Larry D. Lauer

With the proliferation of college bowl games and talk of a national championship I found myself reflecting once again on the pros and cons of the current state of intercollegiate athletics. The games have certainly been exciting and the visibility benefit for many of the institutions is obvious.

As the marketing and communication vice-chancellor for a major private institution I was involved in explaining the many benefits of intercollegiate athletics… even overseeing athletic marketing for some years. At its best, athletic participation teaches leadership, the importance of discipline in achieving goals, the power of effective teamwork, the importance of maintaining strong values, and how to never give up striving for one’s best possible performance. And strong programs provide socialization opportunities that bring vitality and a good measure of positive fun to an academic community. When it all works right, the “sound mind in a sound body” philosophy is certainly compatible with most academic missions.

However, when the game becomes controlled by big money, institutions become stretched beyond their economy of scale, winning at any cost becomes the goal, exorbitant coaching and staff salaries soar beyond reason, players are pushed to play through dangerous injuries, conferences change membership annually based on politics and money, academic budgets are inadvertently and sometimes directly affected, television scheduling forces awkward game times, athletes are over-tutored, and bowl costs exceed revenues, one must ask: Is all this spinning toward  some kind of self-destructive end?

Like everything else today, Athletics issues have become hopelessly polarized. It’s either full speed ahead, or the whole thing is bad news and will destroy the academy. My experience suggests that intercollegiate athletics are too embedded in the fabric of most institutions to give up, and yet my analysis suggests that the issues are too important to ignore.

The ultimate answer awaits rational people to get engaged in meaningful dialogue aimed toward seeking rational solutions. Make no mistake, history teaches that self-destruction is certainly possible!