Can Michigan student athletes continue to compete and win without revenue from private luxury boxes?
Yes. Federal data confirms that U-M already spends more per varsity athlete ($160,000) than any school in the country. U-M also spends more on athletically-related student aid than any other Big Ten competitor – more than $11.3 million in 2004-2005 alone. It also provides more athletically-related student aid – $13,922 per varsity athlete – than all other Big Ten competitors except Northwestern. Financial aid correlates strongly with tuition at the various institutions, and because Northwestern has the highest tuition in the conference by far, it must provide more financial aid to its athletes. A more significant figure to consider is the fraction of the undergraduate student body that competes in varsity sports. From this perspective, U-M (1 out of every 29 students) ranks second only to Northwestern (1/17) and far ahead of Ohio State (1/36), Penn State (1/47), Michigan State (1/48) and others in the league. And Michigan student-athletes compete with the very best in the nation. In 20
