quote:
In summation, you are wrong. The gameday experience has never been better for the fan, and college athletics has never been more exciting than right now. Period.

So how long have you been working for IMG?

Also, OP is not wrong in the broad strokes but needs some tweaking on the finer points.

a) Media companies control gameflow and it can alter games. Last night at the UT @ UK game it came down to the last few seconds. UK was hot but time was called (I thought to put about 1.8 seconds back on the clock) and neither team called it, nor did the refs to reset the clock. It was called just so ESPN could get in a few commercials. UT regrouped and UK went cold. 1 point win was achieved by UT when 1 point win by UK probably would have happened with no media timeout.

b) Schools do not spent on a budget the way you or I might. Say an AD in the SEC a decade ago made 150K and had a staff of 2 making 50K each for 200K annual budget. Power 5 schools have more and more money flowing in so instead of maybe growing to 300K in cost at the next AD hire it goes to 500K + 50K in bonuses and a staff of 6 (in their early 20's who don't know much) making 75K each. Cost rockets from 250K to 1M just in salary cost. I would love to run a company where arbitrary increases like that could happen and the company did not go belly up. In short the more they get the more they increase spending without really needing to. All this happened while the rest of the US was slogging through the 08' recession / depression.

c) Harvesting the baby boomers is still in peak cycle but that will start to decline in the next decade as they start to die off. The folks in the generation below them will not have that same money and the long time fleecing of donors will end that gravy train. The AD's are quick to blame folks staying home because of TV's but they ignore the reality that they have priced the live event out of the average persons pocket between ticket prices and hefty "donations".

d) As for IMG, certain SEC schools now sub the "donation" work out of house to folks like IMG so when they hit you up, part of your donation goes to a private for profit company and not to the actual school itself. Next time you write a donation check as first who is speaking to you and where that money really goes. It is more cost effective for IMG to solicit say in a North Carolina headquarters but they wont know you like the old way of a person who has met you personally and is actually employed by your alma mater.