I think it is a bit misleading. A college may reasonably come to the conclusion that a certain percentage of their alumni contributions are because of a high-profile sports program. Additionally, at many schools alumni networking revolves around large football and other sporting events.

I admit I do not have the numbers to back it up, so attack it all you want, but it is undeniable a high amount of social cohesion is created by these sporting events at many schools. Is it ideal - no - but like marketing, it is often about what people want rather than what they say they want.

That article is mixing football revenue and sports overall. Lots to parse there, and it is from 2014. But to OP's point about $2 million salaries, that only occurs in the best Division I teams. And those teams pull in upwards of $214 million a year in revenue: https://247sports.com/ContentGallery/College-sports-top-25-m...