[msqueri]

I'm curious if anyone knows what Stanford football brings in to the school, minus the costs associated with running the program. I doubt it's more than a fraction of a percent of Stanford's overall annual budget.

You mean other than the ability to compete in the single most popular extracurricular activity in America, have a student body that purports to have the best in all fields not have a glaring omission of not having standouts in the one sport Americans really care about, anchor an athletic department that fields dozens of sports (many at a high level and all contributing in their own ways to Stanford competing at the highest levels in extracurricular activities and having a student body with people who are the best in their fields), give tens of thousands of alumni and community members a reason to come to campus and feel connected to the university in a way they might not (and certainly wouldn't as often) without fall Saturdays, project to the world that Stanford is a well-rounded university, give an opportunity to attend Stanford to individuals who contribute to campus life and alumni connection but predominantly wouldn't otherwise (and going forward may check certain diversity and inclusion boxes without requiring affirmative action), provide priceless memories (not only building that alumni connection but in the good times potentially spurring increased donations and applications)....

Monetarily, my understanding is an outsider's one based on Google searches and others may know better. I believe Stanford typically generates about $130-140 million in athletic department revenue. I doubt it turns much, if any, of a profit and am under the impression the idea is for it to sustain itself, not be relevant in terms of the overall university annual budget. I doubt very many programs turn a net profit and assume football is by far the largest. In the past I've heard net football profit numbers in the teen millions. I assume that's pretty variable based on how good the football team is.

[msqueri]

I'm curious if anyone knows what Stanford football brings in to the school, minus the costs associated with running the program. I doubt it's more than a fraction of a percent of Stanford's overall annual budget.

You mean other than the ability to compete in the single most popular extracurricular activity in America, have a student body that purports to have the best in all fields not have a glaring omission of not having standouts in the one sport Americans really care about, anchor an athletic department that fields dozens of sports (many at a high level and all contributing in their own ways to Stanford competing at the highest levels in extracurricular activities and having a student body with people who are the best in their fields), give tens of thousands of alumni and community members a reason to come to campus and feel connected to the university in a way they might not (and certainly wouldn't as often) without fall Saturdays, project to the world that Stanford is a well-rounded university, give an opportunity to attend Stanford to individuals who contribute to campus life and alumni connection but predominantly wouldn't otherwise (and going forward may check certain diversity and inclusion boxes without requiring affirmative action), provide priceless memories (not only building that alumni connection but in the good times potentially spurring increased donations and applications)....

Monetarily, my understanding is an outsider's one based on Google searches and others may know better. I believe Stanford typically generates about $130-140 million in athletic department revenue. I doubt it turns much, if any, of a profit and am under the impression the idea is for it to sustain itself, not be relevant in terms of the overall university annual budget. I doubt very many programs turn a net profit and assume football is by far the largest. In the past I've heard net football profit numbers in the teen millions. I assume that's pretty variable based on how good the football team is.