Billion-Dollar Ball: A Journey Through the Big-Money Culture of College Football

Here, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Gaul (Giant Steps) considers the finances of college sports, especially football. While corruption, rule-skirting, and hidden funding have followed college football since the 19th century, Gaul argues that the decision to make athletic departments separate from overall academic funding has created a different monster. In the past two decades, this new paradigm of finances has led to a system in Division I football where only members of the five top conferences are able to compete. Even a successful underdog upstart such as Boise State is pushed aside because its $40 million budget is paltry compared to the average $90 million of the top 65 schools. Fueled largely by television money, college football embodies the worst aspects of corporate crony capitalism. Gaul lists the most bizarre items: million dollar salaries for current and former coaches; personal seat licenses listed as charitable donations; academic systems for athletes that resemble a specialized charter school; and a rare emphasis on branding, licensing, and the legal enforcement of trademarks. The author contends this situation is untenable for college football and dysfunctional for academics.