Tag: Football

What Sports do Adolescent Boys Play?

horvath Leave a comment

USTA Serves, recently released the report “More than a Sport: Tennis, Education, and Health” to sell the positive benefits of tennis. It identified the participation rates for the top nine community-based sports programs and the participation rate of adolescent boys by race/ethnicity.

Football and basketball are the top sports for Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. The highest percentage of Blacks participated in basketball, football, and track and field, while the most popular sports for Hispanics were football, soccer, and basketball. The top three sports for Whites were football, basketball, and baseball.

As expected, participation in team sports was greater than individual sports.

Interestingly, 16% of Whites did not participate in sports and only 12% of Blacks did not participate. About 15% of the Hispanic adolescents did not participate in sports programs.

The data shows that Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics prefer different sports. As communities expand their variety of sports programs, more adolescents are able to benefit from participation in sports.

For a comparison to the girls go to the blog post What Sports do Adolescent Girls Play?

For additional information contact USTA Serves.

 

 

 

 

 

USTA Study Shows Sports Participation Rates Favor Traditional Team Sports

horvath Leave a comment

Back in the day… the boys’ sports with the highest level of participation were football, basketball, baseball, track and field and wrestling. In many communities, these were the only programs.

The limited programs for girls included volleyball, basketball, softball, and track and field. The combination of Title IX and the expansion of recreation and sports facilities and programs created more opportunities for youth to participate in.

A recent (2013) report produced by the USTA, “More than a Sport: Tennis, Education, and Health” identified the participation rates for the top nine community-based sports programs.  The report shows the “traditional” sports still have the highest level of participation and the remainder of the list is filled out by a mix of team and individual sports. Over the past 30 years, soccer has become a major sport

For the boys, the participation rate and sport were:
40% Football
40% Basketball
25% Baseball
20% Soccer
17% Track and Field
10% Wrestling
9% Swimming
8% Tennis
5% Cross Country
Only 15% of the boys did not participate in a sport.

For the girls, the participation rate and sport were:
25% Basketball
23% Volleyball
17% Baseball/Softball
17% Soccer
17% Track and Field
12% Swimming
8% Tennis
4% Cross Country
3% Lacrosse
Unfortunately, 25% of the girls did not participate in sports programs.

The good news is that a high percentage of youth are participating in sports programs, particularly given the financial constraints put on schools, municipalities, and the private sector to offer such programs during the volatile economic times of the past decade.

USTA Serves, Inc. is the national charitable foundation of the USTA. For additional information contact the USTA, or go to Resources/Research tab on the USTA Serves website.

 

 

Fort Lewis College Enters Athletic Arms Race

horvath Leave a comment

On January 16th, Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado announced they hired former Arkansas football coach John L. Smith to head their program. A Skyhawk press release cited Smith’s friendship and previous work with Athletic Director Gary Hunter and President Dene Thomas as the reason he chose to come to the Campus in the Sky.

Hunter stated “Fort Lewis College is making a commitment to football. Many of our other programs have reached the pinnacle of success at the national and regional levels. We want our football alumni and fans to have the opportunity to enjoy that same success.” Hunter added, “Not only has Coach Smith had outstanding success on the field, but he has always stressed the importance of academics and community and campus involvement.”

This past season marked the 49th year that FLC fielded a football team as a four-year college. Over that period they have compiled a 152-322-3 record. They have won 32% of their games and are without a doubt the worst football team in the state.

Said differently the Aggies/Raiders/Skyhawks record can be summed up as follows:

  • They have had 9 winning seasons.
  • They were never undefeated nor did they ever have a season with one loss.
  • On two occasions they were 7-2.
  • During their 9 winning seasons they were 55-27-2, or they won 65% of their games.  They were impressive.
  • During their 40 non-winning seasons they were 97-295-2, or they won almost 25% of their games. They were depressing to watch.
  • They had three seasons with no wins and another six seasons with only one win. Those nine seasons they had 6 wins and 80 losses.

In other words, about 20% of the time, the team was successful, about 20% of the time they were an embarrassment, and the rest of the time they were bad.

This discussion of the dismal record posted by the FLC program is not intended as a criticism of the coaches, players, and administration, rather it is a reflection of funds available at the time and priorities of the administration. However, the recent decision to hire a major college coach (who has been a winner overall, but most recently had a losing record at Arkansas) to fill a D2 position raises a number of questions:

  • After 49 years, why did FLC suddenly decide to enter the college football “arms race” in its 50th season?
  • Why did they let such an unsuccessful program (in terms of wins and losses) go on for so long?
  • Will the new and improved football program “lift all boats on campus” and help make Ft. Lewis a world class liberal arts college? Will it help increase enrollment? Will it increase fundraising?
  • Will this lead to a campaign for a new stadium, locker rooms, or workout facilities for the football team?
  • About 25,000 people live in La Plata County; the college has a small, but slowly growing foundation and alumni base; and tourism is the area’s primary industry. Given scarce resources for Colorado’s small colleges, how is FLC going to pay for its commitment to excellence in football?
  • FLC has struggled with its identity. Prior to their move from Hesperus to Durango, they had a rural focus. After relocation, they were recognized for being a party school and a place where Front Range students would attend as a last resort. For many years the unofficial tag line for the school was, “Ski Ft. Lewis and get a degree on the side.” More recently, college officials have tried to market Ft. Lewis as a quality low-cost public liberal arts school. Sports such as lacrosse, cycling, mountain biking, soccer, and field hockey are more in line with that image than football. How does the new-found emphasis on football help add value to the academic balance sheet and image of the college?
  • Has Smith resolved his bankruptcy case in Arkansas with integrity?
  • Does anybody in Colorado remember the name Chuck Fairbanks?

Hopefully this works for the Skyhawks.

The WAC has been Whacked – What are the Implications?

horvath Leave a comment

In late August, Jake Bullinger, prepared the special for SI.com, “How Conference Realignment Wiped WAC Football off the Map.” For the 2013 season the WAC will most likely not exist as a football conference. In fact it may not even exist as an athletic conference.

The Western Athletic Conference, (WAC) was formed in 1962 with BYU, Utah, University of New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona, and Arizona State as its members. Over the years it membership changed drastically as new member joined on other members left for the Mountain West Conference, Conference USA, and the PAC 8 Conference.

Current membership includes:
• Louisiana Tech
• New Mexico State University
• San Jose State
• Seattle University
• Texas State
• University of Denver
• University of Idaho
• University of Texas at Arlington
• University of Texas at San Antonio
• Utah State

For all practical purposes the NCAA and the larger body of college football have no apparent reason to care about the loss of the WAC. None of its current members are serious threats to the teams in the top conferences nor are they responsible for significant revenue generation.

The demise of the WAC may mean that some students will lose scholarships or an opportunity to play. Coaches and staff members at some of these schools may be adversely affected if programs are scaled down or disbanded.

There is no doubt that college football is a great American tradition – even in the current version of the WAC. That is not the issue. Research shows that college football expenditures at many schools are trending on an unsustainable track. The whacking of the WAC raises a number of questions:

• Should all colleges and universities have football programs? Certainly schools such as the University of Denver, Colorado College, DePaul, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall and St. John’s would argue that it isn’t necessary.
• Football programs are big business. Is it financially possible to support athletic conferences for schools without football programs?
• Can the WAC football schools find other conferences to join or can they afford to be independents like Notre Dame?
• Have television rights, sponsorships, and advertising partnerships become more important than the players and coaches in the program?
• For schools with programs that are less successful, football programs are often money pits. Will they eventually spend themselves into bankruptcy as they try to keep up with the schools funded by Phil Knight and T.B. Pickens?
• Is the demise of the WAC yet another step in the formation of football super conferences for only the elite programs?
• Should college football formally become the farm system for the National Football League – funded by the NFL?
• What are the unintended consequences of the shutdown of the WAC or football programs at other smaller athletic conferences?
• As the chase for $$ accelerates, will college football go the way of the World Series – a great American tradition that has lost its luster?
• Will the loss of the WAC adversely impact scholarship and playing opportunities for kids in other sports?

Stay tuned!

 

Football as Social Entertainment

horvath Leave a comment

History is powerful! We can see the errors of our ways in past dealings. As well, it is possible to see that some of our current challenges were a thorn in the side to  leaders 100 years ago.

The following is taken from the North American Society for Sports History 1981 Proceedings. The one-page document, entitled “Football as Social Entertainment Comes to Oregon State University” was penned by Dr. Arnold W. Flath, professor at Oregon State University. Flath was nationally recognized for this thought- provoking study of sports and society.

With the 2012 college football season around the corner, Flath’s comments provide an interesting perspective on the sport, 30 years after it was written.

Football as Social Entertainment Comes to Oregon State University

Football on the campuses of American colleges and universities evolved from the British game of rugby and the playful American college student’s ball kicking games during the 1800’s. The game became popular over the objections and resistance of most college faculty members and college presidents. Intercollegiate football came to Oregon State University campus in 1893 with the enthusiastic support of Corvallis citizens, Oregon State University students and faculty, and University President J.M. Bloss. The newly installed President Bloss brought his administrative talent and the game of football to the Corvallis campus from Purdue University where he had previously served on the faculty.

Not only were the Corvallis fans introduced to intercollegiate football, they were treated with parades, social gatherings, and entertainment apart from the field. While other campuses may have seen football and intercollegiate athletics as “educational experiences”, the response of the Oregon State University students and the Corvallis townspeople to the events attending the games was all that was necessary for the establishment of football as social entertainment.

The football entertainment included parades through Corvallis to attract people to the game site on the campus, dinners for the competing teams in the homes of local social and political leaders, and “football entertainment and socials” held at the college chapel in the evening following the afternoon games. The entertainment opened with remarks by the competing college presidents, followed by musical solos, and magic lantern shows by popular faculty members with slides consisting of views of departmental work, college buildings, sketches of the football captain, and a portrait of the Oregon State University mascot, a well-known coyote. After the lantern exhibition, a general social time occurred, allowing many new friendships to be formed and old ones cultivated.

Although earlier Oregon State University presidents had balked at the introduction of intercollegiate athletics, the success of the 1893 football team and the success of the social entertainment attending the games set the tone for the role of intercollegiate athletics to the present. It was recognized “that athletic events have, and are, fulfilling some social need, or they would not be supported to the extent they have been and are being supported. We conclude that the principle benefit of intercollegiate athletics to the university community is a means of communicating with the general public. Accordingly, it is logical to evaluate the program primarily in terms of its contribution to university relations rather than in terms of the accomplishment of educational objectives. The administration of the program should reflect this fact” (Report to the President of Oregon State University from the Commission on University Goals. Corvallis, Oregon, August, 1970, pp. 150-151.)

Women’s Sports Touted as Contributor to Colorado Economy

horvath Leave a comment

On February 17th, the Denver Post reported “Women’s sporting events to be economic blockbuster for Denver.”

In the article, which was posted in the business section, Rich Grant of Visit Denver stated, “Women’s sports are becoming a huge economic engine, and Denver is poised to be known as a major center for this.” In particular, Grant was referencing the Colorado Crossroads volleyball tournament and the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

The Colorado Crossroads tournament is one of 9 national events where teams can qualify for the USA Junior Nationals. The Post reported that it will draw 11,000 players and 33,000 spectators over a two week period in late February and early March. The projected impact is about $22 million, with most of the benefit accruing to rooms, food, taxis, rental cars, trinkets, and other souvenirs.

The tournament reportedly hosted about 100 teams ten years ago, but is expected to attract 1,100 teams from 34 states this year. This speaks to the growth in the popularity of volleyball, the increased impact of USA Volleyball, and greater interest in women’s sports.

The NCAA Women’s Final Four will be in Denver April 1-3. In addition to the three games, the playoffs are billed as a three-day party, including events at the Colorado Convention Center prior to the tournament and a concert by Jewel. The direct economic impact is expected to be about $20 million. As with the volleyball tournament, the businesses that will feel the impact are hotels, restaurants, transportation, and retailers.

There is still hotel space in Denver during the Final Four and tickets were still available at the time the article was published. The Post cited enthusiasts who projected that hotel and tickets would pickup in the weeks ahead.

The two events attract very different crowds, which speaks to the diversity of the appeal of the region. The volleyball tournament will attract families to the area, who will likely spend less per person because of budget and time constraints. The Final Four is a special activity, which will have more corporate appeal. It will attract a crowd that is more likely to have time to explore the city and spend more in the local economy on a per capita basis.

The first event portrays Colorado as a place to be for participant sports, while the latter positions Denver as a location for the country’s top sporting events. The Final Four is expected to be covered in 177 countries.

As well as discussing the impact of the Colorado Crossroads and Final Four, the Post listed the economic impact of other previous sporting events:

2012 Women’s Final Four – $20 million – projected (direct benefits only)
2012 Colorado Crossroads -$21.9 million – projected (direct benefits only)
2008 NCAA Frozen Four Men’s Hockey – $15 million (direct benefits only)
2007 Rockies World Series (Games 3 and 4) – $10 million (may include direct benefits)
2006 AFC Championships $21 million (may include indirect benefits)
2005 NBA All-Star Game – $30 million (may include indirect benefits)
2004 Mountain West Conference Men’s Basketball – $4 million (
2002 Grand Prix Denver – $30 million (may include indirect benefits)

Comparisons of these events should be made with caution. Most likely these impact studies were calculated using different models. While the major source of impact for all events is food, room, transportation, and the purchase of goods and services, different methodologies may produce results that may not be comparable.

As mentioned above, some of the studies include direct impacts only while others include a much broader contribution to the economy (direct and indirect impact). This is like comparing apples and apple pie – they are different.

While it is important to understand the challenges in producing valid and reliable economic impact studies, the real point is that one-time special activities, such as sporting events, conventions, or film production can have a short-term positive impact on local economic activity. (This does not guarantee they have a positive fiscal impact on the economy.)

Of equal or greater importance are the intangible benefits of an event. Quite often they far exceed the economic activity. The above events have portrayed Denver in a positive light and helped mold the perception that it is a great place to live, work, and play.

 

Want to Turn Pro – What are the Chances?

horvath Leave a comment

Do you want your son or daughter to earn an athletic scholarship that will allow them to pursue a career as a professional in their sport?

The NCAA research department has compiled data that sheds light on the prospects of achieving that goal. As will be shown below, the chances of going pro are greatest for athletes who pursue professional careers in baseball or hockey.

Men’s Basketball
• Less than 1 in 35 high school seniors play in the NCAA.
• About 1 in 75 NCAA seniors get drafted by an NBA team.
• 3 in 10,000 high school seniors play in the NCAA and are drafted by an NBA team.

Women’s Basketball
• About 3 in 100 high school seniors play in the NCAA.
• Less than 1 in 100 NCAA seniors get drafted by a WNBA team.
• 2 in 10,000 high school seniors play in the NCAA and are drafted by a WNBA team.

Football
• About 1 in 16 high school seniors play in the NCAA.
• Less than 1 in 50 NCAA seniors get drafted by a NFL team.
• 8 in 10,000 high school seniors play in the NCAA and are drafted by an NFL team.

Baseball
• About 3 in 50 high school seniors play in the NCAA.
• Less than 9 in 100 NCAA seniors get drafted by a MLB team.
• 1 in 200 high school seniors play in the NCAA and are drafted by an MLB team.

Men’s Ice Hockey
• About 11 in 100 high school seniors play in the NCAA.
• Less than 1 in 26 NCAA seniors get drafted by a NHL team.
• 1 in 300 high school seniors play in the NCAA and are drafted by an NHL team.

Men’s Soccer
• Less than 3 in 50 high school seniors play in the NCAA.
• Less than 1 in 50 NCAA seniors get drafted by a MLS team.
• 1 in 1,250 high school seniors play in the NCAA and are drafted by an MLS team.

The data presented above and in the table below was updated on September 27, 2011 and posted at www.ncaa.org. These percentages are based on estimated data and should be considered approximations of the actual percentages (NCAA disclaimer).

Clearly, academics have to be important to most of the athletes who participate in college programs.

 

Newcomers Finish As Expected in First PAC-12 Season

horvath Leave a comment

The inaugural PAC-12 athletic season has come to a close and Colorado and Utah finished as expected. With the exception of cross country, the newcomers showed that they can compete in the conference, but that they are not yet serious contenders for the top spots in the league.

In the ever-important sport of football, Utah finished third in the South Division with a 4-5 record. The Buffs ended at the bottom of the pack with 2 wins and 7 losses. The conference will be well represented in the upcoming BCS Bowl Series.

On the volleyball court CU compiled a spirited 1-21 record, while Utah finished 9th with 6 wins and 15 losses in conference play. UCLA won the national championship, defeating Illinois 3-1 in four closely fought sets. Illinois squeaked by USC in the semifinals 3-2. Arguably, the PAC-12 is the toughest volleyball conference in the country which will present challenges for the newcomers in 2012. In December, Tom Hogan, CU assistant coach and former USOC coach, announced that he will be leaving the Buff program.

Utah finished a respectable 5th place with a 6-5 record in women’s soccer, while Colorado was 1-9-1. CU’s only win of the season came in conference play. Stanford won the National Championship in women’s soccer. In November, Coach Bill Hempen ended his successful 11-year tenure at CU.

The one bright spot for the Buffs was cross country. To nobody’s surprise, Colorado swept both the men’s and women’s PAC-12 events. At the NCAAs, Arizona’s Lawi Lalang won the Men’s individual title. The PAC-12 had finishers in the second, sixth and 8th position. Buff Richard Medina finished 8th. On the women’s side, PAC-12 Champion CU finished third overall.

For further information on the PAC-12, click here.

 

What About Academic Performance Incentives?

horvath Leave a comment

Kyle Ringo, sports writer for the Boulder Daily Camera, recently wrote an intriguing editorial on the local football scene, “McElwain Deal Could Pave Way for Raise for Embree” (December 14, 2011).

A short replay for those not familiar with the situation…

Jon Embree was hired to rebuild the University of Colorado football program at an annual salary of $725,000, plus on-field incentives. This is the lowest salary in the PAC-12. Embree bleeds Black and Gold and is well qualified despite his lack of experience as a head coach. He has surrounded himself with a qualified team of assistant coaches and has rekindled enthusiasm for the sport, CU Athletics, the university, and fundraising efforts.

Jim McElwain was recently hired to coach the Colorado State Rams, a school that was successful in a weak conference under Sonny Lubick. McElwain will be paid $1.3 million to try to put CSU back on the football map.

Now for the intriguing part of Ringo’s editorial…
McElwain has a $200,000 incentive in his contract related to his players’ academic performance.

The focus of the editorial was $$ and it did not address the specifics of McElwain’s academic performance incentive nor did it look at some of the questions surrounding the concept. Some questions that might be posed are presented below.
• Participation on a D1 athletic team is time consuming. As a result, athletes have access to tutors and in some cases are required to use them. Given that level of support is it is appropriate for an academic incentive to be offered?
• Most special groups, including athletic teams, include students who perform above the average in the classroom. If that is the case, then why is an academic performance incentive necessary?
• Are academic performance incentives based on a student’s improvement or his grades? This question is relevant because some athletics lack strong academic backgrounds for socioeconomic or other reasons.
• Former CU basketball Coach Jeff Bzdelik stated publicly it was difficult to produce a quality basketball team at CU given the universities high academic standards. f this is the case, how do you establish an appropriate academic standard for football and basketball?
• Would an academic performance incentive require students to perform at a certain level in meaningful classes that develop knowledge and skills that will allow the student-athletes to get a job when they graduate?
• How many coaches in Colorado’s colleges and universities have a clause in their contract that awards them for their students’ performance in the classroom?
• Does Embree have a academic incentive for the classroom performance of his players? If not, then why? If so, then why wasn’t it discussed in Ringo’s article?
• Do physics or accounting professors have similar performance  incentives for their students? This is a rhetorical question. Grade inflation has become so rampant in some universities, CU included, that policies have been set in certain disciplines, such as the Leeds School, that establish quotas that limit the number of A’s and B’s in a class.
• Is an academic performance incentive meaningful, or is it just a clause placed in the contract to pacify the “jock-haters.”

Both athletics and academics are important to our colleges and universities. It is truly an interesting challenge to find a balance between the two.

 

Sports Illustrated Vault – Top Men Covers

horvath Leave a comment

Which male athlete has most frequently graced the covers of Sports Illustrated?

The answers can easily be found in the SI Vault (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/). The website includes a database that allows sports enthusiasts to conduct searches on articles, covers, galleries, and swimsuit issues. These searches provide an interesting perspective on what has been important in sports since SI began publishing in 1954.

The purpose of the following analysis is to identify the male athletes who most frequently adorned the SI covers and to look for other interesting trends. In December, 50 male athletes were selected for analysis. Their names, as listed in the charts below, were placed in the advanced search engine (exact phrase). Note that slightly different frequencies occurred when the names were placed in the general search box. It was also necessary to be aware of multiple athletes with the same name, such as Bill Russell, and adjust the search accordingly.

Keep in mind, the purpose of this analysis is not to identify the best athlete; rather the intent is to point out the athletes that adorned the SI covers most often. Athletes such as Lou Gehrig passed away before SI began publishing, so his coverage is minimal compared to current players. There are a number of factors that can determine whether an athlete makes the front cover or just receives mention in an article or picture gallery. The following questions address these factors:
• When did the athlete play?
• Did they participate in a team sport or an individual sport?
• How long has their sport been in existence, for example snowboarding is a relatively new sport?
• Did the athlete play in a major sport or a minor sport?
• Did the athlete play in a small market or a major market? Did they compete internationally?
• Who did the athlete have as sponsors and how well were they marketed?
• Was the athlete a flashy player who drew attention, such as John McEnroe, or were they a steady performer like Brian Gottfried?
• How has the interest level in their sport changed over time? Are people as interested in that sport as they once were?
• Were there lockouts or strikes during an athlete’s career that prevented additional exposure?
• Did the athlete experience injuries that reduced media coverage?
• Were there other events that were more significant or overshadowed the significance of an athlete’s performance?
• Was it a “slow sports day”, which allowed for certain athletes to receive greater coverage?
It is interesting to note who has been on the cover most frequently, but it can be equally as intriguing to consider the factors that may have caused or prevented greater coverage.

The data suggests that there are a handful of athletes who are media icons. Michael Jordan is one of them. He was on the SI cover 58 times followed in a distant 2nd and 3rd place by Tiger Woods and Muhammad Ali. Based on the data below, Tim Tebow will likely become the next icon if he turns out to be the real deal.

Woods tops the list for being in the most articles (6,983) followed by Jordan, Nicklaus, Mickelson, Manning, Favre, Bonds, and Brady. The latter group was each mentioned in 2,700 to 3,700 articles. The group of top 10 athletes represented football (3), basketball (3), golf (2), boxing (1), and baseball (1).

(Analysis of the SI database is included in the December 2, 8, and 20 blog posts. The three discussions identify the sports, major sporting events, male athletes, and female athletes to most frequently adorn the front cover.)