Collegiate Olympic sports

Support for providing new resources to fund collegiate Olympic sports

One of the most striking findings is the consensus around Olympic sports. Nearly all respondents (93%) believe universities must continue offering Olympic sports such as gymnastics, swimming, track & field, and others not associated with generating revenue. Leaders also highlight the national interest, with 92% agreeing these programs are vital to Team USA’s Olympic success.

Strong support extends to new public financing mechanisms: Seventy-three percent (73%) favor federal funds to help finance collegiate Olympic sports and scholarships and 82% support using revenues from a federal tax on sports gambling operators to sustain them.

Support for new financial incentives from College Football Playoff (CFP) revenues: A majority of FBS leaders (57%) support creating a new allocation from a share of CFP revenues to provide new incentives for schools that develop U.S. Olympians and “offer broad-based sports opportunities.”

In a separate question to athletics directors at institutions abiding by the House settlement, 86% said that “new or more financial incentives provided by the NCAA, conference, or other entities to reward an institution for its number of participants or number of sports” could help their institutions maintain their current number of NCAA varsity sports.

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