Why Football Matters: The University Benefits

I know people (by which I mean snobby, pretentious people like I used to be) hate it when football and academics mix. After all, athletics (at least big sports like football and basketball) are for meatheads and have no business being supported in any fashion by institutions of higher learning.

First, I have to wonder what exactly they profess the purpose of a university education is. I turned to the mission statements of the universities that ended up in the Top 3 last season. Here are key phrases:

1. Alabama: As one of the major residential campuses in the State, the University enhances the academic and personal growth of its students through its on-campus environment.
2. Texas: Core Value- Discovery - Expanding knowledge and human understanding.
3. Florida: The university and its components benefit from the richness of a multicultural student body, faculty and staff who can learn from one another.

These statements are not dissimilar to many other universities that mention personal growth and greater cultural understanding. Football is a component of reaching these aims. I can use myself as an example; anyone who knows me know I despised football until I started college. By learning to tolerate, and eventually love, the sport, I opened myself up to a whole range of opportunities. I began to evaluate other opinions I held, because if I was wrong about sports, maybe I was wrong about other things. And note: it wasn’t just football. I went to basketball and volleyball games. I kept up with our soccer, rugby, and baseball teams. No one bats an eye when sports fans are required to attend a play for class, yet an athletic event can make one connect with the community and rethink the world in just the same way. Not only are athletics congruent with most universities’ missions, they support them.

But that’s all hippy trippy. What we really care about are numbers. And yet, even though there are demonstrated spikes in applications after a university wins a national championship, and money that gets funneled from the athletic department to the academic side, and copious amounts of money that are channeled into the local economy via expenses of traveling fans and merchandise, naysayers of college ball still cling to their ironically close-minded position.

So did this provost. Then his university created a football team. Now he’s a believer. If you’re disinclined to read the article, I’ll summarize his points:

1. Football teams foster a sense of community that even non-sports fans appreciate, thereby increasing enrollment.
2. That community also increases alumni donations.
3. College athletics opens educational doors to students who could not afford to attend without scholarships.

The lynchpin, of course, is communication and recognition of this symbiosis between the academic and athletic departments. But it’s an excellent article and recommended for anyone who cares about college or sports.