[Mudhead]

 I find it very odd, for instance, that the highest-paid employees at just about every American university are football (and sometimes bball) coaches. 

That's not quite true, though the sentiment may be.

Depending on just how one counts, there are something like 2000 to 5000 universities in America. There are only a few outside of the 127 FBS schools where the football coach is the highest paid employee, and only another handful where the basketball coach is. Of course those 127 schools make up a good sized fraction of the more prominent universities in the country.

The problem is worse than that though. USA Today publishes an annual list of athletic department finances for public universities with Division 1 athletics. Of the 227 universities listed for 2018-19, all but about 20 of them lose $1,000,000 or more on their athletic programs - going up to $48.4 million for Univ. Houston (and that is almost certainly an underestimate). And then Covid hit. That's a pretty big pill to swallow when academic programs are being cut and staff/professors laid off across the country.

The points you make raise valid questions which ought to be examined. We should consider a macro point in all this. Judging from tuition increases and college and university spending increases, higher education has not been starved for money.  In fact it’s been flooded.

If academic programs we value are being cut, we should figure out where all the money is going. I doubt seriously that athletic programs have siphoned off money especially if you consider the donor support it generates.

In summary, it is very appropriate to ask whether too much emphasis is placed on athletics at rhe university level.  But eliminating or reducing that emphasis will not provide additional funds for academics.

[Mudhead]

 I find it very odd, for instance, that the highest-paid employees at just about every American university are football (and sometimes bball) coaches. 

That's not quite true, though the sentiment may be.

Depending on just how one counts, there are something like 2000 to 5000 universities in America. There are only a few outside of the 127 FBS schools where the football coach is the highest paid employee, and only another handful where the basketball coach is. Of course those 127 schools make up a good sized fraction of the more prominent universities in the country.

The problem is worse than that though. USA Today publishes an annual list of athletic department finances for public universities with Division 1 athletics. Of the 227 universities listed for 2018-19, all but about 20 of them lose $1,000,000 or more on their athletic programs - going up to $48.4 million for Univ. Houston (and that is almost certainly an underestimate). And then Covid hit. That's a pretty big pill to swallow when academic programs are being cut and staff/professors laid off across the country.

The points you make raise valid questions which ought to be examined. We should consider a macro point in all this. Judging from tuition increases and college and university spending increases, higher education has not been starved for money.  In fact it’s been flooded.

If academic programs we value are being cut, we should figure out where all the money is going. I doubt seriously that athletic programs have siphoned off money especially if you consider the donor support it generates.

In summary, it is very appropriate to ask whether too much emphasis is placed on athletics at rhe university level.  But eliminating or reducing that emphasis will not provide additional funds for academics.