Why do college sports exist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is because students want and expect it. Schools without sports don’t get as many applicants. I was a D3 athlete and my kid will be a D3 athlete. It is no different than having a theater program, or hiking club. My college actually had a massive outdoors club, with a house in the mountains that must have cost more annually in taxes and insurance than my sport cost the school for a decade. We had a a capella group that toured the nation At competitions and the school paid for all that. What’s the point of those things?

The student experience, that’s what. Same for sports. You probably think it should be done differently, and don’t value it. But I don’t particularly care for orchestral music but I am glad that students who are passionate about it can join them in college.

Many kids have zero interest in sports, or actively dislike them.

My kids were careless as well.
It's a side show.
Colleges should be for academics.

What were your kids careless about, and what does that have to do with this topic?

- What were your kids careless about?
Sports in Colleges

- What does that have to do with this topic?
Sports and Colleges

Duh

Ah. You don’t know what “careless” means and are trying to convey that you and they “could not care less.” Since you value education so, I assume you’ll be happy to learn how to use the word properly. Here the Merrimack-Webster definition:

careless
adjective
care·​less ˈker-ləs
Synonyms of careless
1
a
: free from care : UNTROUBLED
careless days
b
: INDIFFERENT, UNCONCERNED
careless of the consequences
2
: not taking care
My brother was too careless of his charge.
—Shakespeare
3
: not showing or receiving care:
a
: NEGLIGENT, SLOVENLY
careless writing
b
: UNSTUDIED, SPONTANEOUS
a careless grace
a careless glance
c
obsolete : UNVALUED, DISREGARDED

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I don't think a private school should be denied from considering sports ability any more than it considers musical ability, demonstrated leadership, or compassion for others in the form of community service, but others may disagree. Even then, however, it would not be about college sports generally, but about the admissions process.

This (lengthy) post is really well-stated. My one comment is, no one is arguing that elite private colleges should be "denied" from considering sports. As in, forced not to consider them.

It's more of an honest and curious question of why, exactly, elite private schools recruit athletes at the *large* scale they do. And it really is a question of scale. At schools like Willams and Amherst, literally 35% or more students are recruited athletes, or so it's been said. It's a huge chunk of the student body and simply doesn't seem proportionate to the importance of sports as a discipline.

I'd say the same thing if 35% of seats were reserved for students recruited for performing arts. It's just too many.

And it's all the more puzzling when you consider that most are being recruited for sports that receive almost no attention.

Ultimately it's their (the schools') decision to make. And these elite D3 schools seem to almost unanimously agree that it's not overkill to reserve upwards of 1/3 of their seats for recruited athletes. But you can't blame people for wondering about their rationale. Because on the surface, it does not make a ton of sense.

I say this as a parent of an athlete who was accepted ED to the only school she applied.

35% of seats aren’t set aside for athletes - they are the same kids who would be there anyway, for the most part. Probably many more than 35% of high stats kids eligible for these elite schools play sports. Then sports give them a boost, like being a musician or actor would. So you end up with a college that needs sports teams.

Great, then they should get that boost at the same time that everyone else’s boost is considered - and not get priority access to admissions.

As someone who is deep into the recruitment/application process with my kid that is perfectly fine with me. We actually are helping him find schools where he can 1) be an impact player at a school with a winning record (because that is fun) and 2) be quite sure he’ll get in because he is smack dab in the middle of the stats. So he is only really considering “safeties.” He isn’t using his sport to get into a higher ranked school - he is working to find the right school, and that is much more complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any reason that sports make sense in high schools but somehow become senseless in college? These kids are still adolescents entering college and need lots of exercise like young dogs.

It’s all part of the food chain. If colleges didn’t have varsity sports (just club sports with no recruitment), the HS sports would just operate like club sports. HS kids would play sports for fun, but not spend tons of $$$s and time on their sport.

There would be a separate cohort of kids that would be strong enough to go pro and various professional teams would create academy teams in their sport. Much like all the pro European soccer leagues so. This also exists for basketball in Europe. These kids would forego traditional schooling (Messi started at Barcelona at the age of 5) and enter these academy groups.

[Anonymous]

I have absolutely no interest in playing sports but the few times I accompanied my friends to sports events it was fun. We didn't just do football and basketball, we also went to volleyball games, soccer games, softball games, etc.

It gives a lot of kids something to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s about the well rounded college experience that offers extras outside of academics. All the extras like theater, art, sports, music, clubs like environmental and chess etc. are there for student enjoyment at d3 schools. They are terrific outlets that teach a lot that you don’t get in class. They all offer great soft skills like team work and leadership and make life on campus enjoyable. If you think school should just be classes only and no other offerings, why not save a lot of money and do online college?

Do theater kids get some special dorms, dining halls, and priority class registration?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s about the well rounded college experience that offers extras outside of academics. All the extras like theater, art, sports, music, clubs like environmental and chess etc. are there for student enjoyment at d3 schools. They are terrific outlets that teach a lot that you don’t get in class. They all offer great soft skills like team work and leadership and make life on campus enjoyable. If you think school should just be classes only and no other offerings, why not save a lot of money and do online college?

I played sports in college and I absolutely hate using sports to say it teaches all these great “soft” skills. There are so many better outlets to learn those skills…in fact students putting on theater shows learn much more of those skills than athletes. College athletics…especially with the transfer portal…can be very transactional. Don’t think D3 is immune since if you look at many D1 rosters, you will see plenty of players that started in D3 and use the transfer portal to move to D1. I am familiar with lots of kids already on their third school in 3 years, just transferring thinking the grass is greener and they will get more playing time at the next school.

I will say that graduating with a decent degree and GPA while playing D1 sports is absolutely an achievement considering you are working 40 hours per week on your sport.

[Anonymous]

In the 1830s colleges realized that students needed a physical outlet from studies for good health and to cut down on boisterous antics on campuses, so they built gyms and encouraged physical activity, which evolved into various sporting traditions on campuses.

Competitive college sports has been around since Yale and Harvard created crew teams in 1843 and 1844. There was also a bazaar era of comparing the lacking masculinity of American scholars to the British, who already held athletics at a high standard among scholars. By the 1850s the pass time became competitive, and other schools joined the regattas. Since then, sporting competition between colleges has grown ... intensely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the 1830s colleges realized that students needed a physical outlet from studies for good health and to cut down on boisterous antics on campuses, so they built gyms and encouraged physical activity, which evolved into various sporting traditions on campuses.

Competitive college sports has been around since Yale and Harvard created crew teams in 1843 and 1844. There was also a bazaar era of comparing the lacking masculinity of American scholars to the British, who already held athletics at a high standard among scholars. By the 1850s the pass time became competitive, and other schools joined the regattas. Since then, sporting competition between colleges has grown ... intensely.

In what world can a regular student still choose to compete for their school? Even walk ons are recruited now

[Anonymous]

I was trying to say that all extracurriculars offer great skills, not just sports. Maybe I didn’t write it well. I mentioned D3 and not D1 since D3 schools still put academics above sports; no special dorms, tutors or schedules. And yes, musicians, theater folks, robotics and even e-sports people get special admissions attention at D3 schools. It’s isn’t just sports anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s about the well rounded college experience that offers extras outside of academics. All the extras like theater, art, sports, music, clubs like environmental and chess etc. are there for student enjoyment at d3 schools. They are terrific outlets that teach a lot that you don’t get in class. They all offer great soft skills like team work and leadership and make life on campus enjoyable. If you think school should just be classes only and no other offerings, why not save a lot of money and do online college?

Do theater kids get some special dorms, dining halls, and priority class registration?

They should.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, folks, you all just need to chill out and let others live their lives. There is no grand conspiracy to screw over your nerdy/theatre/unathletic kids so all the meat head jocks can take their places in college. Really. Your kids are going to be fine.

I’m not an athlete. My kids aren’t / weren’t either. College sports are fun. Games are fun. Success in athletics brings attention and applications to previously unknown schools.

Stop being jealous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the 1830s colleges realized that students needed a physical outlet from studies for good health and to cut down on boisterous antics on campuses, so they built gyms and encouraged physical activity, which evolved into various sporting traditions on campuses.

Competitive college sports has been around since Yale and Harvard created crew teams in 1843 and 1844. There was also a bazaar era of comparing the lacking masculinity of American scholars to the British, who already held athletics at a high standard among scholars. By the 1850s the pass time became competitive, and other schools joined the regattas. Since then, sporting competition between colleges has grown ... intensely.

In what world can a regular student still choose to compete for their school? Even walk ons are recruited now

Depends on the college. I was a non-recruited walk on, lettered, and was captain senior year. And I'm not even that athletic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, folks, you all just need to chill out and let others live their lives. There is no grand conspiracy to screw over your nerdy/theatre/unathletic kids so all the meat head jocks can take their places in college. Really. Your kids are going to be fine.

I’m not an athlete. My kids aren’t / weren’t either. College sports are fun. Games are fun. Success in athletics brings attention and applications to previously unknown schools.

Stop being jealous.

Says the nonathlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's backdoor affirmative action for pampered white kids who otherwise wouldn't have the grades to get in.

This comment is hysterical. Most athletes are non-white - in fact - almost 90% are non white.

Umm, have a look at the rosters of D3 college teams. And don’t forget to check out any water polo program 😂

DCUM college sports haters think every college sports team is the Harvard lacrosse team. Countless very diverse college football and basketball programs don't even register with them.

Blacks are overrepresented in college sports relative to their share of the general population.

Only Basketball and Football (aka the money sports) for D1 maybe, and definitely not in D3.

They are very overrepresented in D1 and D2, slightly less so in D3. But so what? The claim that college sports are for "pampered white kids" remains invalid.

Here is a list of collegiate sports here in the United States. I have highlighted the two we are discussing.

Baseball
Basketball
Beach Volleyball
Bowling
Cross Country
Cycling
Equestrian
Fencing
Field Hockey
Football
Golf
Gymnastics
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Rifle
Rowing
Rugby
Skiing
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track and Field
Triathlon
Volleyball
Water Polo
Wrestling

Now go through and show the number of athletes per sport. The “more white” sports that you pretend are super important have a trivial number of athletes per team. And overall, throughout the NCAA, blacks are over represented as I said.

Lacrosse alone is 10 on 10. Football is 11 on 11. Field hockey the same.. Rugy. Soccer...

You aren't even trying, are you?

[Anonymous]

The world would not end if schools did not field obscure sports for rich white kids.