Post #6: Research question and sources

Research question: What is the financial cost of college sports? Is the cost justifiable when compared to the benefits that college athletics provide to universities? Are athletic programs overall harmful or beneficial?

Frans, Kelly Ashley. "Ways in which Intercollegiate Athletics Contribute to University Success." NCSU Digital Repository (2002)Print.


Weaver, Karen. "A Game Change: Paying For Big-Time College Sports."Change 43.1 (2011): 14-21. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.


Suggs, Welch. "Making Money—Or Not—On College Sports." New Directions For Institutional Research 2009.144 (2009): 19-31.Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.


Dowling, William C. Confessions of a Spoilsport: My Life and Hard Times Fighting Sports Corruption at an Old Eastern University. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007. Print.


Sander, Libby. "Athletes' Graduation Rates Hit Another High, NCAA Says." Chronicle Of Higher Education 56.14 (2009): A20. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.


Goff, Brian. "Effects Of University Athletics On The University: A Review And Extension Of Empirical Assessment." Journal Of Sport Management 14.2 (2000): 85. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

Rutgers RIOT

The Rutgers RIOT was a decent review of the databases we explored in the library last week.  The RIOT covered how to use search terms in a database, what types of sources are appropriate, and other research related information.  Having gone over this information will make finding sources for my topic much easier, as I should be a much more efficient searcher.  This is important, as library databases contain a lot of information from many sources, and being able to find what I need to will make them a great research tool

Post #4

Privatization certainly pertains to my topic, which is the benefits that college sports programs brings to universities.  As privatization forces universities to raise tuition rates, the question is raised as to whether or not it is ethical to use students tuition to fund sports programs, since sports programs are not tied to the academic mission of universities.
Privatization also brings outside interests and corporations to the university.  One such example we should all be familiar with is our own football stadium, which is now high-point solutions stadium. The ownership of our stadium by an outside company certainly affects management of the team, and could possibly have a trickle down affect to the players.
Privatization of higher education certainly has a much greater effect on college sports than these two issues raised. College sports can almost be seen as a part of the entertainment business, and therefore can be closely associated with the private world. I am sure as a research I would better understand how privatization is related to college sports

Post #3 Questions for the librarian

1) Do the libraries at Rutgers have any online resources?

2) What is the best way to locate news/magazine articles pertaining to my topic?

3) Do you have any general tips for research?

Post #2

When thinking about refining my topic, i considered researching the profitability of college sports. At first thought i did not see much of an argument in that topic, because sports programs are either profitable or not. In an accounting sense, sports programs will either make or lose money, and you cant argue with a spreadsheet. However, college sports can be profitable (or unprofitable) to a university in more ways than just on their bank roll. Sports programs have a great deal to do with a university's image, so they can be beneficial even if they do not make money.

I believe my topic is going to be the benefits and detriments of college sports. This will include both financial aspects, as well as how sports programs can affect a university's image. The image or reputation of a university will undoubtedly affect many other things. Depending on the information I am able to gather, I will argue that college sports are either beneficial or detrimental to colleges and universities.

A google search for "benefits of college sports" brought back a plethora of news and magazine articles that mention how college sports do a great deal to build the cultural side of colleges, can bring in more taxpayer dollars, but also that colleges must be wary of being in the "entertainment business".

These are two links that generally outline the issues that i could be dealing with when researching this topic.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/03/1457042/hazards-benefits-of-sports.html
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2010-01-13-ncaa-athletics-subsidies_N.htm

A scan of the book "

The business of sports: 

a primer for journalists (Google eBook)" made it appear that the book mentioned many of the topics I am interested in, and it maybe worth reading into.


Undoubtedly this should be a fine topic. There is major controversy as to whether or not public universities should invest so much into their sports programs, when their mission should be education. I look forward to discovering the pros and cons of college sports programs 

Topics I am Considering for My Class Project, and Why

For the topic of my final project, I am very interested in researching college sports as a revenue stream. Being an avid sports fan, I assumed the large schools with big time sports programs made millions of dollars off of their teams, because it certainly appears that way from the outside.  Having never looked into the subject, I was unaware that most schools lose money on their sports programs, until it was mentioned in class. I am very interested in finding out more about the financial aspect of college sports.  It would also be interesting to research the sponsorship of college sports teams by private corporations such as Nike, Under Armour, and Easton. I hope to select one of the two topics, or something similar.