College athletics

College athletics include nonprofessional sports that are played at the collegiate level. In the early 2020s, over 520,000 students participated in college athletics across the United States. Student athletes compete at the college level in competitive sports and games. Physical ability and training are required for these competitions, and some of these student-athletes receive financial compensation for their participation. Colleges and universities generally compete against other schools in their assigned conferences. Conferences differ in size and competitiveness. Most schools compete against other schools that are of similar size and stature. Many schools also compete against others that are close in location.

Brief History

Prior to 1843, athletics did not exist on college campuses and most students participated in noncompetitive athletic pursuits such as horseback riding, canoeing, and hunting. The first intercollegiate athletic competition began that year, when students at Yale University formed a boat club. Soon after, Harvard joined Yale in the pursuit of college athletics. In 1857, cricket, baseball, and football began to gain in popularity at the college level. The first intercollegiate baseball game was played at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Amherst played against Williams College on July 1, 1859. The first intercollegiate football game was played between Princeton and Rutgers on November 6, 1869.

College presidents often disagreed about the importance of college athletics. The University of Chicago viewed college athletics as activities that promoted goodwill between universities and cohesiveness among the student body. The presidents of the eight Ivy League colleges, including Harvard, Yale, and Cornell, developed the Ivy League President Pact of 1954. In this agreement, they attempted to limit the effects of college sports on campus.

Overview

Many collegiate athletic programs in the United States are governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The organization was founded in 1906 to help protect college athletes. It regulates many college-level sports, including baseball, basketball, cross-country, fencing, field hickey, football, golf, gymnastics, and volleyball.

To participate in college athletics under NCAA rules, students must be classified as amateur athletes. Final decisions on athletes' amateur status are determined by the NCAA. To be classified as an amateur athlete and be eligible to participate in college athletics, students must not have played their college sport for a professional team, accepted payment or preferential treatment for participation in their sport, and been represented by an agent.

There are three different sport competition levels within NCAA college athletics: Division I, Division II, and Division III. The divisions are based on specific requirements and guidelines designed by the NCAA and may also take the size of the student population at a college or university into account.

College athletes at Division I, II, and III schools often receive academic support, health care, and training by experienced coaches. They may also receive some form of athletic scholarship, such as financial aid, for their participation in college athletic programs.

In the mid-2020s, about 190,000 students from 352 schools participated in NCAA Division I athletics. Division I schools often have large student bodies, strong fan bases, large athletic budgets, and the greatest number of scholarships available. Division I schools generally spend a lot of money funding their college athletic programs.

The NCAA has certain requirements for a school to be eligible for Division I status. A Division I school must offer a minimum of seven sports for both men and women. Each team must participate in a minimum number of team competitions. Division I schools are often well known and have a large number of fans. Typically, football and basketball have the highest attendance numbers at their events. Division I college athletes must be highly skilled and trained in their sport before they are recruited to attend a Division I school. About 2 percent of students playing high school sports are recruited to Division I schools to play college athletics. Most of the student athletes who become professional athletes after college played for Division I schools. Even so, statistically, most student athletes have a very small chance of "going pro." Figures released by the NCAA in 2016 indicated that of the nearly 480,000 college athletes playing Division I, II, and III sports at colleges around the country, only about 1,000 will become professional athletes.

Approximately three hundred colleges and universities participate in college athletics at the Division II level. Division II is less competitive than Division I. The focus of Division II is academic achievement first and athletic achievement second. Division II schools must offer at least five sports for both men and women on campus. They must include at least two team sports for men and two team sports for women. Typically, Division II schools are smaller than Division I schools. They spend less money and have fewer resources and funding than Division I programs.

Nearly 450 institutions compete in college athletics at the Division III level. More than 200,000 student athletes, the most of any of the three NCAA divisions, compete in this level. Division III schools are often smaller, private schools. There are no athletic scholarships given at NCAA Division III schools.

Student-athletes in Division I, II, and III schools have a slightly higher graduation rate. In 2014, the graduation rate for student-athletes at Division I schools was 83 percent. The graduation rate for student-athletes at Division II schools was 71 percent, while for student-athletes at Division III schools it was 87 percent. About 4 percent of students at Division I, II, and III schools are student-athletes, and about 56 percent of these student-athletes receive some form of financial aid.

Student-athletes compete in a conference with other colleges and universities in their division. Some of the most widely recognized conferences include the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Big Ten. The SEC, a Division I conference, was formed in 1932 and is traditionally one of the most competitive conferences. It includes fourteen colleges and two divisions: East and West. Teams such as the University of Florida, University of Georgia, and Vanderbilt University compete in the East Division, while the University of Alabama, Auburn, and the University of Mississippi play in the West Division.

Some college athletic conferences, like the SEC, generate large sums of money from their fan bases. During the 2023 fiscal year, the SEC made roughly $853 million from television contracts. Smaller, less prestigious conferences generate much less revenue.

In addition to the NCAA, college athletics are also governed by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The NAIA was founded in 1940. It governs about 250 small colleges and universities in the United States, the Bahamas, and Canada. In 2023, about 60,000 student-athletes played sports for NAIA institutions. The NAIA was the first collegiate athletics association to invite historically Black institutions to join its conference. It was also the first college athletics association to sponsor both men's and women's national championships.

The National Junior College Athletic Association was founded in 1938 and governs over five hundred junior and community colleges across the United States. Junior colleges and community colleges are typically two-year schools. They are sometimes considered stepping-stones for student-athletes who want to compete in NCAA Division I programs. College coaches often have close relationships with junior college athletic programs. Some of the student-athletes at these colleges may have opted for smaller, less expensive schools as a way to improve their grades or get additional training before pursuing athletics at a larger college or university.

Most college athletic programs are unable to support themselves independently of their college or university. They are supported and funded through their schools' athletic departments. College athletic programs may also be subsidized by student fees and other institutional subsidies. Between 2005 and 2009, only eight college athletic programs actually produced revenue for their college or university. The eight schools that were self-supporting collected funds from donations, ticket sales, merchandise royalties, and television contracts. These schools included the University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Nebraska, University of Oklahoma, and the University of Texas at Austin.

College athletics benefit schools in several ways. A winning or championship team can garner national and international exposure through television coverage and endorsement deals. Donations and endowments may also increase with the success of teams.

Women began participating equally in college athletics in 1972. Until that time, few women had participated in college athletics. Title IX changed college athletics for women. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 to the 1964 Civil Rights Act declared that women's sports are considered educational programs and activities, and that college athletic programs are required to adhere to Title IX rules because they receive federal funding. If an institution fails to comply, it will lose any money provided by the government. Title IX requires that men and women have equitable opportunities on college campuses. It requires that male and female athletes receive athletic scholarship dollars that are the same proportionally to their participation. Male and female athletes must also have equitable equipment and supplies, scheduling of games and practice times, travel and daily allowance per diem, access to tutoring, coaching, locker rooms, practice and playing facilities, housing, dining facilities, support services, and recruitment services. In making these terms mandatory, Title IX has led to greater equality and accessibility for female athletes.

Many individuals in a college or university system are responsible for overseeing the school's athletic program. The institution's president, the athletic directors, and the various athletic staffs help oversee most college athletic programs. Several faculty members generally serve as liaisons between the school's academic and athletic programs. Compliance officers make sure that a campus is adhering to NCAA guidelines and the athletic staff plans teams' competition schedules. Tutors and other academic advisers are on staff to support student-athletes in their studies and help them prepare for their careers and/or graduate programs when their college athletic careers conclude. College coaches are responsible for developing athletes on the field and for mentoring and helping them achieve academically as students. Trainers, doctors, and nurses may be on staff to support the college athletes' physical and emotional well-being.

College athletics are extremely popular on many campuses. Fans sometimes travel from out of town to support their favorite team on a weekend. Business for restaurants, bars, and hotels may increase on weekends when a college athletic event is being held on campus. Athletics are viewed as an integral aspect of college life at many schools around the country.

Basketball and football are the most popular collegiate sports. They often generate the most revenue and have the most spectators. Some college football stadiums can seat 70,000 people, and some university basketball arenas can seat 20,000 fans. Every year, the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament generates billions of dollars, mostly from media rights, for the single-elimination play that starts with sixty-four teams that dwindle down to two that play in the championship game. The tournament, often referred to as March Madness, creates a great deal of excitement, and people across the nation participate in competitions, filling out brackets to pick the team they think will win the whole event.

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