The answer, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), is a mix of students—who heavily subsidize programs with athletic fees—and the academic enterprise itself. Released Wednesday at the request of Education and Workforce Committee Chairman, Tim Walberg, the GAO report found that college athletic programs are, for the most part, not self-sustaining. Collectively, DI programs spent $20.8 billion in the 2023–24 academic year while making only $13.1 billion (much of it at the upper echelon). DI athletic departments filled that multibillion dollar gap by tapping tuition and fees, as well as unrestricted funds such as investment income. Universities steered $2.3 billion that year to prop up struggling athletic programs.