This is true. IIRC, I read once that only two NCAA D-1 schools actually turned a profit off football: Texas & Columbus. Every other team in the nation operated at a deficit. I don't know if that's entirely accurate, but schools, as a rule, don't operate in the black. I would suppose that schools basically consider athletics part of their advertising budget - and that would hold true for D-1 through NAIA; I don't think any schools operate in the black.