Do you know what UConn‘s annual budget is? It is roughly $1.5 billion for the Storrs and regional campuses plus another $1.25 billion for the Medical School and hospital. Any loss from going to a bowl game is lost in the decimal places. Finally, most subsidy comes from students, not direct tax payer funds.
But here’s another way to save money. Let’s petition the Big East to move the Big East Tournament out of New York and Madison Square Garden. Everything is really expensive there. Hotels, meals, travel, even parking the bus. Move it to Santander Arena in Reading PA. Everything is WAY cheaper so the league makes more money to share with members. Plus it’s closer to the Midwestern teams.
As a general statement it’s true that governments don’t make money. You know why? Because they essentially provide community wide services. Gonna snow here Thursday. Youll be looking to government to keep the roads clear no matter the cost, I suspect.
But you raise a great point. Why should colleges and universities support athletic programs just really to provide entertainment for the general public? Let’s drop them entirely, or maybe just go down to D3. MIT fund raises to support its athletic programs. Each team is given a funding goal. Don’t meet it, no team next year. That would meet your criteria, I think.