First, the colleges get together and agree that none of them will pay any of the students who play basketball, even though millions of people are eager to watch them perform. The coaches, administrators, and various hangers on take their cut, but there is plenty left over.
So what do the various colleges do with that money? Here’s where the commercials come in.
If the past is any guide, at some point during the next three weeks, while the NCAA tournament is going on, there will be a PSA about how the revenue (read “profit”) is allocated to minor sports programs.
They are so proud of this. But if you followed the latest admissions scandal or read Daniel Golden’s The Price of Admission you will see that these minor sports are often used as a way to boost enrollment for wealthy prep school students. Minor sports coaches are allowed to recruit, or even provide scholarships for sports that (as Golden says) you don’t find at East Boston High.
So, to summarize. The colleges take the money that the basketball players would earn in a free market, and use it to grease the skids for prep-school applicants. Of course the basketball players do get free sneakers.
