If you read his work because you agree with his opinions... and are a big fan of his, great. If you read his stuff just so you can shit all over his stupid, lazy opinions... also great. The paper really doesn't give a hoot as to why you pay attention to Souhan's writing... just as long as you're paying attention.
They do care. Occasionally getting me to read his articles about things I care about to remind myself how terrible he is will never get me to subsribe for the paper, it will never get me to click on his other articles. It just flat out doesn't work in the long run. It's one of the reasons the legacy media has gotten their teeth kicked in over the last 5 years. ESPN having every show built around trolling for clicks had a short shelf life. They had to can half of their workers and turn the entire network over to someone who specifically doesn't do that (McAfee).
Do you really think that they care whether or not you agree with what Pat McAfee has to say? They care about eyeballs... whether you watch because you love Pat's schtick or tune in 'cause you think he's an asshole. What the network can't have is apathy. It's more or less the same for Souhan or Patrick Reusse. If you read their crap... and, even better, regurgitate it up on fansites and forums... even better.
Big Ten wins are how Big Ten Coaches need to be ranked. Period. (IMHO)
Of course not. But because people do agree with him, they like him more and now he has essentially replaced ESPN. They care about money and "anything to generate clicks" in the world of sports media has not been good business in the last 5 years.