The Sunshine State is raining on the college sports parade. The legislature erased funding for “preeminent” universities in a special session, following an aggressive fiscal trend that reduced subsidies from $100 million two years ago to $40 million last year. Schools have ostensibly used preeminence dollars to hire faculty, expand student services, and boost campus research initiatives. But critics believe the money has been used to promote sports programs far more than to improve academics on campuses. 

Only four universities held preeminent status. Those colleges were the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of South Florida, and Florida International University. The University of Central Florida had also been seeking to join that group. But now, it’s highly unlikely to be added to the recipient list any time soon, and that might be a good thing for restoring universities’ images as being institutions of higher learning.