Comments on: Coaching, athletic programs and budget issues…Yikes! http://becauseiplayedsports.com/2009/01/12/budget-issuesyikes/ Bringing a voice to women’s sports Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:45:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: David F. Pendrys http://becauseiplayedsports.com/2009/01/12/budget-issuesyikes/comment-page-1/#comment-3402 David F. Pendrys Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:12:26 +0000 http://becauseiplayedsports.com/?p=755#comment-3402 While I follow as many sports as I can and focus on a few, I also worry about what's going to happen in general. If I could, I'd go to a college sporting event of any kind every night. Now of course that's just not possible, but the thing is I think the loss of any team anywhere is tough. I also think athletics really get a bad rap against the "academic" environment of college which completely ignores that a lot of athletes are excellent in class. And even if not, everyone can't be good at everything. Some people are experts are certain fields and don't have a college degree. But I'm just musing. The main point is there is a lot of waste at colleges, waste that has nothing to do with either the athletics side or core academics. There should be room for both if the other stuff is cut out of the way. And what is missed in this discussion is that most colleges can offer a similar academic curriculum, but it's the extracurriculars, clubs, sports, internships, and networking that actually help one move onto the real world (with exceptions, ya can't network into nuclear physics if you can't do the actual science.) Plus to the community, college sports are an amazing bargain. For 2 bucks, 5 bucks, something cheap ya get to see a game that'll cost plenty more at the pro level. Never mind that college sports rivalries can at times be incredibly interesting just by nature. I even think the idea of Simmons and Emerson playing each other is incredibly intriguing. I sincerely hope that some administrators will go into this economy and the next few years thinking clearly and not making rash decisions. While I follow as many sports as I can and focus on a few, I also worry about what’s going to happen in general. If I could, I’d go to a college sporting event of any kind every night. Now of course that’s just not possible, but the thing is I think the loss of any team anywhere is tough. I also think athletics really get a bad rap against the “academic” environment of college which completely ignores that a lot of athletes are excellent in class. And even if not, everyone can’t be good at everything. Some people are experts are certain fields and don’t have a college degree. But I’m just musing.

The main point is there is a lot of waste at colleges, waste that has nothing to do with either the athletics side or core academics. There should be room for both if the other stuff is cut out of the way.

And what is missed in this discussion is that most colleges can offer a similar academic curriculum, but it’s the extracurriculars, clubs, sports, internships, and networking that actually help one move onto the real world (with exceptions, ya can’t network into nuclear physics if you can’t do the actual science.)

Plus to the community, college sports are an amazing bargain. For 2 bucks, 5 bucks, something cheap ya get to see a game that’ll cost plenty more at the pro level. Never mind that college sports rivalries can at times be incredibly interesting just by nature. I even think the idea of Simmons and Emerson playing each other is incredibly intriguing.

I sincerely hope that some administrators will go into this economy and the next few years thinking clearly and not making rash decisions.

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