The Chronicle of Higher Ed interviewed Ohio State President Gordon Gee about college athletics. Here's the headline: Buckeyes' Leader Believes College Presidents Should Help Contain Sports Spending. But that didn't really square with this stunning bit of rationalization:

Q. What can the top-spending university do about the arms race?

A. Our budget at Ohio State is $4-billion, and our athletic budget is $110-million. When one thinks about it as part of the overall budget of the institution, it's fairly insignificant. And it is a self-supporting unit, the same as many other units within the university. We have to make certain that athletic programs are fully integrated into the ... life of the university, that talented football players and talented cellists are given opportunities to excel, but that it is all part of the academic, social-cultural environment of the institution. And what is happening as part of this escalation is that athletic programs are increasingly becoming separated and segregated, both in structure and function, and even values, from the rest of the institution. And it's bringing that back into focus, which I think is important.

For the record, Ohio State does have 36 varsity teams, according to the Chronicle. But $110 million of public money being funneled to sports at a "research" institution? How is this acceptable?