Research Proposal

Working Title The Real Cost of College Sports
Topic
            I will examine the real cost of college sports; from the athlete perspective. Many college athletes are forced to put their education on the back-burner for their demanding training schedules, sacrificing the path to success after college. Institutions are using athletic programs to earn revenue and alumni support at the cost of its’ athletes’ health. My research will take an inside look at the industry of college sports.
Research Question
            What is the real cost of college sports; who is truly benefitting? How does the “big business” of college sports contribute to athlete exploitation?How can the culture within athletic programs affect injury reporting? Are athletes really gaining enough to justify the sacrifices or are they being exploited for economic gain?
Theoretical Frame
            In “The Big Business of College Game Day,” it examines how college sports became an industry and how athletes are being exploited. I would like to research how the team culture encourages or discourages athletes from reporting injuries. Many scholars believe that athletics hurt students’ futures after graduation, due to time commitments and sacrifices made for the team. I would like to examine how serious injuries are and how they have reached astronomical levels. In That's Gotta Hurt: the Injuries That Changed Sports, David Geier discusses how sports medicine has changed in past years, due to pushing athletes to new extremes.
            I would like to research how the college experience for student-athletes differs from non-athletes. How does the school viewing athletes as a commodity benefit or hinder their experience? The big business aspect of athletics influences how athletic programs are run, so much that it puts athletes in danger. Dr. Geier examines how increasing awareness of the danger of concussions can possibly hurt the sport of football, and the business of it all. There are many risks that come with sports.
            Ultimately, I would like to follow an outline that starts with explaining the business side of college sports and just how lucrative an industry it is, to explain what might incentivize institutions to exploit their athletes. Following the business side of sports, I will discuss the non-physical sacrifice athletes are required to make: typical college experience, major, etc. Next, I will talk about the injuries athletes sustain and how that can affect athletes later in life. Depending on if it feels appropriate within my paper, I may discuss the debate on paying college athletes. I will then examine the opportunities and benefits young adults gain from being athletes. Finally, I will attempt to gage whether the real cost of college sports is worth it for the benefits.
Case
            I am considering looking at NFL players who decided to retire, due to injuries. For example, Joshua Perry retired after his sixth concussion. He speaks out about issues within sports, throughout all levels, of concussion reporting. Colleges are beginning to disqualify players after receiving too many concussions and it leaves them without a path for the future.
            Carson and Rinehart discuss student athletes and their abnormal path in college. Athletes have their classes picked out, tailored to practice times and easy A professors. Many coaches do not even allow athletes to choose more difficult majors, that would greater benefit the athletes in the future. College athletics typically focus on the here and now, sacrificing the quality of education athletes receive. In addition to athletics taking over the academic aspect of college, athletes are typically kept together, not allowing athletes to have the “typical” college experience.
Bibliography
“At Risk: Are Unpaid College Athletes Exploited While Others Reap
Millions?.”Knowledge@Wharton. The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 19 March, 2014. Web. 26 February, 2020 <https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/risk-unpaid-college-athletes-exploited-others-reap-millions/>
Carson II, Loftus C., and Michelle A. Rinehart. “The Big Business of College Game Day.” Texas
Review of Entertainment & Sports Law, vol. 12, no. 1, Fall 2010, pp.1-12. <EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=66688442&site=ehost-live.>
Edwards, Josh. “The Incompatibility of Sports and Higher Education.” Academic Questions, vil.
32, no. 3, Sept. 2019, pp. 342-353. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s12129-019-09805-5.
Geier, David. That's Gotta Hurt: the Injuries That Changed Sports Forever. ForeEdge, 2017.
Houston, Megan N., et al. “The Impact of Injury on Health-Related Quality of Life in College
Athletes.” Journal of Sport ARehabilitation, vol. 26, no. 5, SPet. 2017, pp. 365-375. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1123/jsr.2016-0011.
“Sport-Related Concussion Reporting and Coach-Athlete Attachment Among Collegiate
Student-Athletes.” Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, vol. 12, no. 2, 2018.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Business of Amateurs

Image
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B01K90TE34/ref=atv_sr_def_c_unkc__1_1_1?sr=1-1&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B01K90YZD8&qid=1587429432 The documentary starts with Scott Ross’ story. He was a  lineman for USC and carried on to play in the NFL. He claims to have experienced at least 12 concussions, as well as multiple times when he remember “shaking off” a hit and going back into the huddle. Ross has developed multiple mental health issues making it increasingly difficult to hold jobs and maintain relationships. His football career negatively impacted his life forever, ultimately passing away from an overdose.  During the early 1900s, President Roosevelt threatened to ban football unless it was made safe. As a response, the NCAA was formed to protect the health and welfare of the college athlete, but that view has drastically shifted. According to the documentary, football players in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) division are worth over $137,000 a
Read more

Literature Review #1

Image
Citation: Carson II, Loftus C., and Michelle A. Rinehart. “The Big Business of College Game Day.” Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law , vol. 12, no. 1, Fall 2010, pp.1-12. < EBSCOhost ,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=66688442&site=ehost-live.> Summary:             American colleges and universities once focused on educating young adults to be well-rounded, contribution members of society. Over a century later, college athletics has strayed from an all-inclusive, expanding horizons pastime and turned into high-stakes entertainment. Athletics were once used as tool to teach students the values of teamwork, dedication, discipline, and hard work. Now, athletic programs are viewed as beneficial to the institution, rather than the students and athletes.             Saturday game day became a way to escape from the troubles of the week and to best other institutions. Game day created a feeling of camaraderie th
Read more

Blog Topics for Consideration

Image
1. I am considering a topic called "The Cost of College Sports." College athletics are a business and athletes are paying the price: from injuries to lack of time to focus on studies. How do athletic programs affect college tuition rates for both athletes and non-athletes? What are coaches and top programs just exactly willing to sacrifice?  2. The second topic I am considering for my final paper is an inside look at Greek Life. Do the benefits really outweigh the cost?
Read more