endowment that could be transferred to BYU instead of being run by the church. But the BOT doesn't want to do that, they like the control over what BYU does with every single penny, even though it really isn't as big a chunk of the budget as most people assume. Yes, they could raise tuition by 50% and completely cover all the costs, they could also do away with some of the oversight things the church requires and balance the budget without the tuition increase. The church does it for their own purposes for long term returns. Several times BYU has asked to do away with the operational subsidy and every time the church says no.