The budget priorities of the "leadership" of the University system clearly puts athletics before education and research. Cole's numbers mean an average subsidy of over $43,000 a year for each athlete. I don't believe that the many adjunct faculty are paid even half that. An untenured prof may cost more, but not much. 
If there really are fans for these sports, then they need to step up and provide financial support. APU has a Nordic program that has a well earned international reputation and seems to have more Alaskans than UAA & UAF. That school certainly isn't subsidizing it to the tune of $40,000 per athlete per year while the top skiers travel and compete nationally and internationally. Alaskans are getting little return on athletics (how many fans travel to Outside UAA/UAF events or even attend local ones?) and spending ever rarer state dollars and cutting educational programs to do it. We may not care how they do it Outside, but we don't need to make the same mistakes.