Posts with the tag college sports

This March, go mad with environmental pride!

Tristan Fowler — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:54:07 EST

If March Madness brackets frustrate you, or if you don’t even like college hoops, then there is an alternative way for you to sport a little college rivalry without all the sweat, buzzer beaters and face paint. Well, actually, keep the face paint. You may need that.

Second Nature, which assists the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment, or ACUPCC, is sponsoring a friendly competition between all colleges and universities, not just Division I schools. It’s a bracket-themed, green-spirit contest, called the “Green Bracket” competition. Second Nature is asking students, faculty, staff, alumni (whoever) to submit stories, photos or videos of how their athletic department is becoming a beacon of sustainability.

The ACUPCC is a network of colleges and universities that has taken a pledge to become carbon neutral. Each signatory has self-imposed deadlines to achieve this. Presently, many of the nearly 700 institutions have developed a plan to go carbon neutral.

Even though a school doesn’t need to be a signatory of the ACUPCC or a Division 1 school to participate in the “Green Bracket” competition, schools can receive extra points for this. Schools will receive 5-points for every story, photo or video they send in. They get additional 5-points if their men’s or women’s basketball team wins a game during the March Madness tournament. They also receive another 5 points for being a signatory of the ACUPCC.

Entry ideas include photos of banners or signs at games that promote sustainable attitudes, such as “Big Red goes Green!” Or a video of coaches talking about the importance of being eco-friendly. Or a press release about green initiatives within the athletic department.

The school that wins this tournament will probably not face students rushing their quad, or rioting on campus. But the school will have some pretty neat bragging rights, and a decent publicity package showcased on the Green Brackets and ACUPCC Web site.

This is the latest of many college competitions to become more sustainable. Other types of competitions include Recyclemania – currently underway – which institutions compare which institutions can recycle their bottles, cans, paper and compost their food. The best recycle rate over a 10-week period is the winner. Also, two Division I schools faced-off two see which could reduce their carbon emissions the most. Syracuse University and Notre Dame fought for a $10,000 prize offered by NBC, as a part of its Green Week.

Though it’s doubtful there will be any Cinderella stories at the end of this Green Madness season, it’s true that all the losing schools will be green with envy.

The College Sports Juggernaut

Justin Elliott — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:09:47 EST

The Chronicle of Higher Ed interviewed Ohio State President Gordon Gee about college athletics. Here's the headline: Buckeyes' Leader Believes College Presidents Should Help Contain Sports Spending. But that didn't really square with this stunning bit of rationalization:

Q. What can the top-spending university do about the arms race?

A. Our budget at Ohio State is $4-billion, and our athletic budget is $110-million. When one thinks about it as part of the overall budget of the institution, it's fairly insignificant. And it is a self-supporting unit, the same as many other units within the university. We have to make certain that athletic programs are fully integrated into the ... life of the university, that talented football players and talented cellists are given opportunities to excel, but that it is all part of the academic, social-cultural environment of the institution. And what is happening as part of this escalation is that athletic programs are increasingly becoming separated and segregated, both in structure and function, and even values, from the rest of the institution. And it's bringing that back into focus, which I think is important.

For the record, Ohio State does have 36 varsity teams, according to the Chronicle. But $110 million of public money being funneled to sports at a "research" institution? How is this acceptable?

Notre Dame, South Bend And The Football Behemoth

Justin Elliott — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 02:59:18 EDT

Through the prism of Notre Dame, Dave Zirin reminds us of a perennially underdiscussed topic ‘round these parts (and elsewhere): the ever-growing behemoth of sports in our universities. ND football generates a staggering $61 million per year. That includes a big Adidas sponsorship package and, Zirin reports, an unprecedented and exclusive TV deal with NBC which translates into $9 million a year.

The effects on the university of this business (what else to call it?) are no doubt far-reaching. But Zirin focuses on South Bend, Ind., which, with 17 percent of the population below the poverty line, is not the town it once was. The tens of thousands of Fighting Irish fans streaming to home games are the lifeblood of the local economy. Problem is, the new season isn't going as expected: ND has fumbled its way to an 0-3 start. For South Bend, the sad truth is this could mean disaster:

The identity of the community begins and ends with the Fighting Irish. The economic is locked in a dance of death with the psychological. Now, as they lose it causes a crisis that has the feel of hysteria. What if the ratings drop - even more - for NBC? What if the BCS [Bowl Championship Series] doesn't come calling? What if the team actually goes winless? What would that do to the generosity of the big boosters? What would that do to attendance? What would that do to South Bend? What would that do to St. Joseph's county? What would that do to the person selling bottles of cold tap water by the side of the road as tailgaters enter the parking lot? It feels criminal that a city's sense of self is dependent on whether 18 year old Jimmy Clausen can actually take a snap from center without dropping the football. It speaks to the problem far too familiar that takes place when sports cease to be sports and become a substitute for urban policy, for economic development, and for our self-worth.