The Future of Higher Education: Rose Bowl or Ethics Bowl
The following originally appeared in The Huffington Post. In the coming weeks, there will be 35 college football bowl games played in the United States. Advertising prices for television ads during the national championship game are expected to surpass last year’s Super Bowl. Students, parents, alumni and even fans with little connection to schools will spend freely to purchase their favorite college team’s jersey, hat or pendant. Enthusiastic college students will display faces and chests painted with their school colors and wave their finger at television cameras to indicate that their team is number one. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal noted that the rising cost of college athletics has led to an alliance between Division I football schools and television: “TV has agreed to pump about $25.5 billion in rights fees into college conferences and their member schools over the next 15 years.” The hope is that the investment will save both the networks and the schools. Cal Berkeley reportedly invested $321 million in a football stadium renovation, and the University of Michigan spent $226 million to do the same.