A WaPo exposé makes clear just how big a business is collegiate athletics. (See Why students foot the bill for college sports, and how some are fighting back) According to the linked article, this includes Maryland as well, where $11.3 million in student fees were collected in 2014, yet $55.3 million was collected in athletic revenue. A majority of UM students have nothing to do with the athletics here, whether as participants or spectators, and in fact we make a point of shooing away those non-believers. In order to make room for tailgate parties, we tow the cars of students who foolishly wanted to have stayed and worked on their research projects on pressing problems of the world. We shoo them away – but only after picking their pockets.
We have said for a long time that sports are run by a division of labor: the state is responsible for covering the costs and the athletics program is responsible for cashing the checks. The above article makes clear that the state does its part by fleecing the students.