[cortesoft]

So there should be no sports at all at schools? What about other extra curricular activities? No band, no drama club, nothing but academics?

I get not wanting to have a minor league football team with unpaid labor, but even rec league basketball needs a scoreboard.

[rsj_hn]

In other countries, things not tied directly to a university's educational mission are still available, but as local community organizations. There are drama clubs, sports clubs, but available to the entire community, not just college students.

There is no reason why the state should spend its educational subsidies on funding auxillary recreational activities solely for the benefit of university students when a good GPA is not necessary to recreate, nor do university students have a greater need of recreation than anyone else.

[kmonsen]

I think most countries have some form of student sports as part of universities, just not the kind of professional ones like in the U.S. students study better if they have something else in their lives.

The problem is that it is really hard to know where to draw the line and the US as usual takes it fully to the extreme.

All that being said, I thought the big sports were a revenue driver for the schools that chose to participate in the bigger leagues?

[rsj_hn]

Intramural, sure, you can organize some soccer games between adjacent dorms as part of the responsibilities of the dorm admin, but in terms of paid programs, no.