It's not just because football's the most expensive sport to run. It's also that it's the sport that VT alumni care the most about, and it's also the sport developing a competitive cutoff such that below it, spending 10 million below the cutoff is as pointless as spending 80 million below it. Not just VT, a lot of universities are going to be making the same decision (or maybe it gets made for them), whether they're willing to spend higher and higher as that threshold for competitiveness keeps rising over time (because there are no guardrails in place, e.g. salary/spending caps as found in professional sports, there's nothing preventing the increasing consolidation of wealth to the largest programs, and, by extension, consolidation of on-field success). Personally, I think given enough time at a high level of success, I think basketball could substitute well enough for all those broader community benefits, student affinity for the school, etc. Like, imagine if VT started spending enough on basketball, men's and women's, such that they were in the Sweet 16 most years, multiple Final 4 appearances, maybe even a title somewhere in there. A brand new student, 17-18 years old, maybe doesn't have a strong sports favorite yet, but does like to be part of the most exciting event on campus, they would quickly find their fervor with a team that wins 90% of the time. But, where would the money for this kind of success come from? Probably at the expense of football, but that goes back to the issue of how football is what the alumni care the most about. Will they choose to sacrifice their own favorite sport in the hopes of developing a powerhouse program in other sports, for the benefit of kids who are still years removed from becoming students? I don't know, I kind of doubt it.