Upgrades to physical facilities cost money, and that money must come from somewhere. Since most softball programs (female sports in general) are not revenue generating, it's a double whammy. Remember, colleges are businesses, and must operate in the black or bad, ugly things happen. You won't find a money pit at Horizon league schools like at some *ahem* more prominent universities in central Ohio. The money comes from generous donors and benefactors, and those with a vested interest in the University. The easy path would be to raise tuition to pay for those niceties, but everyone knows the negative effect that has on recruiting students. So it continues to be a juggling act, and a tough one at that I'm sure.
Personally, I like the idea of kids learning the value of a dollar and an honest day's work. If your kid goes to a Horizon League school on athletic scholarship, chances are that she will be a "willing participant" in volunteer activities for the revenue sports, selling raffle tickets at games, etc. Just imagine... kids learning how to actually do productive WORK instead of getting knee deep in some Wall Street pyramid scheme.