[pooper]

This 'sandwich fallacy' perfectly illustrates why I think sports should be removed from the university system. Universities are great 'bakeries' (centers of learning), but they’ve become bogged down trying to run massive 'sandwich shops' (commercial sports). It’s okay for these to exist, but they should be independent entities so the school can focus on being a school.

[bluGill]

Spectator sports should be run by the marketing department at the university and judged by their ability to bring in future students and donations - both important things that sports do for marketing. Justify your existence based on those two or get rid of those sports. Since this is a marketing department thing other departments should stay out.

There is a different class of sports though. Schools should have sports as exercise for students, and classes on how to get better at sports.

[Terr_]

Just musing on the flows between the Sports and Academics sides:

* Sports gives Academics some funds

* Sports gives Academics brand marketing/prestige

* Academics gives Sports a moral cover for exploiting young athletes

* Academics gives Sports a pre-made core fanbase of students