STEPHEN MOORE: Stop Pretending Colleges Are Not-For-Profit Institutions
Here’s a recent story from the Chicago Tribune that jumped off the page when I read it. Northwestern University (NU), located outside of Chicago, is finishing up the construction of a new $800 million football stadium…
Here’s a recent story from the Chicago Tribune that jumped off the page when I read it. Northwestern University (NU), located outside of Chicago, is finishing up the construction of a new $800 million football stadium. This is supposedly a nonprofit “educational” entity.
Uh huh.
Northwestern – an “institution of higher learning” is flush with cash. It has an endowment of nearly $15 billion, and the tax-free donations keep flowing in.
As a kid who attended NU games, I can attest that the old Dyche Stadium was a great place to see a game. For one-tenth the cost of this new palace, the old stadium could have been refurbished.
Almost all of the $800 million for the lavish Taj Mahal football stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan rivals the professional sports arenas with luxury skyboxes and opulent décor and was donated to the school with tax-deductible dollars. About half the money came from Pat Ryan, a multi-billionaire. No word yet as to whether the Northwestern stadium will come with hot tubs in the end zones.
Meanwhile, the universities are now paying star football players millions of dollars thanks to the new “portal” rules. Many athletes in basketball and football are now selling their passing, tackling, and dunking skills each year to the highest bidder. They can often make more money playing for the old U than if they played in professional leagues like the NFL or NBA.
This is pay-to-play athletics. It won’t be long before the women on the college volleyball teams are paid to play. The star athletes have been exploited by the colleges for years, and now they are getting their just dues.
Don’t get me wrong. I love college sports and will be riveted to the Indiana – Miami national championship game. This is a great product, and we are seeing the best teams money can buy.
But when will Congress stop buying into this mythology that colleges are nonprofit organizations? Why should donations from millionaires and billionaires be IRS tax write-offs? It’s farcical.