Styleforum › Forums › General › General Chat › Are college athletics good or bad?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Are college athletics good or bad?

post #1 of 228
9/19/10 at 1:26am
Thread Starter 
i was having a discussion with a buddy about college football.

i HATE college football. he was curious why. when it came down to it, i hate college sports because universities end up losing money just to keep athletics going, and i feel like college athletics are just a huge clusterfuck that's taking away resources that could be spent on something that actually matters: like college. you know, like books and shit. learning. what college is actually supposed to be about.

few universities actually MAKE money off of their football programs.

what do you guys think?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 228
9/19/10 at 1:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjakapeanut View Post
i was having a discussion with a buddy about college football.

i HATE college football. he was curious why. when it came down to it, i hate college sports because universities end up losing money just to keep athletics going, and i feel like college athletics are just a huge clusterfuck that's taking away resources that could be spent on something that actually matters: like college. you know, like books and shit. learning. what college is actually supposed to be about.

few universities actually MAKE money off of their football programs.

what do you guys think?

Complex issue. I think it's way bigger in the US than it probably should be. Up here we don't have 1/16 of the popularity for our varsity teams- that said, I'd much rather watch NCAA football than NFL or CFL. They seem to 'want it' more. It's obviously in my head, but whatever.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 228
9/19/10 at 1:49am
Thread Starter 
yeah i understand. i just want to make sure i clarify that the issue here isn't at all whether or not the content is good and everything like that, but more of "is it responsible as a university to throw money into college athletics rather than put the money in the academics"
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 228
9/19/10 at 2:32am
I agree with you whole-heartedly. However when you adjust this philosophy to a grander scale....well America is just one big clusterfuck
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 228
9/19/10 at 2:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KPO89 View Post
I agree with you whole-heartedly. However when you adjust this philosophy to a grander scale....well America is just one big clusterfuck

that pretty much sums up the consensus i've gotten. people are like "well yeah totally, but what else is new."
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 228
9/19/10 at 3:01am
Net negative.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 228
9/19/10 at 3:04am
same with arts etc. some shit is just got for morale.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 228
9/19/10 at 3:11am
It's just something so far ingrained into the "American" experience... shit about the importance of being well-rounded and having extracurricular interests.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 228
9/19/10 at 3:38am
Thread Starter 
that's not really the issue guys lol. the issue is more dedicating a ton of money to somethign that doesn't matter instead of actually improving the academics -- which is the purpose of college. academia.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 228
9/19/10 at 3:47am
The part that puzzles me is that most states are in budget crisis right now, and they are still dumping millions into athletics when they should be focused on academia or tuition hikes. Doesn't make sense at all.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 228
9/19/10 at 3:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prada_Ferragamo View Post
The part that puzzles me is that most states are in budget crisis right now, and they are still dumping millions into athletics when they should be focused on academia or tuition hikes. Doesn't make sense at all.

exactly, that's what i'm driving at.

i go to a school that is part of the LSU system here in new orleans. i'm sure you've heard of LSU -- but i bet it's not because of their stellar budget management skillz. it's because of the stupid fucking football team.

they continue to dump money into the program (that doesn't make any money btw.) when millions could be put to better use keeping teachers on staff, NOT dumping programs etc.

it personally affects me. that's why i got into it and researched it.

still haven't found one person who could argue why athletics are a responsible cause.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 228
9/19/10 at 3:58am
a) I dislike college football compared to NFL. I prefer a system that actually makes competitive sense and features great, close games week in and week out rather than 75-10 snoozefests (college basketball is the opposite)

b) Colleges that spend tons on athletics - well, it makes some sense. There are externalities. It is their biggest marketing tool, and it attracts both students to campus and alumni to donate (and keep interested in the school). Once a college football fan of an alma mater, always a college football fan.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 228
9/19/10 at 4:04am
You are actually mistaken. The reason so many universities fund athletic programs is because they help the university make money. The program itself may lose money but as a whole they bring in more students because of it, resulting in increased revenues. This is a proven statistic. In fact, a direct correlation has been make with universities having a significant decline in male students when they cut their football program, or an identical increase when they add it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rjakapeanut View Post
i was having a discussion with a buddy about college football.

i HATE college football. he was curious why. when it came down to it, i hate college sports because universities end up losing money just to keep athletics going, and i feel like college athletics are just a huge clusterfuck that's taking away resources that could be spent on something that actually matters: like college. you know, like books and shit. learning. what college is actually supposed to be about.

few universities actually MAKE money off of their football programs.

what do you guys think?
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 228
9/19/10 at 4:09am
^^^ What about schools that don't have successful programs and still dumping money into athletics? Your statement doesn't make sense. If they are making money for the school, then the school itself wouldn't be in crisis and having tuition hikes.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 228
9/19/10 at 4:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KenRose View Post
You are actually mistaken. The reason so many universities fund athletic programs is because they help the university make money. The program itself may lose money but as a whole they bring in more students because of it, resulting in increased revenues. This is a proven statistic. In fact, a direct correlation has been make with universities having a significant decline in male students when they cut their football program, or an identical increase when they add it.

So what if they have a decline in male students, they can have in increase in female students. I want to see this proven statistic.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: General Chat
Styleforum › Forums › General › General Chat › Are college athletics good or bad?