College sports aren’t just expensive; they are financially upside down. In this episode of Sportly, host Kavitha Davidson sits down with Washington Post college sports reporter Jesse Dougherty for a sharp, clear-eyed breakdown of the NCAA’s spiraling money crisis. The episode cuts through the noise to explain: Why coaching salaries and buyouts have exploded to NFL-level numbers How the new $20 million athlete compensation model actually works Why boosters now influence hiring and firing more than ever How NIL changed the landscape in ways the NCAA never anticipated Why minor sports are being cut even as revenues hit the billions Whether private equity and Congress can fix any of this or make it worse Dougherty brings deep reporting and uncommon clarity to one of the most misunderstood issues in sports: the real economics of college athletics. You'll hear what’s driving the spending arms race, what’s myth vs. reality, and whether the current NCAA model is even sustainable. If you care about NIL, athlete pay, conference realignment, or how college sports became a financial runaway train, this interview delivers the insight you’ve been looking for. Tune in for a conversation that’s fast, honest, and impossible to un-hear. Host: Kavitha A. Davison | Producer: Paroma Chakravarty I Executive Producer: Saadia Khan | Fact Checking and Research: Paroma Chakravarty I Sound Designer & Editor: Paroma Chakravarty I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art Graphic Designer: Sarah DiMichele Want to go deeper into your own identity? Download Belong on Your Own Terms, the app helping first-gen, second-gen, and third-culture kids reclaim belonging on their own terms. link below http://studio.com/saadia Join us as we create new intellectual engagement for our audience. You can get more information at http://immigrantlypod.com Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify to help more people find us! Remember to subscribe to our Apple podcast channel for insightful podcasts. You can reach the host, Kavitha, at
[email protected] Follow us on TikTok @immigrantly Sportly is an Immigrantly Media Production For advertising inquiries, you can contact us at
[email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
