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Future College Degree: Sports

Future College Degree: Sports. Specifically, the impact of NCAA athletics to on the world of sports- and not just for athletes. To quote the Associate Dean at Oregon State and former college and professional football player, Michael Oriard, “Given that college sports have become multi-billion dollar institutions, students should understand the ethical, cultural, social, and historical dimensions of their activity.” He goes on to say that the amount of devotion college athletes dedicate toward their craft is comparable to aspiring musicians.

Which is completely true. Athletes have to train their hardest to maintain an edge over their competitors in the same way musicians spend endless hours practicing their instruments. Both areas are performance and skill based and both require top tier skills to succeed at the professional level, but only musicians are offered classes and graded on their performance.

Having athletes- or anyone else interested in athletics- study the impact and history of sports would be beneficial to not only the student but to the university. Forever gone will be the days that we see college athletes as just a source of free labor and brainless schmucks who get a free pass. Universities will be able to hold their students accountable and increase the amount of valuable graduates the school produces. It also paves the way for these athletes to be trained for analyzing, coaching, writing and even up in the governing bodies, where they can benefit the sports world after they are done with their playing careers.

Questions? Ideas or suggestions? Follow me on twitter @ChrisComella or email me at [email protected]

IMAGE: Courtesy of MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street Blog

Christopher Comella

Christopher earned his BA in Political Science from DePaul University in 2011, and is no stranger to writing and deadlines. One of his greatest assets is to add humor to even the driest of subjects, which is why half of his professors love him and the other half hated his work.

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