<p>College sports are pretty important to me…I played in HS and continue to play on a club team in college…also, I enjoy supporting all the varsity athletes at their games. My opinion is that if you don’t want the sports, go to a D3 school or somewhere where there’s not so much emphasis. I personally love going to a D1 school where we have both very good academics and good athletics.</p>
<p>We experienced the season of a lifetime in football this fall, and I’ve never seen the campus and larger Wake Forest community come so closely together as we did during our run to the Orange Bowl. 20,000 fans - roughly a third of the entire population of living alumni - showed up to the Orange Bowl. There was black and gold everywhere, and it was an amazing experience. The school spirit we showed was unmatched by anyone…toilet papering the Quad (one of our traditions after winning big games) was insane - after the ACC championship win, pretty much the whole student body that couldn’t make it down to Jacksonville on the weekend before exams was out on the quad, showering the trees in a state of euphoria. We really banded together to support our Deacs and cheer them on all season.</p>
<p>Sportswriters have been picking up on our story - how we’ve succeeded as the third-smallest D1 school with such high academic standards for student-athletes, and how that sort of puts us at a recruiting disadvantage. At Wake, the players genuinely are developing the body as well as the mind. They have to meet our admissions requirements to be admitted to play their sport of choice. I know a starting football player who’s premed with a 3.78 GPA (very high considering our grade deflation!) and another starter who has about a 3.8 and is a business major (another very tough, time-consuming major). Also, we have yet another Rhodes Scholar this year who is on the cross-country team. So it’s not all about the sports - academics are emphasized as well. Our student body tends to carry this same attitude - IM sports and staying fit are huge on campus, and we love to cheer on the Deacs, but we also know that studies are most important and make time for them.</p>
<p>Not all the money for sports comes out of the general school coffers - most of the funding comes from members of the Deacon Club. Our football season will bring in a significant amount of money, as well, in not only the bowl payout, but increased alum donations and increased applications and interest in Wake. I’m sure some funding for state schools comes out of tax money, but I would venture to guess that most comes from booster money.</p>
<p>This is just my experience with college athletics. Although I can’t speak about how other schools work, I would really feel that I was missing out on my college experience without sports.</p>
<p>…I mean are you <em>really</em> here to get an education or are you at college just to play sports?..</p>
<p>Bottom line - ya can’t be a college athlete without being a student first.</p>
<p>Nice that we in America have the choice of colleges/uni’s - those that love sports can have it all and those that don’t can as well. It is called choice - if one does not like the atmosphere of a school - one goes elsewhere.</p>
<p>And Doak Campbell stadium is filled to the brim at least 6 Saturdays every fall. Add to that the revenue generated by bowl appearances and you can bet that no student is being deprived of a dime of financial aid as a result of Bobby Bowden’s salary. </p>
<p>Also, every t-shirt, hoodie, jacket, jersey sold in book stores and at the stadium on game days results in advertising for the university every time said item is worn.</p>
<p>College sports also give young people who otherwise could not afford college the OPPORTUNITY to get an education. Even though graduation rates certainly have plenty of room for improvement these young men and women still get a lot more education and life experiences than they would have had it not been for athletics.</p>
<p>This debate is the classic “I don’t use/like XYZ so I don’t think I should have to support it.” (Insert sports, arts, PBS, public parks and recreation, etc.)</p>
<p>As to the idea of the participants shouldering the cost of all facilities, coaches, and trainers- If that’s the case, how 'bout all proceeds from tickets, concessions, hats, t-shirts, license plates, posters, etc. going back to the players as well?</p>
<p>“At most colleges and universities, athletics certainly is more important to the majority of students than the chemistry department.”</p>
<p>That is, if they’re not studying chemistry. My son is a chem major and chemistry is definitely a priority in his life over sports, and he’s an avid sports fan. However, he could care less about the journalism, fine arts, and business departments.</p>
<p>I haven’t sifted through the numbers and I sure as heck am not going to
but it seems to me, that even though the universities have a lot of money dedicated to sports- ;facilities, coaching , scholarships… doesn’t it also attract a lot of money?</p>
<p>It seems like it fills a need- it gives the community including alums a way to be involved in the school, without sports teams, how many non alums would care or be interested in what the school was doing?</p>
<p>I don’t think it is perfect- by no means- and some coaches have done a lot of damage to students and the school- [I</a> could have said I told you so](<a href=“http://www.slate.com/id/2084437/]I”>Rick Neuheisel got fired for the wrong reason.), but dreaming of playing sports in college, helps many kids get through high school, thinking they should just change their thinking and their learning style isnt’ realistic</p>
<p>OK - change of pace here - THE answer to this situation…</p>
<p>Puppy Bowl III on Animal Planet - unless one sends their pup to Puppy College - there are no fee’s for venue’s/coaches/trainers, etc… and great entertainment ROFL hahahahahahaha</p>
<p>I’m currently a senior, and having just finished the application process, I think I can contribute a young person’s viewpoint to this thread.</p>
<p>I want to go to my native state university, which is a top-notch academic school but also has great sports programs… There’s something about big sports programs that definitely contribute a university’s overall school-spirit. There’s a sense of unity that extends beyond all the various academic departments. And also, the entire college sports experience is FUN, for both the players and the spectators. College sports definitely add to the overall college experience. And that’s not to say that academics aren’t my first priority.</p>
<p>Granted, I am a huge sports fan. I’ve done sports in high school, and I’ll definitely play intermural in college. So I can relate to organized college sports much better than some others. For me, organized college sports is like watching people play a sport BETTER than I can. It’s the same reason amateur piano players listen to Bach and Mozart.</p>
<p>Suppasonic-- why should they be rewarded for their ‘academic prowess’ more than their athletic prowess or their leadership prowess, etc??</p>
<p>Anybody ever hear that the University of Michigan pays for all of its athletic scholarships with ONE home football game a year?!? So now you add the revenue made from those other 5-6 home games they have a year and the sport is paying for itself and then some!</p>
<p>Look you guys can talk about big sports at big schools but I’m really talkign about small colleges that play D3 sports. Student athletes should be required to pay a fee that covers the cost of the sports program including coaches/trainers salaries, stadium maintenance and others.</p>
<p>The costs of big time college sports are astronomical. The revenue and expenses reported to the federal government gives an idea of the amount of money involved. <a href=“http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/InstList.asp[/url]”>http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/InstList.asp</a> Many big programs cost over $50 million/year. There is no way to tell if these programs make money or take away from the money that might otherwise be available for education. Unfortunately, the revenues reported include things like athletic fees, and money contributed as institutional support. These numbers do not include costs of constructing facilities. The costs of building a 50000 seat stadium can range between a quarter and a half billion dollars.</p>
<p>Just saw on our local news this morning that UNC Charlotte is having their current students vote on whether to add a football team and how much extra they would be willing to pay in order to have a team.</p>
<p>Sounds like a good approach. If they want a competitive football team, then the State needs to kick in a few hundred million to build a stadium and student fees could be increased by $500-1000 per year to cover some of the expenses.</p>
<p>I think you hit the nail on the head, edad. What’s clear from this thread is that a number of people still buy into the idea of big time college sports as a margin generator (they tend to use the word “revenue,” which I’ve never understood, since that’s only the top line, and every sport generates some revenue). There are no standard cost accounting procedures for college sports, so getting a handle on actual margins (or lack of same) is impossible.</p>
<p>Still, reports that do come out suggest that almost every sports program is a money loser. Some sports do appear to make a profit (football and men’s basketball, usually), but it’s even hard to tell about that since capital construction costs, administrative loads, space rental, etc. may not be allocated to those programs.</p>