Women's Sports vs Men's Sports

While we’re in march madness have you noticed that all the coverage for it is being focused on men’s basketball and you might get a few glimpse of a woman’s game. If you’re lucky you might get to watch one quarter of a women’s game and possibly a headline the next day. Why aren’t we making a big deal out of the University of Connecticut having won 111 games in a row? Now, we’re no stranger to the fact that men's sports get more money than that of its counterpart. In fact, even after forty plus years of Title IX we can still see a gender gap in pay, scholarships, and even facilities. Most people would tell you that Title IX has done little to nothing to improve the gap, while others will tell you that it has improved tremendously. In my opinion, we can look at two sections of what Title IX covers and see that there are still enormous gaps. Two of the biggest areas that Title IX has tried to improve (pay and opportunities) still significantly lack in progress. There's no doubt that a men’s coach gets paid more than a women's coach, nor is there any question about there being more scholarships being offered to male athletes. Title IX originated in Virginia when the school denied admissions to over 21,000 female students and accepted every male that applied over a 3 year period. You can compare the amount of females participating in sports with that of males and see the gap. You can also compare the amount of dollars women’s sports get versus that of male sports.

• “Even though female students comprise 57% of college student populations, female athletes received only 43% of participation opportunities at NCAA schools which is 63,241 fewer participation opportunities than their male counterparts.”1,4
• “Although the gap has narrowed, male athletes still receive 55% of NCAA college athletic scholarship dollars (Divisions I and II), leaving only 45% allocated to women.”1
• “When examining median expenses per NCAA Division I institutions, women’s teams receive only 40% of college sport operating dollars and 36% of college athletic team recruitment spending.”2
• “Median head coaches’ salaries at NCAA Division I-FBS schools are $3,430,000 for men’s teams and $1,172,400 for women’s teams. A difference of $2,257,600.”2,4

Despite the enormous progress most schools still have a lot of ground to cover. The gap between men and women in collegiate sports in the category of scholarships is staggering. In fact, most collegiate scholarships for men are full ride scholarships while women’s scholarships are partial scholarships. Reasons for this happening could be that women sports are given less scholarships than male sports and coaches are often forced to split them up in order to share them with other players.“Despite improvements in leveling the distribution of athletic scholarships over recent years, men continue to receive a disproportionate amount of athletic scholarships over women. In 2007-2008 1.6% of men received athletic scholarships in relation to the 1.1% of women who received them, compared to 2.4% of men and 1.0% of women who received them in 1992-1993. If the leveling of the distribution of athletic scholarships between males and females continues at its current rate, it will take up to 17 years before men and women are receiving athletic scholarships at the same rate.”3

Even though we’ve made enormous strides in the right direction there are still gaps between women and men’s sports in America. Women coaches should get paid the same amount as male coaches, women should receive the same amount of scholarship money, and women's facilities should be the same as their counterpart. There is no difference in baseball and softball, men's basketball and women's basketball.

1Irick, E. (2014, October). Student Athlete Participation. Retrieved from http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/PR1314.pdf

2Irick, E. (2014, October). Student Athlete Participation. Retrieved from http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/GEQS10.pdf

3Westfall, L. (2011, July). Athletic Scholarships- Who gets them and how many are there. Retireved from http://www.fastweb.com/student-news/articles/athletic-scholarships-who-gets-them-and-how-many-are-there

4Women’s Sports Foundation. (2015, July). Pay Inequality in Athletics. Retireved from https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/research/article-and-report/equity-issues/pay-inequity

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Profitable Sports?

Universities across the country spend thousands, if not millions, of dollars funding athletic departments, keeping facilities up-to-date, and paying coaches. Yet, how many of these universities are in the “red” after the NCAA releases its financial reports? Factors that could cause these universities to be in the red for certain years are facility upgrades, coaching changes, and decrease in ticket sales. How do schools recuperate from these financial downfalls?What can be done to guarantee that it doesn’t happen in the future? Researcher Jim Moran stated that only 20 publicly funded universities in the United States make a profit. Moran also found that the highest paid employee in 48 of the states are either a college football or basketball coach.1  Perhaps the cost of athletics is out of control - you make the call.

Rutgers University is a prime example of a university that continues to pour money into its athletic programs and report a budget deficit. It’s been nearly eight years since the university embarked upon a massive upgrade to it’s football field. A football stadium that cost $102 million to do nothing.1 The former athletic director, what is his/her name? Insert here, at the time preached the stadium renovations would help a dying program become self-sufficient again. However, nine years later and nothing has changed. In fact, the school continues to report a deficit for athletics at around $32 million.2 Athletic directors at these schools defend their spending by stating the money is spent to keep up with other universities. Of these schools that are losing money the median loss was $11.4 million.1

On the opposite side of the struggling school spectrum are powerhouses like Alabama, The University of Texas and The University of Oklahoma. These universities belong to the “Power Five” conferences and are known to be the wealthiest conferences in the NCAA. These programs have benefited from skyrocketing television contracts, booming endorsements, and big spending donors willing to spend the dough. “However many smaller departments in these conferences  are also losing more money than ever, as athletic directors choose to outspend rising income to compete in an arms race. These are costing some of the nation’s publicly funded universities and students millions of dollars. On the contrary rich departments such as Auburn have built lavish facilities, invented dozens of new administrative positions and bought new jets all at the university's expense. However failure to profit is not inevitable for athletic departments in the “Power Five” conferences, which includes 48 public universities.” Of the universities that made a profit the median gain was $8.4 million.1

A vast majority of the 4,000 plus universities and colleges in the United States have  athletic departments that are losing money. Most of these schools are NAIA or NCAA Division II or III, so their  football and basketball programs (two main sports) don’t appear on live national TV. These same schools don’t have athletic apparel companies running to them for endorsements and they don’t come close to generating millions from ticket sales.2 In fact, most count on the free admissions tickets to show up to fill the stands.  According to the NCAA, only 24 university athletic departments actually turned in a profit at the end of each year.3

We all know college sports is a big business, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to matter whether they are making a profit or not. People pay crazy amounts of money to watch these events and as long as it’s the “big” thing to watch athletic departments will continue to fight and move forward in the red or not.

1Madsen, N. (2014). Jim Moran says only 20 colleges make a profit from sports.

Retrieved from    

http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2014/dec/22/jim-moran/moran-says-only-20-colleges-make-profit-sports/

2Hobson, W., Rich, S. (2015). Playing in the Red. The Washington Post. Retrieved from    

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/sports/wp/2015/11/23/running-up-the-bills/?utm_term=.d835ef5aae45

3Burnsed, Brian. (2015). Athletic Departments that make more than they spend. NCAA. Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/athletics-departments-make-more-they-spend-still-minority

The Concussion Epidemic

One hit, one blow to the head is all it takes to send someone’s life in a spiraling into a free fall. Concussions in the United States have become one of the most common injuries across the entire spectrum of sports.  From famous football players to soccer players, most sports have been impacted by the concussion epidemic in some way. Yes, most players tend not to tell anyone that they have suffered a concussion. It’s not in their “nature”. The famous NFL running back Eric Dickerson once said “You are supposed to be tough. You are supposed to play through pain. You are not supposed to cry. We are taught that early on in the game as kids. Tough sport. Brutal sport. It’s like the gladiator. People want to see the big hits. They wind up on Sports Center. And as a player, you don’t want to admit you are injured.”1 So is there a problem with players not reporting concussions? Is there anyway to stop the growing epidemic of concussions that have caused so much pain and suffering? Does the National Football League (NFL) or the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) do enough to protect its players from concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)?

Dave Duerson

A  recent study of the NFL found that 87 out of 91 former players have been diagnosed with CTE.2 Yet, even though  over 5,000 NFL players have sued the NFL over the hidden dangers of concussions, the league still denies any wrongdoing. Yes, CTE has been around since the 20’s, but our scientific knowledge is still not advanced enough to dampen the trending numbers of players being diagnosed with this horrible condition. Some of the most noteworthy stars to have been affected by CTE are; Tyler Sash (overdose on painkillers), Mike Webster (Heart Attack), Earl Morrall (Parkinson's Disease), and Dave Duerson (Suicide from CTE complications). All of these stars suffered from traumatic brain injuries that went unseen for years.

Mike Webster 

In Mike Webster’s 2002 autopsy, neuropathologist Bennet Omalu found  that playing football was/is linked to CTE and quickly became the focus of a Frontline investigation.3 Soon after the investigation, Omalu’s findings were featured in the film “Concussion”. Obviously, CTE is happening on the professional level, but the scary fact is that it is also happening on the local level with youth sports.  In Texas, the UIL has established a governing body that oversees the state's student-athletes and establishes regulations to prevent the possibility of concussions/CTE.

In just the past year, the UIL has created a partnership between ConTex and the O’Donnell Brain Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center in order to gather data on concussions that could lead to changes in rules and player equipment.3 This is the largest statewide effort to track concussions among high school student-athletes. The UIL has more than 1,400 member schools and 800,000 student-athletes. It  is the first association of its kind to launch a registry of this magnitude.4 The program aims at creating data that can help change how football is played and can improve the safety of its student-athletes. In early March 2017, the UIL alongside the National Federation of State High School Association announced that there will be rules changes in the upcoming football season which includes stricter penalties for blind side blocks and no pop-up onside kicks.5

That one hit, one fall, could very well end a life today. CTE is a growing problem that has taken countless lives and has ripped apart families. It’s real and shouldn’t be ignored. Ask yourself if that were to be your child, would you want the problem recognized? It’s a hidden danger waiting to explode.

1Phillips, S. (n.d.). Quotes from players and experts. Retrieved from  

http://www.stonephillipsreports.com/2012/01/quotes-from-players-and-experts/

2Bellware, K. (2016). NFL Insists Football Is Safe Even As List Of Players With CTE Grows. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/super-bowl-nfl-cte_us_56b4cde9e4b04f9b57d94fa2

3Breslow, J. M. (2013). The autopsy that changed football. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-autopsy-that-changed-football/

4Kubena, B. (2016). UIL Concussion Study Could Lead to Changes in Rules, Equipment Retrieved from https://www.apnews.com/023c80b0d8d24d3883f7a0e359cc26da

5NFHS. (2017). New Blocking, Kicking Rules Address Risk Minimization in High School Football Retrieved from https://www.nfhs.org/articles/new-blocking-kicking-rules-address-risk-minimization-in-high-school-football/

Turf Fields vs. Natural Grass

Are turf fields really cost effective? Do they really help athletes perform or are they just for looks? In the forever changing world of sports and growing number of turf field at school comes the price tag many schools can’t swallow. Is the money well spent? Are athletic departments really benefiting from these fields? Turf fields are the number one growing type of field in the U.S replacing the old traditional grass field. This blog will focus on the cost of new synthetic turf fields versus the cost of naturally grass fields. It will also focus on the maintenance and upkeep of these fields over a 10 year period.

Natural grass fields cost on average $570,000 to implement from new,  on average of $20,000 a year for maintenance and $200,000 over a ten year span for upkeep.2 Grass fields typically last around 8 years at tiptop shape and tend to deteriorate once past that. The upkeep for a grass field is much more tedious than that of a turf field and is limited to the amount of playing time it can handle. However grass fields are less to repair than that of turf. Most times grass fields can be replaced in sections by resodding instead of replacing the entire field.

Item	Natural Grass	Turf
Base Preparation:	$150,000	$320,000
Materials:	$220,000	$380,000
Maintenance:	$200,000	$50,000
Total:	$570,000	$750,000

Synthetic turf fields cost on average $750,000 to implement from new and cost on average $5,000 a year and $50,000 over a ten year span for upkeep.2 Turf fields typically last around 10 years at full life until they’re needing major renovations or replacement. The maintenance per year is typically less tedious than that of its counterpart. However, turf fields when needing repairs are more costly than natural grass resodding. Turf fields allow schools to host more games and to bring in more revenue. There are typically no restrictions on how many times a turf field can be played on during a season.

At what cost do we stop paying for these gigantic venues and how do you think taxpayers are responding? We all know that in Texas sports are everything, especially football. Those Friday night lights in a small town where everything closes down to fill some of the best facilities across the country. These gigantic stadiums come at an enormous price tag, not just for the turf itself but the actual entire facility. With new state of the art sporting arenas costing anywhere between $30 million to $300 million to build, huge financial investments must be made. According to an article published by The Sports Journal “there are many options in financing sport and recreation facilities than involve both public and private arrangements and investments.”1  “Funding may be separated into two distinct groups; public funding and private funding. Public funding may included but may not be limited to taxes, municipal bonds, certificates of participation, and special authority bonds. Private funding may include but may not be limited to, cash donations, contributions, naming rights, concessionaire/restaurant rights, sponsorships, lease agreements, luxury and preferred seating, parking fees, advertising, and gifts shops revenues. Other ways of financing in order to spread the enormous costs of building a state of the art sporting facility is that projects have been partnered in joint public and private funding. Often, the public funding is in the form of land contributions or luxury taxes and the private contributions are reflected within the facility itself.”1

Everything's bigger in Texas, I guess we have to make it that way in our sports venues. I’ll let you decide which one is better than the other. Cost vs Appeal, Cost vs. Safety. Which one is your pick?  

1The Sports Journal (2008, February 16). Financing Options and Facility Development. The Sport Journal http://thesportjournal.org/article/financing-options-and-facility-development/

3 SportsTurf (N.A.) Natural Grass vs Synthetic Turf Athletic Field Costs: Part 5. http://www.texasmultichem.com/blog/natural-grass-vs-synthetic-turf-athletic-field-costs-part-5.html

2ttp://www.wellesleyma.gov/pages/WellesleyMA_SpragueResources/Turf%20vs.%20Natural%20Grass-Cost%20Analysis.pdf

Venues vs. Trainers

Sport-related injuries are on the rise, the courtrooms are being filled with lawsuits, and parents are ripping their children right out of sports.1 What can athletic administrators do to solve the epidemic of sports related injuries? Are there adequate trainers being provided on the secondary and collegiate level for athletes? Are professional sports organizations taking an initiative to improve health?  Do we spend the money to upgrade our facilities so we can be the talk of the state or do we focus on safety for players? These are all questions that athletic administrator and school administrators face day in and day out.

In recent years school administrators and athletic departments have been spending millions of dollars to build these gargantuan venues all while leaving the athletic training department in the dust. Examples of these stadiums are Allen High School and McKinney ISD, which are both located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.2 Both of these schools have poured millions of dollars into their athletic facilities while failing to improve their athletic trainer program. How can we continue to ignore the fact that this is a growing problem in the United States? Athletic directors and school administrators need to start focusing on being a premiere athlete focused institution. I believe that in every “upgrade” of a venue there should be an upgrade in the athletic training staff and equipment. I also believe that players' safety should be the most important aspect of an athletic department. Without the athletes there would be no athletic department.

Secondary schools are struggling to provide an adequate number of athletic trainers in their programs. On average in the United States, only about 55 percent of secondary schools have a full time athletic trainer on staff. However, of those 55 percent not all trainers are actually certified through an accredited organization and in California there are no actual recognized athletic trainers.3 Do you believe these schools are dropping the ball on providing adequate health care or do you think the athletic departments are doing all they can?

In all, player’s safety should be the main focus of athletic departments, and money should be spent to solve these problems. I believe that secondary schools should be required to have athletic trainers as well as certain protocols to follow when an athlete is injured. Students' health and wellness depends on administrators to provide the best plan of action for prevention and recovery.

1Rebecca Turner (2016 April 1). Concussion in sport: Parents urged not to pull kids out over contact concerns. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-01/concussion-fears-junior-sport-should-not-spark-panic-researchers/7293676

2Marisa Gerber (2016 September 16). After Texas high school builds $60-million stadium, rival district plans one for nearly $70 million. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-stadium-arms-race-snap-story.html

3Daniel, P. (2017, February 6). Schools falling short in hiring full-time trainers. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/high-school-preps/sd-sp-preps-trainers-20170206-htmlstory.html

4Gillian Hotz Ph.D, Ashlee Quintero, BSc, Ray Crittenden, MSc, Lauren Baker, David Goldstein and Kester Nedd, DO (2014 March 7) A Countywide Program to Manage Concussions in High School Sports http://thesportjournal.org/article/tag/player-safety/