The football and basketball salaries send a signal to alumni OU is reasonably serious about athletics. The pay buys you more experience than the entry level D1 salaries do.
According to USNews, we rank 271st in alumni giving. Only 3.8% of alumni give a dime. Not sure that investment's paying off.
Edit: For comparison's sake, here's where a few other MAC schools fall:
Miami ranks 41st, 17.3% of alumni donate.
Buffalo ranks 90th, 11.3% of alumni donate.
BG ranks 224th, 5.1% of alumni donate.
WMU ranks 254th, 3.9% of alumni give.
Kent's tied with us.
NIU is a bit below at 3.5%.
Akron is at 3%.
EMU is at 1.8%