You use the term shareholders, of which you aren’t one, as a metaphor for ROI. VT athletics isn’t a corporation meant to produce financial dividends, it’s an organization that provides a service which the members pay for.

That service is the experience of sports associated with the university the members care about. Members can choose how much they want to donate, if they want to pay more for a better product/experience they can. The organizations non-profit arm (academics) isn’t beholden to support the for-profit business just because it has more money. You don’t take funds from goodwill to make up for a shortfall in revenue to use an accounting metaphor.