This is a proposal for research into the relationships between college and university sports during the progressive period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It aims to investigate the origins, development, and outcomes of college athletics during the Progressive Era. As universities and colleges changed their gender makeup and the sports they played, sports in this period gained popularity. Some ongoing social issues linked to racial and gender disparity, the joining of colleges and universities to establish some sports associations during the progressive era of the early 18th century, and such social phenomena manifested themselves into the college and universities sports. Furthermore, most of the prominent universities in the U.S were actively involved in both the development and promotion of the Intercollegiate Sports Program. Therefore, the paper is a proposal to study some of the changes that were brought by the introduction of the intercollegiate program in various aspects of learning and culture.
Literature Review
Athletics for men had no influence on most the colleges in America, but by 1900s, it became one of the most important social function of them. The understanding of this period is essential in conceptualizing how intercollegiate sports started and some of the impacts that it has brought to the colleges and the society as a whole. This was the time when the civil war and industrialization happened. Therefore, with such changes, most of the people started becoming more interdependent in their quest for recreation and developing facilities meant for sports. Some of the sporting activities that were common during this time were bicycling, baseball, football, cross country running and many others.
The introduction of NCAA
The introduction of NCAA was perhaps a culminating factor in the adoption and implementation of intercollegiate sports. The motivational factor for the formation of NCAA was to address some of the issues in the field of the sport such as brutality, commercialization, and propensity for most of the serious injuries that were experienced by the players who took part in the sports. In explaining the increase in marketing of the game, it is believed that by early 1880s, many universities and colleges realized an increase in their income by a greater percentage and even a wider increase by 1900s. Although the act of commercializing of sports was a common phenomenon by late 19th century, some issues contributed to changes and reforms in the sector such as injuries, brutality, and even deaths.
When it comes to the female gender
When it comes to the female gender, the intercollegiate competition was not taken seriously in the mid-19th century since very few ladies went to colleges and universities. However, by the 19th century, the coming up of the movements that fought for the women's rights ensured that more women joined colleges and universities for education. It was still believed that the women were still not strong enough to engage in some of the sports in the colleges they attended. Therefore, they were encouraged to go through some physical activities such as gymnastics processes to build up their muscles for the academic activities in the college. Centrally to the intercollegiate sports for the males, the females went through carefully monitored programs with the help of female physical coaches. Therefore, the number of injuries, deaths, and brutality were minimized in the cases of men.
Research Question: Plan to address the question
Currently, just like in the past periods, various colleges and universities engage in many sports. All the institutions are considered as equally successful for the achievements that they realize in the academic field. However, some other colleges have opted to seek for sports success as they strive to produce instant name recognition in sports. A research question that needs to be addressed is why to choose to seek success in athletic/sports rather than academic, and why has been seen as a critical component of the colleges and universities in the U.S? What are some of the benefits and impacts of intercollegiate sports in the institutions of higher learning, basically on both the men and women?
Many people around the globe attend intercollegiate sports
Many people around the globe attend intercollegiate sports, and others view them on TV as others also bet on their possible outcomes. Both the coaches and players that participate in the modern sports earn good money, and all these are courtesy of the introduction of the intercollegiate athletics by the 18th century. Unfortunately, no simple answers are available to the research questions. Sports in colleges have evolved since the progressive era to date, there, a brief literature review on the beginning of the intercollegiate sports would be appropriate in the understanding of the evolution, and the contemporary condition of the sector. It will also address some of the learning issues that many athletic colleges and universities face in regards to the recruitments and training of different players of both genders.
Annotated
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Bachin, Robin F. 2001. “Courage, Endurance and Quickness of Decision: Gender and Athletics at the University of Chicago, 1890-1920.” Rethinking History Vol. 5 Issue 1, 93-116
This source delves into the topic of gender roles in athletics specifically in collegiate culture. The author explores the history of women fighting for equal status within university programs, including athletics, during the Progressive Era. This article is important for the study as it clarifies some of the difference between the male and female participants in the intercollegiate sports.
Lewis, Gue 1970. “THE BEGINNING OF ORGANIZED COLLEGIATE SPORT.” American Quarterly 22, no. 2: 222-229.
Shows the study of how students had informal games and transformed that into an organized assembly. Then the games became intercollegiate starting with undergraduates from Yale and Harvard, who formed the first sports clubs.
Martin, Charles H. 2001. “The Color Line in Midwestern College Sports, 1890—1960.” Indiana Magazine of History 98, no 2: 85-112.
This scholarly source examines the color line present in Midwestern college athletics between 1890 and 1960. The author studies the impact segregation had on the sports of football and basketball.
Martin, Charles H. 1999. “The Rise and fall of Jim Crow in Southern College Sports: The Case of the Atlantic Coast Conference.” North Carolina Historical Review 76, no. 3: 253-284.
The article elaborates on the change in racial structure of Southern college sports during the Jim Crow days, through a period where segregated Southern college teams would play integrated Northern teams.
Secondary Sources
Miller, Andrew C. 2010. “The American Dream Goes to College: The Cinematic Student Athletes of College Football.” Journal of Popular Culture Vol. 43 Issue 6: 1222-1241
The source depicts the student athletes shown in U.S. motion pictures, focusing on movies about college football. The author discusses the effects from the U.S. involvement in WWI on the sporting culture surrounding U.S. colleges and universities.
Little, Monroe H. 1980. “The Extra-Curricular Activities of Black College Students, 1868-1940.” Journal of Negro History 65, no. 2: 135-148.
There were many extra-curricular activities that black college students were involved in, including debate clubs and literary societies. But black intercollegiate sports stood out and promoted collegiate unity and pride among black colleges.
Smith, Ronald A. 2014. “America Football Becomes the Dominant Intercollegiate National Pastime.” International Journal of the History of Sort 31, no. ½: 109-119.
The actions of several individuals and influence of a variety of forces insured the creation and dominance of American football in intercollegiate sports by the turn of the nineteenth century. Colleges and universities showed a draw to ‘gridiron football’ and had a large presence on U.S. college campuses.
Grundy, Pamela, Murry Nelson, and Mark Dyreson. 2014. “The Emergence of Basketball as American National Pastime: From a Popular Participant Sport to a Spectacle of Nationhood.” International Journal of the History of Sport 31, no. ½: 134-155.
Basketball was invented in the USA in 1891, but was not as popular in the early 20th century as it is today. When basketball was gaining its momentum in popularity, it was only beloved in certain regions and among certain groups.
Conclusion: Summary and Hypothesis
In understanding the impacts of the intercollegiate athletics on the colleges and universities, it is to acknowledge that there are various types of sports in this institutions. Some of the sports programs are smaller than others hence receive a relatively little media coverage and also generates low income than others. Therefore, the variation in the sizes and impacts of the sports lead to the introduction of NCAA as it sought to address some of the impacts of the intercollegiate sports. Intercollegiate sports is not just a single thing, but a combination of various practices.
Perhaps, if an institution wishes to have a friendlier program of intercollegiate sports free from injuries, deaths and other issues, the fundamental reasoning will be that the implementation of NCAA and embracing carefulness. NCAA would make most of the intercollegiate sports healthier as the number of brutalities will be reduced. Both the male and female students will find it attractive to join games. The involvement of some accurate measures that would be helpful in the development of muscles would also be essential for both males and females who are participating in sports.
Bibliographies
Bachin, Robin F. 2001. “Courage, Endurance and Quickness of Decision: Gender and Athletics at the University of Chicago, 1890-1920.” Rethinking History Vol. 5 Issue 1, 93-116
Grundy, Pamela, Murry Nelson, and Mark Dyreson. 2014. “The Emergence of Basketball as American National Pastime: From a Popular Participant Sport to a Spectacle of Nationhood.” International Journal of the History of Sport 31, no. ½: 134-155.
Lewis, Gue 1970. “THE BEGINNING OF ORGANIZED COLLEGIATE SPORT.” American Quarterly 22, no. 2: 222-229.
Little, Monroe H. 1980. “The Extra-Curricular Activities of Black College Students, 1868-1940.” Journal of Negro History 65, no. 2: 135-148.
Martin, Charles H. 1999. “The Rise and fall of Jim Crow in Southern College Sports: The Case of the Atlantic Coast Conference.” North Carolina Historical Review 76, no. 3: 253-284.
Martin, Charles H. 2001. “The Color Line in Midwestern College Sports, 1890—1960.” Indiana Magazine of History 98, no 2: 85-112.
Miller, Andrew C. 2010. “The American Dream Goes to College: The Cinematic Student Athletes of College Football.” Journal of Popular Culture Vol. 43 Issue 6: 1222-1241
Smith, Ronald A. 2014. “America Football Becomes the Dominant Intercollegiate National Pastime.” International Journal of the History of Sort 31, no. ½: 109-119.
