Perhaps, the oldest activity in mans’ history could be sporting. Sports have always been part and parcel of man right from the ancient times as evidenced from the Greek Olympic Games. The early history of sports repeatedly involved the training and preparation for hunting or war. For this reason there were sports games that engaged the throwing of rocks, stakes, spears and certainly lots of play-fighting. Ancient Greece initiated official sports, with the first Olympic Games held in 776 BC, which included sports for example chariot and human races, jumping, wrestling, javelin and disk throwing, and many more. Furthermore, archeological and ethnographic evidences e.g. paintings on caves and the telltales of the early explorers signify that sports may as well be traced back to the very commencement of humankind. It is no surprise that a lot of sports that are renowned and played today, a good example being football, were played throughout medieval Europe. Others like horse-racing and golf was played among the European Aristocratic classes. Modern sports as we know them today have their roots in the history of the industrial revolution and the establishment of the first public schools, which later came to be incorporated in the curriculum of schools.
In the United States, Sports are principally linked with education, with most high schools, colleges and universities having organized sports. Competitions on college sports play a significant role in the culture of American sports. In many instances professional sports are less popular compared to college athletics with NCAA being the major sanctioning body. The NCAA seeks to treat each athlete in college equally. Basketball and football players, after receiving the same treatment just like any other scholarship athlete while still college, have greater chances of making living from their sport after they complete their education. Through the NCAA, college leaders authorize impoverished settings for young, valuable players. The NCAA is precisely determined to ensure its championship cannot be bought; it prohibits college athletes from receiving anything from supporters apart from the benefits in their scholarships.
Many college athletes today decide to engage into sporting activities for one main reason; fun. Basically, that is just it. However, many parents are uncertain of the impact that sports and exercise may have on their children’s academic achievement and physical development. It is often a tough call for parents who are left to ponder on how to advice their children on matters concerning sports. By engaging in sports, two scenarios come forth; one, there is the possibility that by engaging in sports, a student would enhance his/her skills and athletic potential to a position of getting a college erudition or professional proposals. Secondly, there is also the possibility that a student who has ventured into sports may end his/her athletic career in higher educational levels.
Regardless of the uncertainties that are eminent in the unprofessional games world, one thing is definite; participation in athletics and training for sports in students provide a myriad of benefits rather than the fun aspect of it. If statistics are anything to go by, more than thirty million children play a wide range of recreational and competitive sports at their young and tender ages. According to (Metzl, 2002) athletes require undivided attention as well as respect but unfortunately, they may not always get it. However; sports do offer students an arena to express themselves and where they can earn people’s full attention and respect by exerting their God-given abilities. Owing to the fact that growing children are usually full of strength, speed, coordination, good vision, responsiveness and creativity, they blend quite well with sports and sports related activities.
There is no doubt that sporting basically encompasses all aspects of human beings and therefore, it goes without saying that when students take part in sports, they are more likely to grow up benefiting in all the aspects that sporting has to offer. Studies carried out by the American College of Sports Medicine reveals that students who participate in organized sporting events perform much better in schools, are more team oriented, have great interpersonal skills and show general healthiness of the body (Dickey & Henken, 2006). Sports in students brings them to a whole new platform in their lives, placing them at influential positions that may open up immediate and future opportunities in leadership ranks. Involvement in sports increases the socialization of a child and also sharpens the child’s development skills such as skills to handle successes and failures. Moreover, sports instill a sense of organization in a student’s life; he/she also learns how rules work. During sports, children are exposed to teamwork and get to know the importance of teamwork and get to appreciate order even at their young ages. Despite the stereotypes that sports are mainly a boys ‘thing’, girls who engage in sports stand to benefit in greater ways as opposed to those who are not into sports. Active and athletic girls develop increased self–esteem and confidence. Research also proves that girls who are into sports are more likely to clear high school and colleges with a much healthier body image. In addition to that, girls taking part in games have a less likelihood of becoming expectant as teenagers and rarely suffer from depression. Furthermore, there is substantiation that sporty activity can reduce the chances of developing cancer of the breast later on in the students’ life.
Colleges make a lot of money on college sports. Most athletic departments in college drain on the finances. Athletes are usually offered a free college education. Colleges make plenty of money selling belongings associated with popular players and teams. Athletes are forbidden from profiting off of their talent while still in school.
A college makes a lot of money through indirect or intangible funding that comes as a result of winning program. Increased applications and enrollment always follow good programs or seasons. Following good seasons, Donations usually go up. This can results to a larger endowment following-on higher academic rankings. The latest NCAA annual report on expenses and revenue shows that 22 Football Bowl divisional schools made money in 2009 to 2010, eight additional than the preceding year. Colleges that play football, nonetheless, in general appear to be making additional money to finance their programs. The findings indicate: on the whole, the median income for FBS schools was roughly $48.3 million, in comparison with FCS colleges ($13,189,000) and colleges that do not play football made $11,077,000 (The Associated Press, 2011)
For this reason, some colleges lower their standards to admit students whose only recognition criteria is athleticism. They do not ignore their core mission unless there is a financial gain. Two to three dozen athletic departments in colleges around the world turn a profit. Those are the colleges with great basketball or huge football programs. More often than not, the men's basketball and football teams end up subsidize all the rest
In some countries, law supposedly restrictions the use of public finances for athletics. But athletic-department financial plan are disreputably opaque: Money comes from a variety of sources for example ticket sales, student fees and alumni donations and all these combines and then gets spent on the lot from Gatorade to salaries.
Well, some schools say, scholars are not just brains on sticks; and for this reason, they try to develop the whole person. This is a good argument for obligatory student contribution in music appreciation or intramural sports class.
The question always arises every time and every year some athlete takes some money from someone: "why shouldn’t we pay college athletes, in spite of everything they make too much money for the schools. The athletes bring million dollars every year on the college level. They break their backs for the college everyday and do not get a share of that money.
Athletic scholarships are awards given to student athlete by universities and colleges. These may cover part or all of tuition and can still include a stipend, because being a student athlete is often a full-time job. Colleges are not permitted to pay their athletes and the rule has stud, for as long as sports has been played in college level. Paying athletes would give every college a professional team that would not be connected to the student body. Some scholars argue that college athletes should be paid since Coaches make a lot of money on the backs of these athletes hence viewing it as slave labor. They argue that being College athletics is hard. Occasionally at the end of the day, the athlete is exhausted and doesn’t feel like studying. Just think about the millions of people who go to work every day. They work for long hours and most working individuals want to relax, perhaps watch T.V and have a beer.
Most of the college athletes do not get their degrees because of the games they play and the workouts they do every other day. There is too much pressure to do well in their education.
Other scholars argue that Paying College athletes would amplify uniformity. Comparatively insignificant matters, like weather, would no more give some schools a higher advantage if players were being paid. Recruiting would turn out to be a much more transparent and honest affair. Paying athletes would also facilitate new football schools to rapidly come up with programs (Duncan, 2011)There are also bad consequences if the athletes are caught getting paid for instance Reggie Bush lost his award since he was caught being paid.
If a certain school decided to compete with another, they would spend the funds and get it done. The only colleges that would be debilitated would be colleges that have insufficient funds or lack alumni or strong support for football. College athletes should not be paid since there is a lot of money involved. If college footballers were paid, there would not be sufficient funds for women’s gymnastics. However, it makes no sense for students not paying more for tuition so that athletes can exist.
There would be a possible increase in competitiveness. For instance, if athletes are aware that they would earn more income through athletic talents in college, high school contest could become increasingly competitive. This would sequentially cause student-athletes to concentrate more on displaying their own talents rather than learning the significance of team play and solid fundamentals. This could relate to parents as well. (Duncan,2011)We've have heard of a number of terror stories of soccer moms going wild when something does not go their children’s way.
A large number of individuals overemphasize athletic triumph in comparison to academics. When future financial gains are added to the student equation, Chances are that the students who might be planning on proceeding to the next level would only concentrate harder on their athletics. According to statistics, very few college athletes receive athletic scholarships in higher education, and only few proceed to play sports professionally.
For athletes who come from poor backgrounds, an idealistic pay-for-play scheme could be inspiration for them to remain in school. They could obtain an athletic scholarship to cover up the college costs; the system would cover up most additional athlete operating cost. The athlete’s parent could then be free of major financial accountability for their student while in college. Some student may prioritize their athletic growth over their academic growth; however it would ultimately be better for an athlete to stay in school, regardless of the money earned (Tunstall , 2011).
Smaller sports may be dropped out for the reason that bigger sports like basketball and football will dominate all of the money. They would not be capable of paying the less significant sport’s players, hence causing them to drop from the program.
There is just too much money involved in paying the athletes, then that would result to event like fund raisers and tournaments. There might not be sufficient funds to support them going on the media. This means fans cannot watch the play when they have not gone to the game. This would result in college sports being unpopular.
The future of this will either be bad or good depending on a country’s money balance. A country would need to have more funds for an event to happen. Nevertheless things would still be terrible regardless of the money. Money would only destroy an athlete’s career since they will yearn for it very badly. As a result, the education rate would drop and no one would be willing to watch the sports since they could not afford to appear on the media. Careers would be ruined as individuals with; little education would be in search for a job armed with a high school certificate.
Andres, M. (2007). Chilad and Adolescent Psychiatry: Journal of American Academy. 46(8), 935-1095
Dickey, C. & Henken, D. (2006). Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. 38(8) 1515-1519
Metzl, D., J. (2001). The Young Athlete: A Sports Doctor’s Complete Guide For Parents. 108(2) 421
Tunstall ,J. (2011) Do not pay College Athletes.Retrieved from
http://ptsphilly.com/2011/12/05/do-not-pay-college-athletes/
Duncan,C.(2011) Retrieved from
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/263933/should-college-athletes-get-paid-duncan-currie
The Associated Press, 2011.Retrieved from
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/06/22_college_football_programs_m.html
