Two top-five public universities square off Saturday in Bloomington, and the only thing anyone in charge wants to talk about is the College Football Playoff — not the debt load carried by the students who fill the stands.
No. 4 Ohio State travels to No. 5 Indiana in what cleveland.com calls "one of the conference's biggest games of the season," with both programs "fighting to strengthen their postseason résumés" and their claim to a spot in the 12-team playoff field. Sports Illustrated is already scouting the matchup for NFL draft stock, noting Indiana offensive tackle Carter Smith — the "reigning Big Ten Lineman of the Year" — and Ohio State edge rusher Kenyatta Jackson Jr. as prime professional prospects. The Lions, per SI, need to fill roster holes, and Saturday's noon kickoff is basically a free scouting combine.
That's the whole story, according to the outlets covering it: playoff positioning, draft stock, TV windows. Not one of the five sources covering college football this weekend so much as mentions the word "tuition."
The Baton Rouge Advocate covers LSU — another public university sitting on a massive athletic budget — as the Tigers fight for playoff survival after an overtime loss to Kentucky put them "just one more defeat away from falling outside of College Football Playoff contention entirely." Head coach Lane Kiffin's squad is still a two-touchdown favorite over Mississippi State, because the Bulldogs' quarterback and running back are injured. The entire framing is postseason or bust.
NorthJersey.com covers Rutgers at Maryland — two more public universities, both struggling at a combined 4-7 — and still the entire focus is whether Rutgers can salvage its season. Maryland coach Mike Locksley called it a "winnable game." Neither program is making playoff noise, yet both will collect their Big Ten TV checks regardless.
The Big Ten's current media rights deal is worth billions. ESPN, Fox, and NBC split the inventory. Every school in the conference gets a cut whether they compete for a national title or sit at 2-4 like Maryland. The students at Ohio State, Indiana, Rutgers, and Maryland meanwhile graduate with an average debt load ranging from roughly $27,000 to $36,000 depending on the institution — figures you won't find in any of this weekend's game coverage.
The priorities are plain. Public universities have become delivery vehicles for television programming. The 12-team playoff, now at its midpoint per Sports Illustrated, only accelerates the cycle: more games, more inventory, more revenue, more reasons to spend on coaches and facilities while tuition climbs.
Saturday's top-five matchup will draw millions of viewers. The players on the field won't earn a dime beyond their scholarship. The students in the stands will go home to student loans. And the coverage will move on to Week 8 without once asking whether any of this serves the mission of a public university.
