Stop Pretending That Colleges Are Nonprofit Institutions |
Here's a recent story from the Chicago Tribune that jumped off the page when I read it. Northwestern University is finishing up the construction of a new $800 million football stadium. This is supposedly a nonprofit "educational" entity.
Uh-huh.
Northwestern – an "institution of higher learning" located outside of Chicago – is flush with cash. It has an endowment of nearly $15 billion, and the tax-free donations keep flowing in.
Almost all the $800 million – which rivals the cost of professional sports arenas with luxury skyboxes and opulent decor – for the lavish Taj Mahal football stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan was donated to the school with tax-deductible dollars. About half the money came from multibillionaire Pat Ryan. No word yet as to whether the Northwestern stadium will come with hot tubs in the end zones.
Meanwhile, universities are now paying star football players millions of dollars thanks to the new "portal" rules. Many basketball and football athletes are now........