Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Across the country as school budgets continue to tighten, I wonder how much longer it will be feasible for schools to sponsor athletic teams? In my area, a number of suburban school districts have already introduced what are oftentimes not insignificant "pay-to-play" fees. So the question becomes, at what point does it simply no longer make sense for schools to field athletic teams and for kids and families to simply start increasing participation in local recreational teams?
And just to play devil's advocate, but why should schools be sponsoring sports teams anyways? The United States is one of the few countries in the world where scholastic athletic competition is heavily-emphasized. Shouldn't educational institutions focus their time and resources on education, particularly when budgets are tight?
The entities that grant regional accreditation look at athletics as part of the accreditation process so athletics won't go away anytime soon. NCLB and RTTT both had/have a component which includes athletics.
Here in MD school systmes are now required to offer adaptive interscholastic athletics for those students unable to compete in the normal mix of teams generally offered.
I graduated from high school more than 40 years ago and we had participation fees back then, so this isn't anything new. They tend to go away for awhile then be reinstated when the economy gets bad. FARM kids are usually exempt from the fees.
Last edited by North Beach Person; 04-13-2013 at 12:37 PM..
Reason: spelling
The entities that grant regional accreditation look at athletics as part of the accreditation process so athletics won't go away anytime soon. NCLB and RTTT both had/have a component which includes athletics.
Here in MD school systmes are now required to offer adaptive interscholastic athletics for those students unable to compete in the normal mix of teams generally offered.
I graduated from high school more than 40 years ago and we had participation fees back then, so this isn't anything new. They tend to go away for awhile then be reinstated when the economy gets bad. FARM kids are usually exempt from the fees.
I understand your point, but I think that schools still would offer some form of athletics, perhaps intramural, without it being the extreme version of interscholastic competition that we see today. My question more has to do with the latter.
Across the country as school budgets continue to tighten, I wonder how much longer it will be feasible for schools to sponsor athletic teams? In my area, a number of suburban school districts have already introduced what are oftentimes not insignificant "pay-to-play" fees. So the question becomes, at what point does it simply no longer make sense for schools to field athletic teams and for kids and families to simply start increasing participation in local recreational teams?
And just to play devil's advocate, but why should schools be sponsoring sports teams anyways? The United States is one of the few countries in the world where scholastic athletic competition is heavily-emphasized. Shouldn't educational institutions focus their time and resources on education, particularly when budgets are tight?
Perhaps it may come to an end in some places, however I don't see it ever happening in Texas.
Sports are just such a huge part of our culture both from an entertainment and businesses standpoint.
Sports availability start as early as age 3 and you can find both rec and premier leagues all over the area. Sports aren't offered in school until 6th or 7th grade in most schools. So, many have been playing for years before it ever becomes available connected to school. It is a part of their fabric of life, so to speak. The possibility for college scholarships in sports is a very attractive goal for many students and parents as well.
As far as the budget goes.....
Athletic venues are rented out for tournaments, events and meetings when not in use for school related sporting events. The Dallas Diamonds is a team that plays professional women's football and they have
used 2 separate stadiums in our area for their home fields. Tournaments for soccer championships are currently being held is stadiums throughout the state and they are all bringing in fee money, concession money and parking fees to the venue that is hosting the event. Businesses surrounding the venue are also making money.
Booster clubs for sports teams here are large and very active. Their fundraisers pay for a lot of their costs that won't be paid by the assigned budget.
Coaches in our area have pretty much always been required to teach classes as part of their job description. Perhaps it used to be considered throw away classes, but it hasn't been that way for years and years. The days of a coach doing nothing but coaching are long gone. Everyone teaches multiple classes and must be certified to do so. Coaching comes secondary and they get a stipend for coaching in addition to their teaching salary.
The athletes who are participating in school sports are typically not the ones who join recreational leagues. Quite the opposite. Those students play for select/premier leagues or travel teams and parents pay the full cost of that, which is FAR higher than school sports costs. Some kids do both.
For example, I've got a niece who is playing high school soccer right now and is traveling with her club team as well. She is a standout and likely will end up with a full ride scholarship just like her sister did a few years ago.
I'm in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and if sports were taken out of school there would be a domino effect heading straight to the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Fort Worth Brahmas etc, that they just wouldn't allow to happen.
Perhaps it may come to an end in some places, however I don't see it ever happening in Texas.
Sports are just such a huge part of our culture both from an entertainment and businesses standpoint.
Sports availability start as early as age 3 and you can find both rec and premier leagues all over the area. Sports aren't offered in school until 6th or 7th grade in most schools. So, many have been playing for years before it ever becomes available connected to school. It is a part of their fabric of life, so to speak. The possibility for college scholarships in sports is a very attractive goal for many students and parents as well.
As far as the budget goes.....
Athletic venues are rented out for tournaments, events and meetings when not in use for school related sporting events. The Dallas Diamonds is a team that plays professional women's football and they have
used 2 separate stadiums in our area for their home fields. Tournaments for soccer championships are currently being held is stadiums throughout the state and they are all bringing in fee money, concession money and parking fees to the venue that is hosting the event. Businesses surrounding the venue are also making money.
Booster clubs for sports teams here are large and very active. Their fundraisers pay for a lot of their costs that won't be paid by the assigned budget.
Coaches in our area have pretty much always been required to teach classes as part of their job description. Perhaps it used to be considered throw away classes, but it hasn't been that way for years and years. The days of a coach doing nothing but coaching are long gone. Everyone teaches multiple classes and must be certified to do so. Coaching comes secondary and they get a stipend for coaching in addition to their teaching salary.
The athletes who are participating in school sports are typically not the ones who join recreational leagues. Quite the opposite. Those students play for select/premier leagues or travel teams and parents pay the full cost of that, which is FAR higher than school sports costs. Some kids do both.
For example, I've got a niece who is playing high school soccer right now and is traveling with her club team as well. She is a standout and likely will end up with a full ride scholarship just like her sister did a few years ago.
I'm in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and if sports were taken out of school there would be a domino effect heading straight to the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Fort Worth Brahmas etc, that they just wouldn't allow to happen.
So all of that stuff couldn't simply happen under the umbrella of local recreation programs? I still don't see why it has to be affiliated with schools.
So all of that stuff couldn't simply happen under the umbrella of local recreation programs? I still don't see why it has to be affiliated with schools.
Local school boards would have to make these decisions and they would likely be voted out, and the sports programs brought back. I think you might see some small cuts in areas like junior high/middle school programs but most high schools are adding programs. Most districts have added soccer in the past 30 years, and more recently hockey and lacrosse have been added as club sports with limited school district financial support. My local district also added a girls' golf team 2-3 years ago.
So all of that stuff couldn't simply happen under the umbrella of local recreation programs? I still don't see why it has to be affiliated with schools.
I think a lot of it has to do with availability. For the most part schools incorporate athletics into their budget so that students can have the option to pursue something they may not otherwise be able to do. In my district, a very, very low income district, sports play an enormous role. At least half of the school, plus those who play JV and Varsity at earlier grades (so 2000+ students in HIGH SCHOOL ONLY) are involved in a sport of some sort. Recreational sports usually cost money, and in my district that just wouldn't be possible.
I don't know how other schools do it, but my school makes it so that you have to be in school 90% of the time and you have to maintain a 2.7 GPA at all times.
If varsity level sports were removed from schools than many kids would not have the opportunity to be recruited into college. One of my best friends was recruited to Lafayette in Pennsylvania for Football because he's been on the JV/Varsity football team since he was in the seventh grade. His parents did not have enough money to enroll him in little league football but because the school is a D1 school he was awarded a 58,000$ a year scholarship (which includes Room & board, tuition, books, fees, health insurance and transportation). This kid wouldn't have gotten the opportunity if it weren't for the school's "elite" athletic programs.
In addition to that, many teams are responsible for their own funding, and a lot of coaching positions in my district are unpaid. There are a bunch of fundraisers happening constantly to help support the teams. Just last year the Crew Team was in jeopardy of being cut and they made sacrifices. They cut their team spots down by 15, they lowered the number of races, and they got additional sponsorships from around the area. It's a team effort that goes into maintaining the athletic teams, not only school budgets.
Perhaps it may come to an end in some places, however I don't see it ever happening in Texas.
Sports are just such a huge part of our culture both from an entertainment and businesses standpoint.
Sports availability start as early as age 3 and you can find both rec and premier leagues all over the area. Sports aren't offered in school until 6th or 7th grade in most schools. So, many have been playing for years before it ever becomes available connected to school. It is a part of their fabric of life, so to speak. The possibility for college scholarships in sports is a very attractive goal for many students and parents as well.
As far as the budget goes.....
Athletic venues are rented out for tournaments, events and meetings when not in use for school related sporting events. The Dallas Diamonds is a team that plays professional women's football and they have
used 2 separate stadiums in our area for their home fields. Tournaments for soccer championships are currently being held is stadiums throughout the state and they are all bringing in fee money, concession money and parking fees to the venue that is hosting the event. Businesses surrounding the venue are also making money.
Booster clubs for sports teams here are large and very active. Their fundraisers pay for a lot of their costs that won't be paid by the assigned budget.
Coaches in our area have pretty much always been required to teach classes as part of their job description. Perhaps it used to be considered throw away classes, but it hasn't been that way for years and years. The days of a coach doing nothing but coaching are long gone. Everyone teaches multiple classes and must be certified to do so. Coaching comes secondary and they get a stipend for coaching in addition to their teaching salary.
The athletes who are participating in school sports are typically not the ones who join recreational leagues. Quite the opposite. Those students play for select/premier leagues or travel teams and parents pay the full cost of that, which is FAR higher than school sports costs. Some kids do both.
For example, I've got a niece who is playing high school soccer right now and is traveling with her club team as well. She is a standout and likely will end up with a full ride scholarship just like her sister did a few years ago.
I'm in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and if sports were taken out of school there would be a domino effect heading straight to the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Fort Worth Brahmas etc, that they just wouldn't allow to happen.
Yeah, used to be electives but now it's core classes like Science, Math, English and these are dedicated coaches to a single sport. It does cause havoc though when the coaches have to take off for district, regional, state events because these are the core classes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
