We discovered this Myths About College Sports infographic over at totalsports.com and thought it was worth sharing with our audience.
This infographic explores some of the common misconceptions the general public has about college athletics. For instance, most fans assume that college sports programs are making money hand over fist, but it’s just not true. In fact, in 2009, the median FBS school lost $10 million on its sports program. In addition, half of the top sport schools rely on at least $9 million in subsidies.
Perhaps the most enlightening numbers–at least to us–are these: Colleges spend six times as much money on student athletes as they do on non-athletes. If you are an athlete we hope this makes you realize just how fortunate you are.
It is becoming more widely understood that the average sports scholarship fails to cover total school expenses. That’s why there has been so much discussion about compensating college athletes at a higher rate. Still, athletes at the collegiate level can have their likenesses used by the NCAA without any form of compensation outside the purview of their athletic scholarship.
What about the graduation rate for college athletes? We’ did an infographic on this very subject. Did you know that 31% of college football players never graduate? And the number is 34% for college basketball players?
While there are some programs that spend a lot of money (see SEC football) and see a lot of success on the fields of play this is not universally true. This infographic finds no correlation between athletic spending and programs that win more than they lose. Of course some programs spend so exorbitantly that since 1984 the salary for public school football coaches has ballooned to a lofty $2 million.
Finally, while applications can increase 2-8% after success in football and basketball this is a short-lived trend that quickly fades.
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