Brave New Films: College and University Sports Programs Are Increasing Student Debt
University sports programs are driving up student debt because this big schools are spending much more money on their athletic programs than on educating students.
That’s the opening takeaway from a new video from Brave New Films that seeks to spotlight a little-appreciated facet of the student debt crisis—how universities spend nearly $92,000 per student athlete, compared to $13,600 on educating students.
That seven-to-one ratio comes against the backdrop of tuition costs that have not stopped going up, leaving nearly 70 percent of graduates with an average of $27,900 in student loan debt.
What’s not widely known is that student fees are a major subsidy for the athletic programs, literally pouring millions into sports as schools often cut their academic offerings. The sports fees are factored into the per-credit charges for courses.
The videomakers note that 82 percent of college football programs lose an average of $11 million a year, where the biggest schools have built giant stadiums and frequently pay top coaches hundreds of thousands of dollars a year—and in some cases $1 million or more.
These high salaries comes as many schools are cutting academic programs and laying off faculty—making it harder for many students to graduate with required courses, as well as driving up tuition and student borrowing costs.
Brave New Films urges students to ask schools how much of their tuition is being used for student sports programs.
Watch the video here:
