Excellence in US Sport Wk 6 Comparative Studies

Lesson Objectives By the end of the lesson you should: Understand the link between the media and top level sports Understand the transition between high school sport and professional sport Understand the significance of stacking & centrality

Buzz words Stacking Centrality A thletic scholarship ‘special admit’ Varsity Draft system

College Sport Talented sportspeople are scouted at high school level and are offered athletic scholarships These scholarships are linked to a college education but often lead to poor academic performers in top colleges This happens through the process of ‘special admit’ Research the following for next lesson (NCCA), (NAIA), (NJCAA)

College Sport As big as premier league sport on the UK Shown on national T.V Top varsity performers receive huge cash incentives and fame College sport is big business and there is large financial gain for coaches and directors The athlete remains strictly amateur Scholarship pay for meals and equipment

Are scholarships positive? They exploit athletes ($10,000 a year) to live College make lots of money form each athlete via media attention Train for around 50hours a week BUT: Gives athletes a chance to go to college Showcases their talents Status linked to being an athlete Pro draft system focuses on college talent

Pro Draft System This is when professional teams select new players for the following season. This is done through a bidding system. The team who finished last in the league has first pick of a player and visa versa. This insures that teams continue to provide strong competition and there is no one dominant team i.e. the sport remains sensational

The draft

USA & The ‘BIG 4’ The BIG 4 are the 4 main sports played in the USA, they are: American football (gridiron) Baseball Ice hockey Basketball

Task Why have these sports in particular become so popular in the US? [4] Why do you think that sports such as cricket and football are less popular in the US? [4] Why have they not had as much success in the rest of the world? [4]

Research task Use the following website to make comparisons between a typical American college and a typical British university

Comparison of US and UK Colleges US US UK UK % of students involved Activities on offer