Which part of supply and demand don’t you get?

The saddest thing I’ve learned so far from the Division I Presidential Retreat is that Mark Emmert has a firmer grasp of economic reality than the school presidents do.

… Schultz also noted there was far greater concern among university leaders about the escalating cost of coaches’ salaries, perhaps because so many schools operate athletic departments that are already losing money.

What else is new?  Emmert’s response is the only correct one (at least if antitrust law matters to you):

The presidents also discussed ways to rein in costs, but Emmert said there wasn’t much talk about escalating coaches’ salaries. The marketplace dictates those salaries, he said.

And these are the people running major academic institutions.

Though this is where politicians like Hatch have missed the boat.  Were Congress to offer an antitrust exemption in exchange for a playoff/broader funding distribution arrangement, that’s a grand bargain which D-1 schools would look at very closely.  Most university presidents would love nothing better than to stick it to the Jimmy Sextons of the world.