I don’t think a lot of that money made it to lower Div 1 schools. I have a relative who played golf on such a team. It was just a glorified HS golf team. The team only played tournaments that were drivable and hoped the weather wasn’t crappy when they got there. The top tier Div 1 teams fly all over the country and put in more competitive rounds during the semester break than my relative did during an entire school year..
None of the schools I mentioned in my post were small schools. But that’s a major part of the point. The TV contracts are always being expanded and we are seeing lower division bowl games on the tube and that generates money for the schools. We now see college golf competitions on the sports channels some of lower division schools. We see skateboarding and break dancing, pickleball, foot volleyball...the list is endless of “sports” they can get on the air.
The uniforms are used as advertisement along with helmets in football, the ball in basketball, softball and baseball...every little piece of the game has been elevated into a cash cow. And remember, this started out as recreational sports to build fair play and conditioning. Welcome to the world of opportunity.
wy69