Sports in Small Colleges

Sports and Academic Achievements

Sports have taken on a significant role in the lives of many individuals since they help maintain physical health and relaxation while also building endurance and patience. In order to treat and prevent a variety of illnesses, doctors advise exercise for many of their patients. Children are encouraged to participate in sports, and football, soccer, and basketball teams and leagues are prevalent in many communities. Every year, several sports are played at American colleges and secondary schools as well. The majority of American educational institutions strive to create people who excel in both their academic and extracurricular pursuits. However, achieving the academic performance has become a challenge especially in the high school and colleges as the students are involved in the competitive nature of the sporting activities. The athletes acquire many benefits from their participation, however, the colleges face several challenges in participating in sports.

Debates on Athletics and Academics in Higher Education

There have existed debates on the relationship between athletics and academics in the higher education centers. Some people have defended that athletics in colleges have supported the academic missions in these centers while others have argued that sports pose an exploitation and distraction to the higher education of the athletics. Sports have lowered the academic achievements, especially among student-athletes (NCAA Convention, 42). The student-athletes have become not interested in their academic performance since they enroll in this institutions to develop their careers in sports. The students who engage in the sports have a higher rate of dropout from schools and in addition, they have a lower chance of completing their college education. Therefore, the involvement of college students in the sporting activities has resulted in negative influences which have directly or indirectly impacted the academic achievements of the students. Colleges should, therefore, abolish the sporting activities.

The Impact of Sports on the Education System

The United States is practicing sporting activities in high schools and colleges more than any other country around the globe. The education system is ranked in number 31 compared to other countries’ education system. Ripley (2013, online) states that there are undertrained teachers and poverty levels that affect the system. However, the manner in which sports have been embedded in schools has had a more negative impact on the education system. Schools have focused more on improving their sporting activities than they focus on the academics (Ripley, online). In a study conducted it was found out that the school going children in America care more about their sports compared to the school going children in other parts. The eighth-grade children in America spend more than twice the time that school going children in countries such as Korea spend in sports.

Encouraging Sports Among College Students

There exist alarming high rates of heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments that are present due to poor diets and lack of exercise (Tierney, online). Therefore, sports should be encouraged among the college students as it serves to improve their health status greatly. In the case that an institution has scrapped off the sporting activities, the college should reallocate the money that was to be spent on the athletics into establishing a wellness program to give the students an opportunity to practice and exercise. In a study, it was found that a football player at Premont cost the district about $1,300 while a math student cost the district about $618 (Ripley, online). Furthermore, one football season cost the district enough money that they could have utilized in hiring a music time for a period of one year. In another study, it was found that a school in Pacific Northwest was spending a total of $328 per student for math instruction. On the other hand, the school was spending more than four times that much for cheerleading, the total expense was $1,348 for a cheerleader (Ripley, online). Therefore, colleges should eliminate the sports as they would be able to save more money by reducing the high expenses and refocus both the students and the teachers to their academics.

Impact of Sporting Activities on Academic Focus

During the football season, there is low concentration on the academics as students, teachers, and the college principal focus more on the sporting activities in their schools. The students during this season tend to spend long and exhausting hours practicing. The teacher-coaches also tend to spend more time traveling with their teams. This has forced the colleges to hire substitute teachers to take their places.

Benefits of Sports on the Education System

Sports also have some benefits on the education system such as it promotes school spirit in the children, offers lessons in sportsmanship and perseverance, and also serve as an exercise to the children (Ripley, online). According to Bowen and Hitt (2013, online), American schools have largely invested in sports far more than in other countries. The students have benefited more from these investments. In the NCAA convention (2008, p.15), it stated that majority of the students who are engaged in the sports get actively involved in their community activities and they believe that the participation in the athletics has improved them socially. In conclusion, the Newman University in Wichita Kansas should not continue having athletics and instead focus on improving their fitness facilities that would help the students maintain their health safety while focusing on their academic performance.

Works Cited

Bowen, Daniel H., and Colin Hitt. “High-School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics.” The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10/high-school-sports-arent-killing-academics/280155/. Accessed 5 July 2017.

NCAA Convention. “The Student-Athlete Perspective of the College Experience Findings.” NCAA.org - The Official Site of the NCAA, 15 Jan. 2008, www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/The%20Student-Athlete%20Perspective%20of%20the%20College%20Experience.pdf. Accessed 5 July 2017.

Ripley, Amanda. “The Case Against High-School Sports.” The Atlantic, Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/. Accessed 5 July 2017.

Tierney, Mark. “At Spelman, Dropping Sports in Favor of Fitness - The New York Times.” The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, 13 Apr. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/sports/at-spelman-dropping-sports-in-favor-of-fitness.html?pagewanted=all. Accessed 5 July 2017.