I’d be interested in just how big a deficit it was running and if said deficit, if there was one, was a foregone conclusion what with increased enrollment at the University, etc.

I never recalled any alternative models being proposed either like not playing football, for example, like some colleges do not.

My thinking is more along the lines that if you get into the business of having a university, a competitive sports program is a big part of the whole experience.

I’m not a huge fan of the “saving souls“ rationalization either. You can use that line of thinking to talk people out of purchasing practically anything not directly related to church stuff if you carry it out far enough.

The Living Scriptures folks used to have a video that they’ve showed people where a woman decided to buy a living Scriptures videos instead of a truck she needed because “That truck wouldn’t bring people to Christ.” I’m not inferring that you’re doing anything similar here, just that I don’t care for that rationale based on how it gets utilized in our culture sometimes.