Close your football program

We just survived the worst economic catastrophe in modern history, and yet universities continue to sink money into useless activities unrelated to their education mission

Now, after staggering to losing football seasons in four of the last five years and seeing attendance drop to levels last seen in the 1970s, the Vols find themselves mired in more than $200 million of debt, the most in the SEC, with reserves of just $1.95 million, the least in the conference.  

The athletic department spends a startling $21 million a year on debt payments, $13.5 million of which comes from the school’s stressed $99.5 million athletic budget and the rest from donations. 

It’s an ugly financial picture for one of the nation’s strongest football brands...

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Give up.  Use the money to hire professors and start a polymers research center or (God forbid) an art center.  Do something useful.  Stop this insane waste of resources.