there's a cost and a benefit to any University in having D1 athletics.
we choose to fund 7 men's and 9 women's sports with varying investments in each.
it's easy to argue that the student and alumni experiences would greatly benefit from additional investment in revenue producing sports, particularly men's basketball.
plus the university could financially benefit. there are NCAA payouts, but also with athletic success there is increased demand for tickets, college applications increase, and alumni donations increase. it could even make the difference if the conferences do divide at some point.