NCAA Arms Race

In 2014, the top 48 Division 1 colleges in the country spent a total of $772 million on new athletic facilities, most specifically focused on football. To say they're over-the-top extravagant is something of an understatement. The schools are rapidly building sprawling, Roman-esque spa complexes as they attempt to "out-bling" one another in their quest to attract the top high school talent from around the country.

“This is all about pandering to the fantasies of 18-year-olds. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the mission of a university,” said Gurney, whose organization advocates an overhaul of commercialized college sports in America.

“What’s probably next down the line is a floating river attraction. . . . Why don’t we have a roller coaster?” said Gurney, who has worked in athletic departments at the University of Maryland and the University of Oklahoma, where he now teaches. “It’s embarrassing that we’re even discussing this.”

So long as the money for these "day spas for teenagers" originates as private donations from alumni, I've no issue with them. There is huge money in college football, as a casual perusal of your television guide on any Saturday in the fall will demonstrate. It's natural that schools will pursue that money.

Some people claim that the college football teams have become the equivalent of minor league farms for the NFL, that those students' educations come in a distant second. I can't argue with that, but I'd point out that the American university system as a whole has failed to educate students for several decades now. Those not playing football are having their heads stuffed full of leftist propaganda. I find it hard to condemn those schools on the basis of their extravagant athletic programs when their academic programs are nothing more than puppy mills for "progressive" voters. Look thee to thine own house first, academicians; your ivory towers are more than a little tarnished.