An examination is made into the eroding financial health of intercollegiate athletic programs, especially at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), that was determined to have come about as a product of standard practices and policies. The question posed is, if Division I college sports have become a large commercial enterprise, what then is the condition of these programs as measured by standards of business practice? It is found that university varsity programs, instead of being net revenue producers, were net revenue users and not self-supporting. Traditional revenue sources (ticket sales, television, donations) are chronically short in generating enough income to support costly intercollegiate programs. During periods of rising costs, Division I athletic directors want to increase these revenues instead of decreasing costs; since revenues are already difficult to increase appreciably, there is quickly created a revenue/cost gap. These same problems found in Division I-AA are also growing in Division I-A programs. The most popular method of closing the revenue/cost gap is to increase donor solicitation. A need for universities to rethink the incorporated "athletic associations" within their institutions is due. (GLR)