This past week I attended the College Football Playoff National Championship. Congratulations to Clemson on a great win. It was their second national championship in the CFP era.
College football celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, in 2019 and it is important to consider the impact of football on college sports.
Without football profits, managing a self-sustaining athletics department would be very difficult. In 2015, Texas A&M football produced an $87 million profit while the rest of A&M’s sports lost a combined $19.4 million.
The revenue produced by football creates opportunities for other sports, andstudents, to compete at the college level. In the FBS, for example, the collective profits from football, and basketball, to a lesser extent, provide support for 2,200 low and non-revenue Olympic sports.
Without the financial contribution of football, our Olympic effort would falter as so many of our Olympian athletes hone their skills at the college level. For example, in the 2016 Olympic games in Brazil, over 1,000 current and former NCAA student-athletes competed. Without football paying the bills, they might not have had the chance to be an Olympian.
As we wrap up another football season, let us remember football’s contributions to American society and culture, and the opportunity the sport has provided and will continue to provide to thousands of student-athletes.
