According to a new report on NCAA athletics, colleges spend SEVEN times more on each member of an athletic team than they do on regular students.   The average college spends $13,628 on each student, when you divide up their operating expenses equally across the student body.   BUT, they spend $91,936 on each student athlete. That's a 51% increase over 2005.  Spending on regular students has only gone up 23%. 

 Salaries for coaches and other staff members make up more than a third of the costs for athletes.  Athletic scholarships make up another quarter of the total.

Teams from the SEC, or Southeastern Conference, have won the last seven football championships and last year's basketball tournament.  It probably has to do with the fact that they spend nearly $164,000 on each athlete.  

(Inside Higher Ed)