School Sport

At the University of Tennessee, two housing units are being closed down. Where Golf Range and Sutherland student apartments once stood, brand-new sports fields costing an estimated 14.5 million are being erected. However, these new fields won’t be replacing the classic Neyland Stadium. The eight fields are dedicated to UT’s club and intramural sportsa popular alternative for students looking for the thrill of athletic competition without the stress of varsity-level publicity.Ohio State and the University of Michigan were the forward-thinking forerunners of the program back in 1913. The term comes from intra muros, Latin for “within walls.” Instead of try-outs, students can sign up for intramural programs as if they were any other type of school club. The flexibility of these programs (which usually don’t require mandatory practices or even participation in all events) is a big draw for students with large time demandssuch as biology major Jeremiah Rawson from the Dixie State College of Utah. Read the rest of this entry »

When most people think of college sports, depending on the season, football, basketball, or baseball are the first to leap to mind. Swimming and golf have gained recognition over the last decade as well. But where does the time-honored sport fall into that hierarchy? For many fans, not high enough.It’s easy to see the differences between it and more spectator-oriented athletics. Unlike many sports, the emphasis is on women’s teams, simply because only 17 schools feature men’s teams. Usually, all of the attention is focused on one individual, as they gracefully drive through a powerful sequence of physical feats. With no goals to score or bases to steal, the sport’s payoff is of a different sort. That’s why the season-end “playoffs” often go unnoticed. Held in mid-to-late April, this year’s NCAA finals saw UCLA take their sixth title for Women’s, while Michigan reined in the Men’s title for the fourth time. Read the rest of this entry »

Alabama coach Nick Saban seems to think so. In August, he told scouts from several different teams to hit the highway, banning them from Crimson Tide practices. Previously, Saban had criticized the scouts for damaging the eligibility of players, such as in the case of the Crimson Tide’s defensive end Marcell Dareus. The student had supposedly attended an agent party back in May.But is the presence of NFL scouts really damaging to playersany more so than the constant stresses that regularly accompany varsity-level play? For players interested in hitting the big time, the scouts are the representation of the long arm of the NFL. As long as players follow the NCAA’s “no contact” rule, there should be nothing wrong with a little extra motivation. Besides, as 16-season scout Pete Russell explains, the scouts and NFL coaches have a lot riding on this, too. Without the information to make an educated decision, he told Fox Sports, “it could be the quickest way to the unemployment line.”