The vast majority of schools generate revenue from three sources: tuition, endowment, and grant indirect costs. For state schools, there's also an appropriation, but those have been declining drastically since the 1990s.

The Ivies dropped down from IA to IAA -- didn't impact them in the least. Stanford could do the same thing tomorrow and not see any appreciable impact.

It's schools trying to move up, the Troys and UABs of the world, that view athletics this way. And they don't generate much revenue from football or even cover their bills.