Billion Dollar Ball: A Journey Through the Big-Money Culture of College Football

A commercial entertainment juggernaut has conquered academe, argues this incisive, acerbic exposé of Division I college football. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Gaul (Free Ride: The Tax-Exempt Economy) surveys the powerhouse football programs that are essentially independent, hugely profitable companies and virtual “extensions of ESPN”; the multi-million dollar salaries and severance packages for superstar coaches with lackluster records; the barely literate players pampered with lavish tutoring (including nannies who make sure they go to class); sky-high (but tax-deductible) “donations” for choice stadium seats; and the cutthroat marketing jihads (the University of Alabama threatened legal action against a baker who decorated cookies with team colors, mascots, and the letter A). The hypocrisy of this grubby business masquerading as education is clear in Gaul’s telling, though it appears less harmful at powerhouse schools where football funds not only itself but the many women’s rowing teams that provide Title IX balance (visiting one, he discovers the true spirit of collegiate athletics). Gaul’s mix of shrewd financial analysis and colorful reportage makes for an engrossing account of America’s most sentimental yet mercenary sports culture. (Aug. 25)