Colleges Bet on Football in Their Own K-Shaped Recovery
Stricken by falling enrollment and budget cuts, universities count on the sport more than ever for marketing and fundraising.
Colleges are counting on football more than ever.
Photographer: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
The 2020 pandemic has accelerated a lot of long-term trends affecting institutions of all kinds. Higher education is no exception. From moving classrooms online to shrinking enrollment and budget cuts, there's more uncertainty than ever surrounding the future of colleges and universities.
As schools struggled with these unprecedented challenges, the year has given us a glimpse into what's considered truly essential in higher education: Football. With the College Football Playoff getting underway on Friday, we're seeing how many of America's preeminent centers of learning have treated their programs as hallowed ground, with their teams' status arguably heightened during this tumultuous season.