The Champions of the East - a Scientific Report on Whether Athletics Should Be Instated at Basten College

Basten College

The Champions of the East

A Scientific Report On Whether Athletics Should Be Instated At Basten College

Presented By:

Erich Ziegler

SMC 111 Final Project

Professor Jay Basten

4-17-01

An intercollegiate athletics program at Basten College would provide many positives for the college. We would like to focus on the benefits to the majority of your students which would be spectators and athletes. These include health benefits, social benefits, and the effects on politics and race. We would also like to address the problems associated with sports. After our presentation we hope you will be confident in the positive effects an intercollegiate program will have on your institute.

There are obvious benefits to being an athlete, specifically those related to one's health. Everybody should exercise at least three times a week in order to establish a healthy way of life. When one is part of a team, they are able to develop certain social skills that can benefit them throughout life. Also, participating in a sport can increase one's level of self-esteem. "In selected patients with major depression, aerobic training can produce a substantial improvement in symptoms in a short time," (Dimeo et. al., 5) However, as important as all that is, the majority of the population at Basten College will probably not be varsity athletes. The majority will be spectators and fans. There are three main benefits to being a spectator. The first is the effects on academics. According to Karla Henderson watching sports or athletic events increases endorphin release in the brain, resulting in a higher aptitude and concentration level. So students have the ability to focus longer and retain more information while studying or attending class. The second reason deals with female's personal identity. According to Linda Marsa, "Participation in sports pays big dividends physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Extensive research shows that girls who are involved in athletics boost their self esteem; improve their physical fitness; do better academically; are less likely to drop out of school, do drugs, smoke or get pregnant; and are more able to weather the physical and emotional storms of adolescence." The third reason is that it has been found that people who continually participate and associate with athletics, begin to relate facts and literature to sports, enabling them to commit the knowledge to long-term memory better. For example, let's say Jon Doe loves baseball, specifically the New York Yankees. He watches his favorite team at every leisurely moment he can. At the same time, at his college, the University of Basten, he is having trouble in his statistics class. In order for him to understand the concepts better, he begins to relate it to baseball. He uses Derek Jeter's base percentage and batting average and relates it to Thirdly, George Graves, in his 1992 study, found people were more likely to join a team then participate in individual exercise, and therefore maintained a higher level of health then people who didn't have the option of joining a team. "Sports participation has long been thought to provide youths with a positive social environment and to foster basic values. Specifically, such participation is thought to provide the same benefits as regular exercise, along with team rules and principles that help promote health-enhancing behaviors," (Sherman, 1) These reasons illustrate the benefits of being a student at an institute of higher learning which offers an intercollegiate athletic program.

Sports play an important role one's community pride and identity. People identify themselves with positive groups. A good example of this fact is the Notre Dame Football team. The Notre Dame Football team has an exclusive contract with NBC for the next ten years. Why? It's because Notre Dame is an inherent competitor in NCAA Division 1 football. People enjoy associating with winners. This is because of three theories, including the personal identity, social identity, and BIRG theory. Personal identity is how a person sees themselves in front of society. One's personal identity includes self-esteem and self image. Social identity is several personal identities together. It is how a group sees themselves compared to other groups. When describing their group, one often uses terms like distinctive, prestigious, and "we're better than that group." These phenomena are because of a theory known as the in-group theory. People see their group (the in-group) better than the out-group. The final theory is the BIRG concept. BIRG is an acronym for "Basking In Reflected Glory." As stated before, people associate themselves with winning teams. When one's favorite team wins, it is proven that the person will say, "We won or we did well." On the same idea, when that team loses, a person will most likely say, "they lost, or they blew the game." People associate themselves with winners.

Athletics also bring campuses together. What would bring Basten College together without athletics? Friday night parties, or major protests and riots? A Hash Bash or a Naked Mile? These alternatives are not something Basten College wants to be associated with. Athletics is a good catalyst to bring a campus together, both financially and socially. "The role of successful Division I football and basketball programs in motivating alumni and other donors to make charitable educational contributions to

US universities are apparent," (Roads and Gerking, 1)

College campuses are in the political forefront. Sport plays a big role in politics. First of all, sports promote legitimacy and prestige. For example, the University of Nebraska and Duke University are established colleges. They have established athletic programs who've won titles for years. This gives the University the national renowned name. Many students go to these colleges based on their name. This name is made by the college's athletic program. Basten College can be known across the country - if you establish an athletic program.

Sport and race is another major topic in the college athletic realm. Basten College is not very diverse, and some changes need to take place, in order to make the college nationally known and respected. An athletic program will increase diversity at Basten College.