I agree with your assessment that athletics should serve to enhance the overall student experience at a school. It's a bond for students and alumni and you can do that with a stadium having a capacity of 3k at Washington and Lee or Tennessee's 100k+. It definitely serves to add enjoyment to college. I despise what has become of college football and look forward to watching Roanoke College this year start their first season and then officially join the ODAC next year. However, there is no arguing that VT's academics took off when the football team rose in prominence. If you take the average student that came to VT in the mid to late 80s and compare them to the students arriving today, they are a completely different caliber. Back in 1989 when I rolled onto campus, you could get in with a 2.7 GPA. That would be laughed at today. We actually have students choosing VT over UVA now in fields other than engineering. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I would argue the two go hand in hand. Oh and the Towns of Christiansburg and Blacksburg and Montgomery County have benefited greatly from athletics as well. The only way we will be able to tell is if VT drops into an "academic ACC" and see how that affects enrollment and caliber of the students we get. I hope it has no effect, but only time will tell. ** Edited by CoolJCPA at 6/25/2024, 5:16:47 PM