Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    An AI-Driven Work Force
    AI and Microcredentials
Sign In
Blog Logo

Players

The business of college sports.

The Power of History

By Libby Sander June 23, 2010

Anaheim, Calif.—For decades, college sports has had history on its side.

Does that sound like a bit too much caffeinated hyperbole, fueled perhaps by the three large cups of coffee I’ve consumed today while racing from one end of the Marriott to the other? Possibly. I do like coffee. But I also enjoy a dose of historical context every now and then.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

Anaheim, Calif.—For decades, college sports has had history on its side.

Does that sound like a bit too much caffeinated hyperbole, fueled perhaps by the three large cups of coffee I’ve consumed today while racing from one end of the Marriott to the other? Possibly. I do like coffee. But I also enjoy a dose of historical context every now and then.

So consider this brief retrospective, courtesy of Bob De Carolis, the athletic director at Oregon State University, who brought it up during a discussion here on controlling costs in college sports:

ADVERTISEMENT

“I got in this business in 1979,” Mr. De Carolis said Wednesday afternoon to an audience of a few dozen athletics administrators. “Cost containment was on the table then, and it’s on the table again [now].”

But athletics departments have been lucky. “Every four or five years,” he said, “we find some sort of revenue nugget that helps us.” With startling regularity, a new revenue stream always seems to appear, just in time to infuse athletics departments with more cash—and allow them to hold off on making truly painful cuts, he said.

To wit: In the 1980s, the licensing of collegiate trademarks brought a windfall of cash to many athletics departments. Then, the Universities of Georgia and Oklahoma won their landmark antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA over the television broadcast of college football games—thus allowing conferences to cut their own deals with networks and cash in on the airing of those games.

The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament was the next savior. Expanding in 1985 to 64 teams, then in 2001 to 65, the NCAA has garnered billions of dollars for itself and its member colleges through a series of ever more lucrative television-rights deals with CBS. (In April, the association inked its most recent broadcast agreement with CBS and Turner Broadcasting, valued at $10.8-billion for a 68-team field.) Next came the Bowl Championship Series, in 1998, with its hefty payouts to schools in the six major conferences.

More recently, the advent of the Big Ten Network, in 2007, and the latest reshuffling of a handful of universities in three big conferences have allowed certain colleges and leagues to jockey for more revenue. All the while, individual programs have found ways to monetize everything—priority parking, video box scores, spring football games—to keep pace with rising expenses.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s an impressive, fortuitous, and slightly dizzying list. The only question, Mr. De Carolis said, is this: “Will it ever run out?”

Judging from the sparse attendance in the room this afternoon, athletic directors are firm believers that history, for better or worse, repeats itself.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
About the Author
Libby Sander
Libby Sander was a senior reporter at The Chronicle, and wrote about student affairs, exploring the experiences of collegians from all walks of life.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Photo illustration showing Santa Ono seated, places small in the corner of a dark space
'Unrelentingly Sad'
Santa Ono Wanted a Presidency. He Became a Pariah.
Illustration of a rushing crowd carrying HSI letters
Seeking precedent
Funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions Is Discriminatory and Unconstitutional, Lawsuit Argues
Photo-based illustration of scissors cutting through paper that is a photo of an idyllic liberal arts college campus on one side and money on the other
Finance
Small Colleges Are Banding Together Against a Higher Endowment Tax. This Is Why.
Pano Kanelos, founding president of the U. of Austin.
Q&A
One Year In, What Has ‘the Anti-Harvard’ University Accomplished?

From The Review

Photo- and type-based illustration depicting the acronym AAUP with the second A as the arrow of a compass and facing not north but southeast.
The Review | Essay
The Unraveling of the AAUP
By Matthew W. Finkin
Photo-based illustration of the Capitol building dome propped on a stick attached to a string, like a trap.
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Can’t Trust the Federal Government. What Now?
By Brian Rosenberg
Illustration of an unequal sign in black on a white background
The Review | Essay
What Is Replacing DEI? Racism.
By Richard Amesbury

Upcoming Events

Plain_Acuity_DurableSkills_VF.png
Why Employers Value ‘Durable’ Skills
Warwick_Leadership_Javi.png
University Transformation: a Global Leadership Perspective
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin