American Sport in the 21st Century - Are College Sports really worth it?

During class on September 29, and October 6 we talked about sport and how it coexists with education.  Some of the focus was on interscholastic sport, but the main area of focus was intercollegiate sport.  During class we talked about characteristics of big-time programs, abuses in intercollegiate sports, and research about spending money on those big-time intercollegiate sports.  Below is a breakdown of each area.

Characteristics of Big-time Programs:

- Usually have a primary emphasis on their football team or men's basketball team, and their revenue generating potential
- Less than 1 in 5 programs make money
- Most lose millions of dollars
- Full scholarships are available to some athletes in many of the 18-24 sports
- Teams travel extensively
- Quality of skills and competition is high

Abuses in Intercollegiate Sports:

- Illegal recruiting
- Easy majors/altering grades and transcripts
- Exploitation of athletes
- Pressure to win
- Pressure to make money

Research on Spending Money on Big-time Intercollegiate Sports:

- Increased four times faster than academic budgets at universities
- Has no effect on academic quality or qualifications of incoming students
- Does not increase alumni donations
- Does not improve win-loss records
- Increases wealth gap between athletic departments
- Occurs to keep up with other athletic departments

After sitting in class, I got really interested in this topic.  The way the discussion went too we almost got off topic multiple times.  Everyone had some sort of opinion in class and it made for a fun class period.  During class I remember my professor, Dr. Higgs, why do we even have an athletic program at our university.  It was a very difficult question to answer.  In most cases, especially for all division II programs, the athletic department is funded by our tuition.  If we cut out the athletic department, and not have any teams, that would save me and a lot of other students money.  So why not get rid of the athletic departments?  My answer is that when someone is picking a college to attend they look at everything, how are the living corridors, how is the dining hall, is my major I want to enroll in there and a successful program.  There is a lot to look at, but some students sometimes lean towards a successful athletic program.  Part of the college experience is running onto the field or the court when your school upsets a top team.  That is my reason why athletic programs are key to a university.

Check out this article: http://news.bitofnews.com/colleges-too-much-athletic-programs/