… about their beloved sports schools.
This is just the sort of institution likely to do something real about the national grotesquerie of big-time college sports. (“If college presidents really wanted to halt the college sports machine, they could try two options. They could insist that athletic departments operate within their university budgets, like the English or biology departments; or they could ask Congress to rescind the tax breaks on the commercial income earned by athletic programs. That has about as much a chance of happening as Florida International did at beating Florida last Saturday. Can you imagine a senator from Texas or Pennsylvania embracing the idea of taxing the Longhorns or Nittany Lions?“) (Sure. This was written in 2009 – before the Nittany Lions gave us all an uncensored look at where our athletic program taxes are going. So what. It’s impossible to imagine an athletic program sufficiently depraved to attract serious congressional attention. Though I guess it’s a fun mind game to in fact try to imagine the depths of degradation that might… Nah.)
July 9th, 2014 at 5:34PM
is the right video linked?
what i got was Reid Hoffman and Joi Oti talking way too much without actually saying anything to watch long enough to get to anything about sports…
July 9th, 2014 at 5:45PM
john: I’ll check that.
July 9th, 2014 at 5:46PM
I can think of at least one athletic programs sufficiently depraved. University of Miami had a ponzi scheme artist conning his victims of about a billion $$$, quite a lot of it ending up as donations to the school. In return, Nevin Shapiro had free access to players, coaches, and admins. He also was a font of hookers, drugs, gambling money, more sex, more drugs. Out of deep gratitude, UM named a wing of the AD department after him. If dan’t ain’t depraved, then notin is….
July 9th, 2014 at 5:47PM
john: I think I’ve now corrected the link. Thanks.
July 10th, 2014 at 6:25AM
Does this tax break argument make any sense, when nearly all athletic programs lose money?
July 10th, 2014 at 6:59AM
Mr Punch: Doesn’t it make MORE sense? Why are we funding a non-academic, losing proposition? Am I supposed to support the idea of my tax dollars going to subsidizing luxury suites in half empty stadiums?
July 10th, 2014 at 9:27AM
Generally, you tax revenue, not profits. Any decent accountant can make a profit become a loss. Commercial enterprises of universities should be taxed and should not qualify for charitable tax deductions.