That being said, hockey is extremely popular at some schools; Gopher hockey is more popular (with both students and alumni) than Gopher basketball at the University of Minnesota.

For one, they put money into hedge funds as investors. And broadly, they're long on illiquid investments but have short term obligations for salaries, pensions etc. That's a hedge fund with a slightly different time horizon and intent.

Some of those short term obligations are covered thru grants, fed money. But when that dries up (eg, Harvard and Trump), you're squeezed.

As an aside, I don't think telling people that they haven't thought of things sufficiently is a particularly effective way of convincing them. There are a lot of potential other reasons someone might not agree with your point of view, and it's a bit hypocritical to tell someone else they're "not thinking things through" when you haven't actually figured out the reasoning behind their opinions.

I didn't spend much time researching but here is one article backing up my assertion: https://www.orthocarolina.com/blog/heading-the-ball-in-socce...

Edit: I am happy to see good research supported that headers can cause damage. However, please note that I am suggesting headers in Association Football are much less damaging compared with American Football, as a opposed to a complete avoidance of damage.

The US adopted restrictions 10 years ago. No heading at all for age 10 and under (indirect free kick to the opponent for violations). Under 13 years old coaches are required to keep track of heading and limit any individual player to fewer than 25 per week total between training and matches.

The English FA also has adopted rules limiting heading for youth. I image most of Europe has as well.

Futsal, a small-sided variant of soccer, has way less heading because of the type of ball and how the game is played. It also teaches excellent technical skills, so it's great for kids who want to play regular soccer later on. [2] If as a society we continue the trend towards less and less acceptability of brain injury risk in sports, then futsal may well become the more-popular form of soccer.

1. https://usclubsoccer.org/headinjuries/

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsal

The problem in the US is that the sports are already glued to the academic institutions, and it would seem impossible for all of them to separate at once.

The evolution of sports in Europe has been very different. The professional teams in Europe are also talent development centres. Man U, Bayern, Barcelona, they all have junior teams that are run by the same organization. They keep in touch with local grassroots teams, and nothing is attached to an academic institution. If you're a serious football player in Europe, you don't go to Cambridge. It's already too late by the time you are thinking of applying to university, which regardless doesn't care at all about athletic performance.

I mean I can completely understand the argument that it makes no sense but it is hard for an outsider to understand what something like Ohio State vs Michigan or Alabama vs Auburn in football means for those communities.

To say it is inevitable they split is just not understanding what these teams mean to the people and communities involved.

There is just something fun and additionally communal about the college sports team that isn't replicated by a professional team.

The biggest feature though is that it makes the teams temporary structures that are always changing because the kids graduate. That is something that would be really hard to replicate in a professional sports league. 3-4 years and then you are kicked out of the league. That doesn't work.