[thatboy]

Stanford would probably have to replace about $20 million if it dropped football or moved to a lower division (lower revenue but also, presumably, lower costs).  That’s a drop in the bucket compared to annual donations to Stanford, which exceed $1 billion (with a b).

BC

I don't have a strong opinion about whether or not Stanford should drop football. But if it does, I really hope the Board of Trustees, or whoever controls the budget, sees fit to pony up the ~$20M.  I can live without football (though I'd like to keep it), but I think elite sports is not just part of Stanford's identity, but part of it's value proposition. It sets Stanford apart from MIT, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, etc. No offense to excellent schools like that, but in my mind there's more to university life than books and research. Stanford is special because it's a well rounded institution that attracts more than just eggheads -- but people who excel in all aspects of life and go on to leadership positions. Excellence in sports is integral to that.

Relatively speaking, $20M is very manageable. Stanford has the money. It's simply a matter of priorities. Willfully abandoning this pillar of excellence would be gross negligence by a school with such a brobdingnagian endowment. (edit: the autocorrect feature of this site is effing up my sentence; I wrote it correctly. Apparently hu'ge gets changed to "of immense proportions". Can someone remove these weird autocorrections? I rarely post here and this is the second time in a row, I think, that it's happened).

[thatboy]

Stanford would probably have to replace about $20 million if it dropped football or moved to a lower division (lower revenue but also, presumably, lower costs).  That’s a drop in the bucket compared to annual donations to Stanford, which exceed $1 billion (with a b).

BC

I don't have a strong opinion about whether or not Stanford should drop football. But if it does, I really hope the Board of Trustees, or whoever controls the budget, sees fit to pony up the ~$20M.  I can live without football (though I'd like to keep it), but I think elite sports is not just part of Stanford's identity, but part of it's value proposition. It sets Stanford apart from MIT, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, etc. No offense to excellent schools like that, but in my mind there's more to university life than books and research. Stanford is special because it's a well rounded institution that attracts more than just eggheads -- but people who excel in all aspects of life and go on to leadership positions. Excellence in sports is integral to that.

Relatively speaking, $20M is very manageable. Stanford has the money. It's simply a matter of priorities. Willfully abandoning this pillar of excellence would be gross negligence by a school with such a brobdingnagian endowment. (edit: the autocorrect feature of this site is effing up my sentence; I wrote it correctly. Apparently hu'ge gets changed to "of immense proportions". Can someone remove these weird autocorrections? I rarely post here and this is the second time in a row, I think, that it's happened).