During a Texas Tribune event on higher education, panelists also spoke about using the state’s historic surplus to improve the affordability of universities and keep rising costs down.

It was a big Thursday morning at East Central high school with several student athletes signing their National Letters of Intent to continue their sports careers at the collegiate level.

Andrew has covered athletics of all levels for more than five years and is dedicated to shining a spotlight on local San Antonio athletes and their stories.

Some small private and for-profit Texas college and universities received Paycheck Protection Program loans to stay afloat and meet payroll. None of the state's public schools or largest private schools were eligible for the loans, though they have received other forms of federal aid. The loans were disclosed Monday by the Small Business Administration, which did not provide precise amounts of money each university or college received. Those ranges indicate that the Texas schools received at least $54 million combined. Most of the Texas colleges and universities that received PPP loans did not immediately respond to The Texas Tribunes request for comment.