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John V. Lombardi |
Intercollegiate
Sports |
Office Hours by appointment |
Few issues in American higher education have so captured the public imagination and attention as sports. Sports competition has accompanied the growth and development of American colleges and universities since the beginning of the century with such consistency and intensity that we cannot complete our understanding of higher education in America without understanding intercollegiate athletics. It matters not at all whether the college be large or small, public or private, distinguished or mediocre, a center of advanced research or a community college, in all of these places intercollegiate sports have a substantial role. Some colleges, to be sure, avoid sports. A few prosper without intense intercollegiate competition, but they are the exception. When we look at the history of America's great universities we find virtually all rose to preeminence accompanied by a major commitment to intercollegiate sports: Michigan, Illinois, Berkeley, UCLA, Florida, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, to name but a few of the major private and public research institutions in this country. In these universities, sports played and still play a major part in institutional growth and achievement. This course examines the historical trajectory of intercollegiate sports in America during the 20th century, it provides a perspective on the college contests of today, and it offers an opportunity to learn the skills of historical scholarship. © 2001 |
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