Whit maybe not responding with complete information at hand. This is my thought process. First, I'm trying to recall if I've attended any event at VT (athletic or otherwise) where RHINO was not present in fairly significant numbers. Thus, imho, the costs for RHINO are already being incurred (so, in one sense, we're already paying for them). By charging admission, there would at least be some defraying of costs, and, if attendance is good, a small profit.
To me, it just seems Whit doesn't want to do it. And, what surprised me the most was Whit recently implemented paid ticketing for baseball. So, the question, for me at least, is why?
I infer it's because he doesn't think the other sports bring enough value that people would want to pay for it. I also infer he doesn't think the other sports are worth it.
Again, to me his answer was nonsensical, because RHINO is already there. Now, since I've never been to a softball game, perhaps RHINO isn't there, in which case, I guess his answer would make some sense. Even then, I think his answer reveals a bias he may have towards many of the non-rev sports here.