The Value of College Sports

By Christy Flom on August 31, 2015

College sports are entering a new era filled with athletes vying for endorsements, pay, and benefits. This charge has been led by the nationally popular sport of football, and some cases have even gone to the courts, specifically a case from Northwestern University.

In this case players attempted to be viewed by the university as employers, making it viable for them to bargain over issues like drug testing, disciplinary actions, and playing time decisions through forming a union.

While the courts have dismissed the possibility of student-athlete unions for now, the idea has not been squandered altogether. The value and underlying point of college sports is changing as a new generation of players take the field in the arena of college sports.

When I was deciding whether or not to pursue an athletic career in college, many aspects had to be taken into consideration. From what type of level, to the school, to the coach, facilities, and my own personal desire to play a sport, the decision was multifaceted from the moment I entered high school.

However, what never popped into my head was would I ever be paid as a student athlete other than scholarship money, would I have a say in not only my playing time but my teammates as well, or would I be able to get endorsements like professional players?

My high school basketball team after winning regionals to go to the State Semifinals.
Photo by Pamela Flom.

In an odd way it makes more sense to me when I hear of academic scandals like players paying people to take the ACT, or coaches helping students write papers, and even professors creating classes for athletes to give them an A.

Why? Because at least these cheating and dishonest programs and activities are done in an attempt to help athletes play the sport they love no matter how smart they may be or how wealthy they may or may not be to afford a certain school without a scholarship.

I am by no means endorsing cheating in the name of sports. It is one of the lowest and cheapest ways for a program to gain players in any sport, and I, for one, think any type of cheating that is discovered tarnishes the reputation of a program. And, if you aren’t playing for a program that you are proud of it makes being a dedicated student athlete even harder than it already is nowadays.

I am, on the other hand, endorsing hard work, perseverance, and dedication for athletes to have the opportunity to make a living off of sports through a collegiate career that can open doors to a possible professional career.

The meaning of college sports for athletes should be an opportunity for four more years of competing in a sport they love with coaches and teammates who push them to exceed their limits in a healthy environment.

Sports create a community in colleges of all sizes that add camaraderie, school spirit, and instill a drive of competitiveness in students and alum.

The value of college sports is in building character in the young athletes, and giving them the opportunity to represent their school in ways the average scholar cannot.

A normal student would say that athletes already receive too much help academically and financially but I would say these are necessities for athletes. The pressure is up, social media is following players all over the country, and college tuition has doubled, while classes are constantly becoming harder.

Image by Chad Cooper via flickr.com

Division one sports have up to three to four hours of practice, conditioning, and film each day. Add on schoolwork and time to sleep and your day is pretty much filled after meals. Athletes give up a lot due to the rigorous requirements of playing a college sport.

They cannot go out every night, have long vacations during school breaks, and I’m not even sure they can eat what they want during the season.

The tradeoffs are high to be a student athlete, and can be even higher depending on one’s major. For example, my sister played college hockey at a Division III school, while being pre-med. Completing organic chemistry II while in full season was a very long and tough semester.

In the end, however, she consciously made the choice to continue to play, and worked hard to get a tutor and the help she needed academically in order to ensure that she could succeed both athletically and academically.

I am not a college athlete and I would never want to pretend I know what the commitment of playing a sport in college entails. But I can say that I have enough friends and family who are playing college sports to know that it is no easy feat. I know that many athletes deserve more credit than they are earning.

Playing a sport in college is a privilege. According to nccaa.org, about 3.4 percent of men and 3.8 percent of women will play college basketball. Out of the 1 million high school football players, only 6.5 percent will play in college.

If someone is athletic and driven enough to receive a place on a team in college, then playing a sport can become someone’s ticket to a college degree. When it comes down to it, college sports are what they are: sports. As competitive, tough, time demanding, yet rewarding, exciting, and reputation-making as they are, they are still games that students want to play and be a part of in college. And, they are a game that other students wish they could be a part of themselves.

So, take the games as they are, and make them your one-way ticket to an education, or professional career. But, don’t turn your college experience into a job before you have to when you enter the real world.

Image by Austin Ban via Unsplash

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