[Bruce Campbells Chin]

The colleges themselves provide all the facilities and, most importantly, the built-in fan base of alumni and students that make those teams popular. Take those exact same athletes out of college and put them in a minor league, and very few people would watch. You'd also have far fewer teams and much less competition, meaning that those athletes would have fewer opportunities to showcase.and develop those skills if they have professional aspirations.

The critical competitive infrastructure provided by the colleges themselves gets completely ignored when the argument of "exploitation of athletes" is being made.

[God luvs America]

The television money blows away anything you mentioned and more than pays for the facilities- which usually gets a massive boost from big money donors who want their names on stadiums, fields, etc.

Cincinnati, Florida State, USC and other major programs bring in millions upon millions from TV deals but don’t draw well.

The NCAA has been getting away with highway robbery for year- and most of it is tax free!!