Student Exercise

Your ethical diemma is the same one faced by the college president as described in the main discussion. Should you cut the football team or retain it$?$ First, identify at least three additional factors for cutting the team and three more for keeping it$.$ Then assign utility scores to all of the factors$-$those from the main discussion as well as those you have added. See if you come out with the same decision we did. Here are a few suggestions for steps to take before doing the calculations.

You might want to identify a specific school before doing this exercise. The particulars of the institution will undoubtedly make a considerable difference in determining the utiity of its football program.

You might also want to add some specific facts. For instance, how much money is being lost? How influential are the trustees and donors who support cutting the team?

Research the value of intercollegiate athletics in order to separate fact from fiction regarding the many claims $($both positive and negative$)$ made about sport. For instance, do applications and enrollments really go up when a school supports a successful football team?