That is some wild logic. If you are not a Sales person, you should be. But you might be onto something. Kind of along the lines of George Costanza doing the opposite of his natural instincts.
It might actually work, so I should give it a try. I'll call Jamie Pollard and say "Jamie, I would like my football and hoops season tickets for free. After all, my seat didn't really add anything to construction cost of Jack Trice or Hilton. At Jack Trice, the cost of my bench seat was paid off 20 years ago." If that doesn't fly, I can always say to Jamie, Hey I am a pretty thin guy. My backside is only a foot wide, so if you can't see it to giving me the ticket for free. How about 60% of normal cost. You can pick it up from the fat dude next to me!
Getting back your original statements. I think Wendy Wintersteen and the VP of Finance are counting on the Athletic Department scholarship money to pay university costs. But then again maybe Jamie is in the basement of the Jacobson building late at night printing Cy-Bucks and shipping them over to Beardshear to pay professor salaries and keep the lights on in Curtis Hall. If the AD doesn't pay the $10M then the 30,000 other students have to subsidize the cost of athlete's scholarships.
In regard to room- most athletes aren't living in the residents halls. They are living in off-campus apartments and I am guessing just like Wintersteen, those property owners aren't going to take Cy-bucks for payment.