At many universities, there's a massive stash of funds: the Athletics Department, which is a completely different organization and therefore off the table.

Also, university administration lover building pyramids of hierarchy. When you add a level to the pyramid, everybody gets a raise. Executive salaries are ludicrous -- and similar to the bank execs in the '08 bailouts, they cut themselves bonuses for "saving money" on handling disasters of their own creation.

By and large, university endowments are treated as separate investment vehicles and are no longer used to ease times of hardship.

Universities have largely been sold out. What was once a venerable public institution is now run like a profit-driven business. Welcome to wal-mart.