University President Explains Why His School Doesn’t Have Football - LINDSAY GIBBS, Think Progress

Drexel University has 18 Division I varsity sports teams, but football isn’t one of them. And university president John A. Fry thinks other schools should follow suit. “At Drexel we recognize the benefits of sports but are not burdened by the distractions that come with maintaining a football program,” Fry wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. “Drexel hasn’t fielded a team since 1973 when administrators realized its budget burden.” Fry cites statistics from a Huffington Post report in November that highlights how much money universities are pouring into athletics, often at the expense of students. The study found that in the last five years, public universities have pumped more than $10.3 billion in mandatory student fees and other subsidies into athletics, with nearly 130 athletic departments relying on subsidies for over half of their revenue. http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2016/01/04/3735956/drexel-president-no-football/