Athletic departments thrive on subsidies while universities struggle

“More than $800 million in student fees and university subsidies are propping up athletic programs at the nation’s top sports colleges, including hundreds of millions in the richest conferences,” according to a report by Jack Gillum, Jodi Upton and Steve Berkowitz of USA Today.  At the same time, many of these school are facing financial hardship on other fronts – faculty salaries have dropped, financial aid is drying up and fees and tuition are on the rise.