Intercollegiate Sports

In class we discussed the history of sports, also the expenditure and revenue, characteristics of big time division 1 programs, and abuses in intercollegiate sports, and the benefits of college sports. This is an important topics because there are people out there who believe that colleges and universities are spending way too much money on their programs and that they are very overrated.

Intercollegiate sports:

• The first contest was in 1852 between Yale and Harvard
• 1st football game was in 1869 between Princeton and Rutgers
• It was student run, and they used the British model
• The faculty got involved in 1880
• 1895 the first league was formed which was the BIG 10
• Intercollegiate athletic association formed in 1905
• NCAA was formed in 1910

Expenditure & Revenue:

• Scope of program
• Primary sources of funding
• Level of competition
• Media coverage
• Role and status of sports

There are many characteristics of a big time division 1 program. Their primary emphasis is on football or men's basketball. Less than 1 in 5 programs make money. Full scholarships are available to some athletes in 18-24 sports. The teams do a lot of traveling and the skill quality and competition level is high. 

Abuses in intercollegiate sports:

• Illegal recruiting
• Easy majors
• Exploitation of athletes
• Pressure to win
• Pressure to make money

Benefits of College Sports:

• High profile sport teams can be used with fundraising
• Teams may attract attention for potential students
• Social events and occasions

Spending money on big time college sports:

• Increased 4 times faster than academic budges at universities
• Has no effect on academic quality 
• Does not increase alumni donations
• Does not improve win/loss records
• Increases wealth gap between athletic departments
• Occurs to keep up wit other athletic department

In this article Expenses and Revenue it discusses how these 28 big time division 1 programs operated in the red in 2014. The University of Auburn purchased an 11,000 sq foot video board. They lost about $17 million that year.  There are also many different examples of Universities losing money. Some of the schools say that they don't have enough money to what needs to be done but others say that they should be spending the money more wisely. I personally think that Universities need to spend that money because that is what makes the sport so great. All the advertising and recruiting to get the best players to play on your team. Plus when they get to your school you want them to feel like they are wanted there so the colleges purchase nice things so that the athletes feel welcome.

Sports and Politics

On October 11th and October 13th in my American Sport in the 21st class we discussed the topic of sports and politics.  We discussed certain definitions, the different ways that sport is exploited in the government, how the government got involved, and the different ways that the government is used in sport.

Definitions:

Politics: Social process, individuals and groups acquire and maintain power over others.

Government: Formal organization that makes rules.

Globalization: Relationship between countries and the use of power on an international level.

How Government Got Involved:

• Safeguard public order
• Maintain fitness and physical abilities
• Promote prestige and power of a community or nation
• Reproduce dominant values
• Increase support for political leaders and political structures
• Promote economic development

Exploitation of Sport:

• White house reception of champions
• Athletes for Obama
• Sways votes

Sports in Politics has been used as a propaganda vehicle. In 1956 at the Olympic Games in Berlin Germany Hitler wanted the games to demonstrate the Aryan Race. Jesse Owens who was an African American who ran for the United States won 4 gold medals in those Olympic Games. With that happening Hitler refused to shake hands with Jesse Owens or any black athlete. 

Sport, Star Spangled Banner, Flag.

• First flag appearance was at the 1918 World Series
• The flag is a symbol of our government
• Anthem in the United States in 1930
•  In 1940 the national anthem was played before all sporting events.

10 Athletes Who Ran For Political Office written by Sean Hojnacki discusses how certain former athletes ran for a political office. We discussed this in class and used the examples of Lynn Swann, J.C. Watts, Bill Bradley, and Tom Osborne. All of those athletes ran for positions in political office. Since the athletes have been involved in sports the fans already know their name. That can be a factor in the election and sway votes their way because people were fans of the team. For more information use this link: Sports and Politics

Lynn Swann former Pittsburgh Steeler running for Governor of Pennsylvania.

Youth Sports and the Benefits

Youth Sports is an athletic league or competition that includes individuals between the ages of birth and 18 years of age. Organized youth sports emerged in the 20th century and it focused on masculinizing boys. After the second World War youth sports grew. Girls interests were usually ignored in sports, but that changes later on in the development of youth sports. The programs in the United States really focused on competition. It was treated as a preparation for occupational success.

Benefits of Youth Sport:

• Maintains & Develops Fitness
• Preparation for adulthood
• Opportunity to learn values
• Interactive Skills
• Leadership opportunities

47 Million children are participating in organized youth sport. That is a 25% increase since 2010.

Benefits Of Sports To A Child's Minds And Heart All Part Of The Game is an article written by Patti Neighmond in July of 2015 gives experiences from parents whose kids were affected by sports positively. Octavio and Amy's son Jake was introduced to sports at a very young age. At 3 months old he was wearing a Dodgers jersey. Amy told Patti that as a kid in sports you learn how to win and lose. You get to experience what it is like to give all the effort that you have and still come up a little bit short and vise versa.  Also a member of the youth sports camp told Driksa who is a researcher for Michigan State University this camp changed the way that he interacted with his mother. Driska reported that 9 months after the camp the teens that he studied maintained a sense of confidence and hope. Sports helped change them and mold them into who they are today. For more information click: Benefits of Youth Sport