Post by The Cats on Jul 26, 2020 18:19:00 GMT -5
With the novel coronavirus pandemic threatening the revenue streams that flow into athletic departments — broadcast rights, ticket sales, donations, student fees and payouts from guarantee games — dozens of schools have axed programs. Stanford, long known for its success in nonrevenue sports, became the first school in the Power Five conferences to do so. Leaders in these sports worry that if other schools follow suit, the damage in this country may be irrevocable.
The U.S. Olympic model leans on these college programs that serve as launchpads for athletic careers and an ideal space for high schoolers hoping to develop into elite competitors. Nearly 80 percent of the 558-member U.S. Olympic team in 2016 competed at the college level, representing close to 150 schools. The American system, in which sports are tied to school, differentiates it from those of other countries, but that model also has led to Olympic success.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/25/colleges-dropping-non-revenue-sports-jeopardizes-us-olympic-model/