3 - Sorry for excluding Arts & Sciences. That was not intentional and not a slight against anyone from that college. And yes, I was exaggerating with the quote of a $100m gift to the school. Maybe I should have said $10m, or even $2m. Either of those is still more than what a 4-yr player generates for MU at $370k/yr, which bleed quoted.

I agree with you 100% that a successful athletics program generates an enormous amount of goodwill for the school. Some staff from the alumni relations department came to visit me in Chicago back in 2005 or so and I explained to them the practical example of that. Illinois went to the Final Four that year, but by that fall, they had falling enrollment, the school was in shambles and they were searching for a new president. And I directly compared it to the positive impact that 2003 had for MU. The staff that visited me were surprised by the comparison and didn't realize it. So I get it completely and agree with you.

I also agree with you that these players make a large sacrifice to be at Marquette. But the message that bleed said is that because bball players (and I should note that bleed forgot to limit it to only men's players and not even women's players) are the only ones that generate a return for the university and therefore are the only ones who deserve state-of-the-art living quarters. And what really smacks of elitism is the exact quote I highlighted which said, they are the most deserving. Many student-athletes in other sports spend a lot of time on campus during breaks and summer. I knew quite a few of them when I was in school. Do they deserve any less because their sports don't generate a profit? Many students have to work their way through 4 years of MU, some working 40 hrs/wk on top of school. Do they deserve less? It is the success of each and every component of a university that makes it truly great, not just one.

I support MU basketball a lot and am as big of a fan as many. And I do think they deserve some extra benefits for making the sacrifices they do. But I will never put them on a pedestal and say they are the most worthy or only ones worthy of something when we all know that many students and athletes make extreme sacrifices to make it through 4 years at MU. And they are already getting way more than most students got while at MU.