What College Athletics Really Cost Institutions

Athletics often sit at the center of campus identity, yet decisions about sports programs are rarely examined through the same strategic lens as academics, enrollment, or finance. As costs rise and the landscape shifts, leaders face increasingly complex choices about whether athletics strengthen institutional health or quietly strain it.

In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Dr. Daniel Mahony about how presidents and senior leaders navigate the real trade-offs behind college sports. Drawing on Mahony’s experience leading institutions through financial, cultural, and competitive pressures, the conversation explores why most athletic programs operate at a loss, how even the largest conferences face sustainability challenges, and why collaboration across leadership teams matters more than scale or prestige.

Rather than debating whether athletics belong in higher education, this episode focuses on how leaders make deliberate, mission-aligned decisions and when athletics can become a strategic asset rather than a liability.

In this episode:

The institutional costs and benefits of college athleticsHow athletics shape campus culture and identityWhen sports programs support mission and when they complicate itWhy athletics decisions require system-level leadershipHow institutions align athletics with long-term priorities