College Sports, Inc.: The Athletic Department Vs. the University (Hardcover)

by Murray A. Sperber (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"We are not the enemy," said Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler addressing a meeting of academics, but the contention of Sperber, an associate professor of English at Indiana University and a former sportswriter, is that the college sports establishment is precisely that. He demonstrates that at fewer than 5% of colleges do the sports programs operate in the black, including schools that participate in big-time football and basketball, supposedly the large money-makers. Deficits, he maintains, are made up by excessive student activity fees, donations from local boosters (alumni rarely contribute to sports programs), absurdly high ticket prices and, in the case of public colleges, state subsidies. Athletic departments, Sperber charges, are like corporations, with vastly overpaid executives and employees--i.e. students--whom they fire at will by canceling their scholarships. The differences are that sports departments are managed inefficiently and, when they show a loss, the colleges pick up the tab. This startling, depressing study should be read by every college faculty member and, ideally, by every taxpayer.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Sperber (English and American studies, Indiana Univ.) examines in full detail the entire system of athletics within American schools of higher education and finds it wanting in nearly every aspect. His conclusion is that intercollegiate sports have become a "huge commercial entertainment conglomerate" (i.e., "College Sports Inc.") divorced from the educational aims of the schools. By tracking the money trail, he exposes widespread abuses, from misappropriation of funds to illegal perks to shadowy "booster" payments. The focus throughout is less on personalities than on the system. He recommends radical corrective measures, the first being higher education's recognition that any connection between today's athletic department and its school's educational mission is purely coincidental. An important contribution to the continuing debate over the role of the student-athlete and a timely purchase for public as well as academic libraries.
- William H. Hoffman, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co; 1 edition (August 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805014454
• ISBN-13: 978-0805014457
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #114,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable Expose of Corruption, August 10, 2005

By	K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Murray Sperber shows the scandalous financial side to NCAA college sports in this well-crafted book. It's hardly news that college sports are corrupt - amateurism is and probably always was un-workable. What is news, however, is that most colleges lose money from their athletic programs. Readers see that while football and basketball might attract revenue, they seldom offset the losses from "non-revenue" sports like gymnastics, tennis, swimming, track, etc. Also, winning sports teams fail to increase academic donations to host colleges - alumni don't like their schools having "jock" reputations. The author shows how colleges abuse Pell and minority grants to benefit athletics, and how these institutions force students (or their parents) to pay hefty "activities fees" along with tuition to bail out the athletic department

Like most appeals to reform NCAA sports, this book fell on deaf ears - we simply like the games too much. Still, this book should be of interest to educators and to students forced to pay outrageous activity fees at tuition time.