So while American higher education may owe a great deal to the market, we need to think about the market's escalating influence on the choices we make. It is sometimes easier to see the market at work outside academe. GE and Disney blend entertainment, self promotion, and news together in neat packages where it is increasingly difficult to tell one from the other. In both cases, it is easy to see the market at work. But for us, and by way of illustration, I'll cite only three areas in which I see a growing tension between our mission and the market.
Presidents sometimes feel the same about athletics.
To be fair, students can grow from participation in athletics. At many schools and in several sports, the system works reasonably well, although it is worth noting that in no other country on earth is the link between sports and colleges as close as in the United States. But in football and men's basketball, and on the campuses of many colleges and universities, market forces have virtually captured athletics. Athletic departments live a life of their own, all but professionalized, part of the entertainment industry, purchased through television revenues and shoe contracts, driven by million dollar coaches' salaries, and caught up in a facilities arms race. The market is in control.