1. Sports in Society: Issues & Controversies
Chapter 14
Sports in High School and College:
Do Varsity Sports Programs
Contribute to Education?

2. Arguments For and Against Interscholastic Sports
Involve students in activities
Build self-esteem
Enhance fitness and lifetime participation
Generate spirit and unity
Promote support
Develop and rewards valued skills
Arguments Against:
Distract attention from academics
Create dependence
Increase passivity and injuries
Create superficial and transitory spirit
Waste resources
Create pressure and distort status system

3. Experiences of Varsity Athletes in High Schools
Research shows differences between those who play varsity sports and those who do not
Research suggests that differences are primarily due to selection and filtering processes
Those who play varsity sports often have characteristics that make them different from those who don’t play sports

4. Methodological Problems
Research on the consequences of playing varsity sports is difficult to do because
Growth and development among students is related to many factors
Meanings given to sport participation vary by context and from one person to another

5. Do Athletes Rule U.S. High Schools?
Data on this issue are scarce; research is needed on the following:
How many students have been physically and/or verbally mistreated by athletes?
How many students know of cases where athletes have mistreated others?
Are some athlete more likely than others to harass or intimidate other students?

6. Student Culture in High Schools
Being a student-athlete often is a source of status and popularity
More so for men than for women
Sports are sites for major social occasions in the school
Sports often reproduce dominant ideologies related to gender, social class, and race and ethnicity

7. Interscholastic Sports Are Valuable If They
Enable students to be noticed, rewarded, and taken seriously as human beings
Connect young people with adult advocates in their lives
Provide occasions to learn things that are applicable beyond sports

8. Intercollegiate Sports and the Experiences of College Students
Intercollegiate sports are not all the same
They vary by Division in the NCAA
They vary greatly from big-time entertainment-oriented programs to smaller, less expensive, athlete-oriented programs

9. Characteristics of Big-time (Div. I) Programs
Usually have a primary emphasis on football or men’s basketball and their revenue generating potential
Less than 1 in 5 programs make money
Full scholarships are available to some athletes in many of the sports
Teams often travel extensively
Quality of skills & competition is high

10. Varsity Athletes in Big-time Programs
Participants in revenue (FB & Basketball) sports usually have scholarships
Time and energy commitments to sport are exceptionally high, and participants often must choose between:
Working out and practicing sports
Doing coursework
Engaging in social activities
Academic detachment is a commonly used coping strategy among male athletes

11. Varsity Athletes in Most College Programs (Div. II & III)
Most play without athletic scholarships
Time and energy commitments vary greatly depending on coaches and sports
Academic demands may be accommodated
The economic consequences of games and matches are minimal
Less likely than “big-time” athletes to be separated from the rest of the student body or used to promote the school

12. Grades & Graduation Rates Among College Athletes
Graduation data are confusing because there are many different ways to compute statistics
Information on grades must be qualified because athletes
Often are overrepresented in certain courses and majors
In entertainment-oriented sports come to college with lower grades and test scores
(continued)

13. Grades & Graduation Rates Among College Athletes (continued)
Graduation rates among all varsity athletes are slightly higher than rates for all students
Graduation rates in many big-time revenue sports are shamefully low
Women athletes have higher graduation rates than men athletes
Black athletes have graduation rates higher than black students as a whole, but lower than rates for white athletes.

14. Academic Integrity in College Sports
Restoring academic integrity is difficult in programs where athletic success is tied to millions of dollars of revenue and to the emotions & identities of boosters and alumni
Raising academic standards is important, but it must be done so it does not unfairly exclude certain students
Being considered: Prevent schools from participating in post-season bowls and games if graduation rates fall below a certain level

15. Questions About the Benefits of Interscholastic Programs
School spirit often is enhanced, but does this improve the overall academic climate?
Most programs lose money, but are the expenditures worth it in academic and developmental terms?
Are the public & community relations functions of varsity sports worth their costs?

16. Varsity Sports & School Budgets
Most high school programs have small athletic budgets except in cases where high profile teams are promoted
Solving high school or college budget problems with corporate sponsorships may create integrity problems for schools
Budget issues in college sports often are very complex

17. Indirect Benefits of Intercollegiate Programs
High profile sport teams can be used in connection with fund raising efforts
Sport teams may attract attention among potential students
Sports provide on-campus social events and occasions

18. Figure 14.2
“I told you we sent our daughter to a top-notch school! Her basketball teams just beat Duke University.”

19. Indirect Costs of Intercollegiate Programs
Maintaining sport teams and recruiting athletes may compromise academic standards in admissions and classrooms
Academic matters are given low priority in the “culture of sport” on many campuses
The lives of athletes are increasingly separate from the lives of other students
Sports may take resources away from other extracurricular activities

20. Varsity High School Sports: Problems & Recommendations
Overemphasis on sports development and big-time models
Need for regular critical assessments and new sports focused on lifetime and co-ed participation
Limited participation access
Need more teams in more sports where size and strength are not primary
Need gender equity and opportunities for students with disabilities (continued)

21. Varsity High School Sports: Problems & Recommendations
Emphasis on varsity sports may distort status system among students
Schools should work to eliminate distorted, sport-based systems of privilege
Schools should give equal attention and recognition to the achievements of students in activities other than sports

22. Intercollegiate Sports: Problems & Recommendations
Emphasis on entertainment and commercial values
Impose cost containment and spending limits on athletic departments and sports; create a financially level playing field
Lack of athletes’ rights
Athletes must be voting members of decision-making athletic department committees
Universities must employ independent ombudspersons for appeals and advocacy
Drop the myth of amateurism in revenue sports

23. Intercollegiate Sports: Problems & Recommendations
Gender inequities
Cut football expenses through cost containment
Fund women’s sports on an investment basis to foster development (men played for a century before making money in their sport programs)
Distorted priorities related to race relations and education
Aggressively recruit ethnic minority students, faculty and administrators
Employ strategies to create culturally diverse campus cultures

24. Figure 14.4 After having all the toys boys may feel that sharing with the girls is unfair to them.