They have debt right now because of:
1) Ohio Stadium expansion/renovation
2) Schott
3) Bill Davis
4) JO Memorial Stadium
5) Golf course remodel
6) Larkins/RPAC rebuild
7) Rowing center?
8) New tennis center?
9) etc.
When we say debt, that doesn't mean they're not taking in enough to cover expenses. They make a profit every year. Debt as in long-term debt, as in just about every Fortune 500 company has debt. Debt is necessary to grow and expand.
To me student basketball tickets do seem pretty overpriced considering there's a lot more games to attend and a lot of the students get crappy seats.
Football, on the other hand, is still a bargain. I've never met a student in the 6 years I've been around here say that they're not buying football tickets because they're overpriced.
People, not just students, will pay almost anything for OSU football tickets. Why do you think alumni only get the right to purchase one pair to one game per year? Why do you think there's a minimum donation reaching into the thousands of $$$ just for the right to then buy the tickets? Why do you think there's still a long waiting list for that right? Why do you think ther's almost never a public sale of tickets, except to the first few snoozers?
The AD supports more varsity sports and more varsity athletes than any other in the country. If they want to raise the price of a ticket by a buck, they're going to do it. It's not going to turn anybody away.