Are You Ready for Some Football?

Jack Brown

Mr. Banks

English 201.000

October 12, 2005

Are you ready for some football?

Campus life at any university should be a fun and exciting experience for every college student whether living on campus or not, but one look at UT's campus reveals that it lacks what students really need for that to be possible. UT has an enormous new $20 million library and a fairly large recreation center, but that's not what makes college life so memorable. Students don't go to the library on their weekends to hang out and have fun; they go where all the action is taking place. UT should supply the campus with enough activity to satisfy the students and attract people from all over. UT should develop a football program.

No other sport inspires a sense of loyalty quite like college football (Benson 1). Football unites every student of the university to support the team representing it and motivates them to participate in school activities. Through these activities, students bond with one another, forming friendships that will last a lifetime. One walk around the campus at UT shows that student interaction is kept to a minimum, causing a lonely atmosphere for out-of-state students and transfer students. Football increases student interaction and provides an atmosphere that invites everyone to be a part of the school. For example, pep rallies and fundraisers would mean students working with other students to provide fun and excitement for even more students. There are so many possibilities that branch out from having a football team. One possibility is a band program. UT should acknowledge this and form a football department without delay so that these activities can be put into action. Besides influencing programs at UT, a football team would also affect the lifestyle of its students.

Everyone knows how prevalent partying and drinking is on a college campus. It is a problem that doesn't seem to have any solution. But one way to decrease the severity of the problem is by providing students with non-alcoholic fun exciting football games. Football games provide all students with safe weekend fun while at the same time promoting school spirit and pride, things that UT lacks. There is no better way to keep students out of the party scene than to provide activities on campus that are fun and exciting and clean. Football is the only option for UT even though there are many people that protest against it.

Arguments are made that UT is not big enough to support a football team of any size. That is not true. How can UT support a $20 million library? The same way it could support a football team instead. Once the football program is up and running, the amount of scholarships given out would increase dramatically. In effect, enrollment would increase dramatically and bring more money and students to UT. Also, many high school students living in the area that play football have