Playing sports like football and basketball has always been and remains to be a popular occupation all over the world. Some people go in for sports to keep in fit or just for fun, while others play sports professionaly and cannot imagine their lives without it. For the last category of people, studying in a college or a university is a great opportunity to show their worth, as many higher educational establishments are extremely concerned with sports and support athletes who are willing to play it for their college or university.
However, this support has been discussed recently. In the intercourse of discussion the unresolved issue remained. It can be formulated as follows:
Should colleges and universities support football and basketball?
“Definitely yes” is the answer to this question.
Let us consider some arguments that stand for college support of sports, football and basketball in particular. Firstly, successful teams bring their educational establishments large revenues from different sources, which we will consider below. Secondly, sports keep students away from TV, social networks, alcohol and drugs, promoting healthy lifestyle and consequently reducing crime rates not only at the local, but also at the national level. Thirdly, when colleges and universities support sports, people are more likely to enter these colleges and to advance in their sporting careers there. Fourthly, football and basketball are the most profitable kinds of sports in all colleges, so the revenues they bring compensate the costs for other kinds of sports, which are not profitable but rather lossmaking. Finally, colleges and universities should support sports financially, as there are a number of reasons for why college sportsmen deserve such kind of support.
Look at Profitability
The fact that sports in college can be a real business comes as no surprise. “Big-time college sports departments are making more money than ever before, thanks to skyrocketing television contracts, endorsement and licensing deals, and big-spending donors” (Hobso and Steven n.p.).
Perhaps, everybody knows that the success of the college sports is closely connected with the revenues the college athletic department gets. It is something like an unwritten rule, or even a consequence of the action. If the action is performed successfully, that is in case the team wins, the consequence comes in the form of money.
According to the recent NCAA report, 14 athletic programs were profitable and made money, that amounts to 12%. The specific profitable sports were football and basketball. Colleges make money from ticket sales, booster donations and from NCAA (Christoper n.p.).
Besides material profits, colleges and universities also gain some prestige when their teams win. As a result, more students want to enter these colleges, and there appears fair competition between the applicants, so that only the best are admitted.
Encouraging People to Enter the Colleges
Supporting football and basketball teams by colleges and universities is essential for those students who are eager to relate their lives with sports but do not have the opportunity to pay the tuition fees. In such case, colleges offer them scholarships, which open a completely new world for them. College education is very important for people of all genders, ages and nationalities. It opens a new world of fresh ideas and wonderful opportunities.
Moreover, with college support, sports can ensure better life not only for college graduates but also for their children. They will have the example of what is good and will be aware of what is wrong. Children of graduates who played for their college or universities are more likely to imitate their parents’ behavior and to be in the track of their parents. Sport is a key to healthy nation. Thus, colleges and universities should support not only football and basketball in particular, but also the general idea of sports.
Role of Football and Basketball
NCAA study showed that two kinds of college sports are profitable. They are football and men’s basketball. Football is such kind of sport, which brings profit irrespective of the part of the country where it is played or the university. All football teams made revenues. Men’s basketball as well helps to keep college athletics on the go and alive (Lee n.p.).
Football annually generates more money than any other kind of college sports. These revenues are mainly due to “broadcast rights, ticket sales and merchandising” (Scott n.p.). In some universities, profits that are made from football matches are used to fund the whole athletic department. Therefore, football is very important kind of college sports. Its existence and successful performance helps not only the college to present itself on the national level, but also to secure the existence of other not so profitable sports.
Though men’s basketball also generates money, its revenues amount half of those got with the help of college football (Scott n.p.).
Paying College Athletes
There also has been much discussion as to pay or not to pay college students that is whether or not support them financially. Financial support plays an extremely important role in college sports. It not only motivates players but also demonstrates them the possibility to earn money with the help of what you like to do, not only have to do. Getting financial aid in the form of payment would also encourage students to continue participating in sports and in the future, doing it professionally.
Money is never redundant. Athletes could use it to provide for their families and themselves. As we know, students have to work in order to earn for their living. Paying athletes for playing sports can reduce them from such a necessity. Scholarships they get are spent for tuition and room, so there would be much time for them to think not about part-time job, but rather about studying.
As it has already been mentioned college athletes bring big sums of money to their educational establishments. It would be fair to share these profits with the players themselves, as they are the main tool of getting those revenues.
Tiffany Patterson states that paying college athletes to play would teach them financial literacy and surely help in the future career and life (n.p.). It would introduce college athletes to financial investors that would evoke a certain interest in their minds. This financial literacy would be useful not only if they decide to go in for sports professionally but also in any kind of career.
Sports in Terms of Ethics
Some people state that college sports goals do not represent the universities’ ones. The primary goal of higher educational establishments is said to simply educate students, but does it not interfere with the claim to educate “mind, body and soul” (Hanson and Savage n.p.)? There should be established more understanding between such two aspects of college life as playing sports and studying. Here college or university assistance and support are the only formula for success.
Safety is said to be the main concern either in college education or in college sports at all times. In order to support college sports, paying medical costs of those students who were injured during the game would be helpful. Thus, much attention should be paid to those athletes who got some injuries, especially after which they can no longer go in for sports (Hanson and Savage n.p.).
Speaking about the NCAA rules, many people think that they go too far, namely that they restrict athletes’ liberties. Athletes’ actions and behavior are under constant control. They are not allowed to do many things and this is unfair. However, on the other hand, colleges and universities make large profits selling rights for their athletes’ brands and it brings millions of dollars to their budget (Hanson and Savage n.p.).
Conclusions
The importance of sports is beyond the doubt. At the amateur level, it helps to keep in fit and it can be a very interesting and useful hobby. As we know, the healthy body is the only condition of the healthy mind. At the professional level, sports play an extremely important role for the whole country, as our best sportsmen represent the country in different international competitions. They are the face of our country, as reflect its concern in decent representation and introduction at the international level.
The development of sportsmen should start from the very beginning of their lives, that is from schools. When a child participates in sports at school, he or she is more likely to continue it after the graduation. The next educational establishments, which provide education, are colleges and universities. Thus, a great responsibility lies on them, as at this level it is important to provide support for people who want to enter these colleges and universities and to go in for sports there. It should also be stressed that without this support, country would have few sportsmen, and country without sports cannot be perceived as highly developed or even globalized.
The two most popular kinds of sports in colleges and universities today are football and men’s basketball. Their popularity and success of the teams bring colleges large revenues annually. The revenues come as a rule from three main sources. They are tickets, broadcast rights and NCAA. Though only two kinds of sports are profitable in college, they ensure the functioning of the whole athletics department, thus all other kinds of sports that are of minor success and do not make any profit depend on football and basketball.
Works Cited
Hanson, Kirk and Matt Savage. "Ethics In College Sports - Resources - More - Focus Areas - Markkula Center For Applied Ethics - Santa Clara University". Scu.edu. N.p., 2012. Web. 9 May 2016.
Hobson, Will and Steven Rich. Playing in the Red. 2015. N.p. Web. 9 May 2016.
Lee, Christoper. College Athletics by the Numbers: A Deeper Look at Profitability. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 May 2016.
Patterson, Tiffany. Should College Athletes Be Paid? 2016. N.p. Web. 9 May 2016.
Scott, Morgan. How Much Money do College Sport Generate. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 May 2016.
