years ago the fees were closer to $120.00. An increase makes sense after 20 years, but a 500% increase is a ridiculus transfer of costs and is unsustainable.

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UNL student fees don't support the Athletic Department, which in Nebreaska is a separate entity.

 

Here's a breakdown of UNL student program and facilities fees: http://asun.unl.edu/upff-breakdown

 

ETA: college has become RIDICULOUSLY expensive. The football team, with their media, licensing and ticket revenue will be fine. But there may not be a university left if we can't get college costs under control ($557 per semester for student fees is ridiculous).

 

About half of the $535 subtotal is for health center stuff. And that really doesn't seem out of line.

 

 

What I'm seeing is that only 25%, or $144.28 of that $535, goes to Health Center "operations."

 

Also, the Health Center is more like a clinic. I don't believe it's health insurance. International students are also required to pay $763.95 for the fall term and $1,065.53 for the spring term for health insurance, in addition to the $141.92 per semester Health Center fee.

 

After a little more digging, it seems that $535 amount is no longer correct. This page says for 2015 the fee is $598.00 per semester.

 

IIRC 20 or so years ago the fees were closer to $120.00. An increase makes sense after 20 years, but a 500% increase is a ridiculus transfer of costs and is unsustainable.

 

 

Yeah, I had thought the $111 in dept service was for health center buildings. But as I look at it more closely, it's probably not. But the $6.61 in counseling and psych stuff might be considered health services.

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The rising cost of college tuition is simple: the government will foot the bill and force you by law to pay it back. Only in extreme circumstances can you be forgiven for student loans. Also, do a quick Google on the correlation between rising college costs and administration pay. College and universities are adding administration jobs and not very many actual education positions. Google Dallas mavericks owner and read what he thinks about the situation. He projects a bubble to burst of college student loans and of course the fall out will be a complete collapse of most colleges. An optimistic outlook he has is that college will become MUCH more affordable.

 

The entirely strange part about this, is anyone can get this aid(because we need to make sure that college is affordable to anyone, right?). I literally signed on a dotted line with no clue of what I was signing. Yeah...sure...that's my fault, and I was dumb. Thankfully I chose an engineering major and was able to pay back my loans shortly after graduating...but most of the other morons signing this dotted line, end up getting a degree in starbucks barista-ing, and will have no way to pay that debt back. So basically they end up paying back student loan debt the rest of their life.

 

Fortunately, there is government programs available to kind of make up for this. I think most of these should aleviate Cuban's concerns(although they probably won't)....Even if you forgive student loan payments after 10-20 years, 10% of my income for 20 years is still a sh#t ton of money...

Exactly right. Unfortunately the government has over reached itself in just about every facet possible. If the government wuits backing these loans, it goes back to private lenders. Private lenders and people both think twice about college and lending. Prices would instantly drop, all of the pork built up in the system would be flushed. This does NOT necessarily mean less people will go to college. The price drop could be astronomical. Do a little research into Dana college in Nebraska. There will be a lot of campuses looking like that one if what Cuban projects happens.

 

Anyways, before the government decided to get involved there were roads, there were schools, there were colleges and there will be when the government finally realizes it cannot be sustained.

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