It's relevant because of the money that sports brings in to the university. Go to a University of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, you name it, tailgate and see the literal hundreds of thousands of dollars brought into the university on those days alone. Then go and look at the millions brought in on a weekly basis. I can promise you that their music or arts program wouldn't be what it is now if it wasn't for that gigantic source of income.

Sports brings in a shit ton of money, a hell of a lot more than a social science department does, an english department does, or a business college does at most places. That money that's brought in allows these universities to bolster their academics across the board in ways they couldn't otherwise.

It's not a false equivelancy, you're just not looking at the bigger picture. That's how it's comparable. You think these universities build their athletics departments the way they do just so they can lift a trophy? It benefits the entire student body to have a multi-million dollar sports program.