Perhaps some sports would go away, but I don’t see that at universities in other countries. The level of competition and facilities are not nearly as nice as what D1 schools have, but places like Cambridge University have 75 sports clubs.
I do think it’s inevitable that what are functionally professional sports teams will split from their university namesakes. There’s nothing logically linking the two except that’s how it’s been. A factor that might accelerate the split is that it would expand the talent pool beyond players eligible for college admission.
Most of those 75 sports clubs are a handful of people with a bag of equipment. Even the one sport that is regularly televised is nothing near any US counterparts in terms of organization or resources.
The problem in the US is that the sports are already glued to the academic institutions, and it would seem impossible for all of them to separate at once.
The evolution of sports in Europe has been very different. The professional teams in Europe are also talent development centres. Man U, Bayern, Barcelona, they all have junior teams that are run by the same organization. They keep in touch with local grassroots teams, and nothing is attached to an academic institution. If you're a serious football player in Europe, you don't go to Cambridge. It's already too late by the time you are thinking of applying to university, which regardless doesn't care at all about athletic performance.
I’m also not sure how to get a meaningful number of teams to separate at once. Perhaps if rules were changed to allow college teams to play club/minor league teams? Sports only organizations might eventually have enough of an advantage that it creates a prisoner’s dilemma situation.
College football is arguably the second biggest sport in the entire US.
I mean I can completely understand the argument that it makes no sense but it is hard for an outsider to understand what something like Ohio State vs Michigan or Alabama vs Auburn in football means for those communities.
To say it is inevitable they split is just not understanding what these teams mean to the people and communities involved.
There is just something fun and additionally communal about the college sports team that isn't replicated by a professional team.
The biggest feature though is that it makes the teams temporary structures that are always changing because the kids graduate. That is something that would be really hard to replicate in a professional sports league. 3-4 years and then you are kicked out of the league. That doesn't work.
I do think it’s inevitable that what are functionally professional sports teams will split from their university namesakes. There’s nothing logically linking the two except that’s how it’s been. A factor that might accelerate the split is that it would expand the talent pool beyond players eligible for college admission.