Another March has gone by, and another March madness has crowned its winner. The majority of Americans will in some way know that North Carolina was beaten by Villanova with a buzzer shot. College sports are highly engaging across cultures and age groups, and is for many just as engaging as professional sports. The most prestigious college football- and basketball games are watched by millions, and acts like good publicity for many Colleges. However, these multi million sporting arenas and coaches’ costs millions to obtain yearly. So who is left to pay the bill, when the events can't generate enough revenue? This question has been discussed widely as college tuitions has had a massive increase the last decades.
For many Colleges athletic programs can be a costly investment. Some of the programs are dependent on up towards 90% of their costs through student, institutional and/or state fees, which can be huge numbers dependent on the size of the school and their program. The problem with this, is that many incoming students expect that their tuition money, unless otherwise stated, are used purely on increasing the academic aspect of their college experience. I would guess that the majority of students at various institutions have little or no idea about the amount they spend on funding athletic programs through various fees and expenses. However, there are examples of colleges where the athletic programs create enough revenue so they can cover all their expenses. The University of Arizona is such an example, where the program has been economically independent from state and university subsidies since 2003. As mentioned this isn’t the case for most of the programs, so the reality is that many of these programs are an expensive investment for the colleges. But why do the schools use so much money on these programs when they’re so expensive? Due to what I mentioned earlier: its an investment. In 1984 a college athlete, at Boston College, threw a game winning pass in a football game against the University of Miami. This win created an increase in applicants for the Boston College for the coming academic years. Well performing athletic programs will in many cases result in an increase in applicants for the given college. For the colleges an increase in applicants most likley results in better college ranking, and a possibility to raise tuition rates as there are more people applying for the same numbers of available spaces. So in this regard, many colleges can increase their revenue and status by using money on a well performing athletic program. I am not suggesting that this is the case for all colleges, but there is evidence to believe that this could be a reason for the willingness of the institutions to spend relative huge amounts of money on athletic programs. Then you might think is this a problem. In some regard yes: some discusses that it could be partially responsible for the massive increase in tuition the last decades. However, a student at the University of Arizona, Ashraya Rana, said in an interview that he wouldn’t mind if parts of his tuition went towards the athletic program, since it “enriches the college experience”.
When people think of the college sports, many might think of get-togethers with family and friends, about the social aspect the sports bring. For most people, college sports is a great social aspect. Going back to the the point about an increasing amount of applicants for colleges with well performing athletic programs, could most likely be linked back to the social aspect of these programs. Personally I was amazed with the magnitude and the importance of the college sports, when I came to the U of A as an international student. I attended several football games, and most recently a basketball game between Arizona and UCLA, where Arizona won after being behind after the first half. I personally loved the atmosphere and everything around it, so I definitely see why many would like to have a well performing athletic program at their future college. I would probably not choose a school only based on their performance in sports, something both Ashraya and Harsha Dhanraj, two students at the U of A, agreed on, they looked at it being more of a bonus. So the athletic program in itself might not be the deciding factor for many, but as with Ashraya and Harsha, it might be a good bonus if they’re well performing. So the programs help the student have a socially good college experience, but could it be too much of the social? One study found in fact a negative correlation between studying and the athletic season. The study suggests that there is more drinking and less studying among male students during the athletic season, something the U of A students earlier interviewed, Harsha and Ashraya, agrees with could be the case at the U of A as well.
Athletic programs at colleges has aspects benefitting both the colleges and the students. However, it should be mentioned that most people don’t attend college to watch sporting events, their primary reason is the academic aspect. In no way do I believe you should get rid of college sports however, I believe schools should be more open about the actual costs for these programs, that are paid indirectly and directly by the students. I personally enjoy going to these sporting events, especially basketball and football, but I also remember the number one reason to why I came to college: the academics.
For many Colleges athletic programs can be a costly investment. Some of the programs are dependent on up towards 90% of their costs through student, institutional and/or state fees, which can be huge numbers dependent on the size of the school and their program. The problem with this, is that many incoming students expect that their tuition money, unless otherwise stated, are used purely on increasing the academic aspect of their college experience. I would guess that the majority of students at various institutions have little or no idea about the amount they spend on funding athletic programs through various fees and expenses. However, there are examples of colleges where the athletic programs create enough revenue so they can cover all their expenses. The University of Arizona is such an example, where the program has been economically independent from state and university subsidies since 2003. As mentioned this isn’t the case for most of the programs, so the reality is that many of these programs are an expensive investment for the colleges. But why do the schools use so much money on these programs when they’re so expensive? Due to what I mentioned earlier: its an investment. In 1984 a college athlete, at Boston College, threw a game winning pass in a football game against the University of Miami. This win created an increase in applicants for the Boston College for the coming academic years. Well performing athletic programs will in many cases result in an increase in applicants for the given college. For the colleges an increase in applicants most likley results in better college ranking, and a possibility to raise tuition rates as there are more people applying for the same numbers of available spaces. So in this regard, many colleges can increase their revenue and status by using money on a well performing athletic program. I am not suggesting that this is the case for all colleges, but there is evidence to believe that this could be a reason for the willingness of the institutions to spend relative huge amounts of money on athletic programs. Then you might think is this a problem. In some regard yes: some discusses that it could be partially responsible for the massive increase in tuition the last decades. However, a student at the University of Arizona, Ashraya Rana, said in an interview that he wouldn’t mind if parts of his tuition went towards the athletic program, since it “enriches the college experience”.
When people think of the college sports, many might think of get-togethers with family and friends, about the social aspect the sports bring. For most people, college sports is a great social aspect. Going back to the the point about an increasing amount of applicants for colleges with well performing athletic programs, could most likely be linked back to the social aspect of these programs. Personally I was amazed with the magnitude and the importance of the college sports, when I came to the U of A as an international student. I attended several football games, and most recently a basketball game between Arizona and UCLA, where Arizona won after being behind after the first half. I personally loved the atmosphere and everything around it, so I definitely see why many would like to have a well performing athletic program at their future college. I would probably not choose a school only based on their performance in sports, something both Ashraya and Harsha Dhanraj, two students at the U of A, agreed on, they looked at it being more of a bonus. So the athletic program in itself might not be the deciding factor for many, but as with Ashraya and Harsha, it might be a good bonus if they’re well performing. So the programs help the student have a socially good college experience, but could it be too much of the social? One study found in fact a negative correlation between studying and the athletic season. The study suggests that there is more drinking and less studying among male students during the athletic season, something the U of A students earlier interviewed, Harsha and Ashraya, agrees with could be the case at the U of A as well.
Athletic programs at colleges has aspects benefitting both the colleges and the students. However, it should be mentioned that most people don’t attend college to watch sporting events, their primary reason is the academic aspect. In no way do I believe you should get rid of college sports however, I believe schools should be more open about the actual costs for these programs, that are paid indirectly and directly by the students. I personally enjoy going to these sporting events, especially basketball and football, but I also remember the number one reason to why I came to college: the academics.