Eyebrows would be raised however if Chelsea suddenly set up in partnership with UWE. I get the point, but then there are always swings in sport. Not *that* many years ago (relatively speaking, anyway!) that Chelsea were on a par with Bristol City (both near bankrupt, for that matter!) and not *that* many years since Rugby could boast a top tier Rugby club. Not *that* many years ago Coventry weren't overly poor, and even less years since they spoke of buying into the top tier themselves...
I suppose lower budgets in Rugby suggest that clubs can grow (Exeter as an example?) with relatively little investment compared to football, but it's as much about cutting off their supply line, surely? Once Wasps are here, CRFC go from having little hope... to having to wait for Wasps to either succeed or fail.
Do take your point about the academy though, although that's as much a sop to trying to keep the current richest clubs up there (wasn't it the Worcester owner who wanted to protect from relegation to protect investments, or is my mind playing tricks and it was another of them?). The way Rugby Union goes, to me, risks losing it of much of its identity in this country, much as Rugby League. If it makes the national team stronger... dunno, tbh. There always seems to be a new way forward to follow, in any sport!
Edit: Yup, it was Duckworth:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8964666.stm