Sports in Higher Education: Issues and Controversies in College Athletics provides students with a comprehensive foundation in the study of college sports. While college sports scandals have dominated the news recently, these scandals are offset by fan interest, increasing revenue streams, extensive television coverage, and alumni interest and support. This text informs readers about college sports as a critical aspect of the university education system, with material written by experts in their respective areas in sport management and the sociology of sport. Featuring up-to-date facts, figures, and events, the nine chapters of the book address issues such as the history and governance of college sports; the student athlete experience; gender; deviance; race and ethnicity; and coaching, administration, and reform. The comprehensive readings in Sports in Higher Education explore topics such as crime and violence in intercollegiate sports and sport reform. The goal of the material is not only to inform and educate, but to stimulate dialogue about college sports, and move understanding of this topic beyond box scores and championships, to encompass ethics, philosophy, sociology, and the education of the student-athlete as a whole person. Sports in Higher Education is the first comprehensive textbook of its kind, and is ideal for classes on American college sports at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Gary Sailes is an award-winning associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and adjunct professor in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University. He holds a Ph.D. in kinesiology from the University of Minnesota and an M.S. in kinesiology from Mankato State University. A sport sociologist, Dr. Sailes has authored nine books, over 100 articles, and has appeared on national and international television including BBC, CBC, ESPN, NBC, CSPAN, Tennis Channel, and various cable networks. His work on race, sport, and college athletics has led to national and international speaking invitations, two Congressional hearings on Capitol Hill, and the International Olympic Congress in Tokyo. Dr. Sailes is a player development consultant to college and professional athletes with clients in the NCAA, NBA, NFL, MLB, and professional golf and tennis.

Athletics on college campuses is not only one of the oldest traditions in higher education but also one of the oldest programs offered to students. The primary goal of this ASHE Reader is to provide a forum for discussion and analyses about the unique characteristics of sports and athletics participation in higher education. This reader will explore the needs, experiences and development of the American college student athlete and the political roles that sports and athletics play on college campuses. With a multidisciplinary approach, this reader examines the issues that face American college student athletes and sports in higher education by publishing the work and ideas of scholars and others interested in understanding the socio-political, historical, administrative, and developmental context of athletics in higher education and the administration of sports.

College Sports and Institutional Values in Competition interrogates the relationship between athletics and higher education, exploring how college athletics departments reflect many characteristics of their institutions and are also susceptible to the same challenges in delivering on their mission. Chapters cover the historical contexts and background of campus athletics, issues and institutional tensions over market pressures, the spectacle of college athletics and how this spectacle influences athlete experiences, and the ways in which leaders are navigating these issues. Through stories of higher education that focus on the ways athletic departments leverage their institutional values, this book encourages readers to examine the purpose, mission, and academic values of their institutions, and to evaluate the role of their athletic programs, to improve outcomes and experiences on campus for students and student-athletes alike.

Perhaps more than any other two colleges, Harvard and Yale gave form to American intercollegiate athletics--a form that was inspired by the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry overseas, and that was imitated by colleges and universities throughout the United States. Focusing on the influence of these prestigious eastern institutions, this fascinating study traces the origins and development of intercollegiate athletics in America from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Smith begins with an historical overview of intercollegiate athletics and details the evolution of individual sports--crew, baseball, track and field, and especially football. Then, skillfully setting various sports events in their broader social and cultural contexts, Smith goes on to discuss many important issues that are still relevant today: student-faculty competition for institutional athletic control; the impact of the professional coach on big-time athletics; the false concept of amateurism in college athletics; and controversies over eligibility rules. He also reveals how the debates over brutality and ethics created the need for a central organizing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which still runs college sports today. Sprinkled throughout with spicy sports anecdotes, from the Thanksgiving Day Princeton-Yale football game that drew record crowds in the 1890s to a meeting with President Theodore Roosevelt on football violence, this lively, in-depth investigation will appeal to serious sports buffs as well as to anyone interested in American social and cultural history.

This book expands on the argument that spectator sports, despite their problems, have become a central function of American universities.

Featuring a new preface by the author, this book looks closely at college sports and how they shape the athletic and personal landscape for girls and young women. Filled with interviews from female athletes of all ages, this book chronicles how college and youth sports have become more corporate, to the detriment of participants.