The reality is that every alumni benefits from a good sports program whether they want to admit it or not. If not for sports no one outside the church would even know who BYU is. This is the case with many top notch schools that have no basketball or football. I run into people in Utah all the time that don't know there is a BYU Idaho. Barring a few exceptions national sports is a must to market yourself as a quality top tier university.

I personally think they should keep everything the way it is and simply charge an extra $100-300 per student for this purpose. I paid my own way and I would have paid it. It would make a ton of sense from a worldly perspective, though I know that would never happen because the brethren are determined to keep the tuition low which means they are probably doing the right thing. Still, stepping away from that, BYU students are almost paying community college rates for a top 50 education and I can't imagine what the athletics and school could do with and extra $3-9 million each year.

The plain and simple truth is you could add thousand a year and BYU would still be a BARGAIN. I remember hearing many students complaining about how hard it was to pay tuition when I was there which seemed crazy to me then and seems crazier to me every year I live. Those who complain have obviously not looked at the going rate anywhere else. Price alone is reason enough to make it a highly desirable place to go to school.