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A comment on A coach is probably the highest-paid public employee in your (US) state. Parent comment

Re:A coach is probably the highest-paid public employee in y... by slg on Friday May 10, 2013 @01:10PM (#5687390)
I think the obvious question regarding this issue is whether athletics provide any educational value. Is so, why would we care if they turn a profit? How would spending funds on athletics be any different than spending funds on other ancillary departments like drama or music?

It seems that most universities believe there is some value in it for students considering that many schools are happy to run athletic departments at a net loss. The Ivy League for example has a strong tradition of fostering athletic competition and those schools often have larger athletic departments than most large state universities.

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Re:A coach is probably the highest-paid public employee in y... by jhawk28 on Friday May 10, 2013 @02:48PM (#5687952)
Athletic departments also provide a marketing opportunity. Students are often willing to go to a particular school because they like the football team. For better or worse, sports add an additional experience to college.
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