When you hear the words "college athletics," chances are you conjure up an image of a hundred-thousand-seat Big-Ten football stadium packed to the gills on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the fall, or of Cameron Indoor Stadium with a sea of Cameron
Crazies blowing the roof off the place as Duke battles North Carolina in the ACC tournament. And in fact, college football and college basketball are a huge part of the campus experience at many colleges and universities. But they are only two facets of the image of "varsity sports" on these campuses . . . and the image of "college athletics" is much broader still.
Athletics on the college campus takes many forms"not just the high-visibility sports but also the lesser-known "club" sports and intramural competitions in everything from soccer to inner-tube water polo, which can be as much about the exercise and social experience as they are about the actual "competition." And of course, the broadest idea of college athletics also encompasses your hastily organized running, cycling, or rock-climbing club, daily blading trips along the river, and your Saturday morning pickup hoops game.
In short, there is a place in college athletics for everyone on campus, as a participant and as a spectator. Let's take a quick spin through your options to get you thinking.
Varsity Sports
If you were a varsity athlete in high school, don't just blindly sign up for four more years of the same just because you think you might be able to make the team. Consider this choice before you make it.
What is your motivation for wanting to play a varsity sport in college?
If you are aiming to play for a Division I school with an eye on one day possibly turning pro, you have a whole different set of considerations - most of which are obviously well beyond the scope of this book. If you are fortunate enough to be in this position, though, we recommend that you pick up one of Dion Wheeler's books (see "Additional Resources" at the end of the article), which will take you step-by-step through the college athletic recruiting process and otherwise guide your thinking about how to maximize your chances for success.
For the rest of you, though, your participation in varsity athletics is likely to be driven by things like a love of the sport or of athletic competition in general, or a desire to blow off steam, develop close ties with teammates, and stay in shape. Though you may still be good enough to get a scholarship to play for your school, you must remember that you are in college to get an education. Remember that accepting a varsity scholarship carries with it a substantial set of obligations to your school, your team, and your teammates. This may represent a dream come true for some of you (and if it does, that's great), but for others with concurrent designs on getting into graduate school, it can become a lot to juggle.
"My athletic scholarship paid for the majority of my education," Aaron explains, "but I had to work hard athletically and academically to keep it, because no scholarship is guaranteed, and the coaches decide every year how much money you deserve."
Further, at any level, playing for a varsity team is almost certainly a year-round commitment. During the off-season, you will likely have to commit to a regular and rigorous diet and exercise program and to travel with your teammates on training trips during one or more school breaks. In season, you may be looking at lengthy "one-a-days" or even "two-a-days," road trips that can interfere with your class and exam schedules, and tournaments or scrimmages that may consume the entirety of one or more of your other school breaks.
Playing varsity is a monster commitment that will consume a good part of your college career. At the same time, the dedication, commitment, and camaraderie that varsity athletics engenders make the college athlete's college experience uniquely satisfying. There are many good arguments on both sides of this important decision. All we are saying here is to consider the decision to play varsity before you sign on.
"I am an extremely active and competitive person and my goal since I was in sixth grade was to play Division I lacrosse," Aaron said. "Nowhere else on a college campus will students find the camaraderie, pride, friendships, physical health, and academic support than that present on a varsity team. You're just not going to develop the kinds of relationships with other students hanging out in the dorms or going out to the bars that you will getting up at 5 a.m. on Saturday mornings for team runs."
"For as long as I can remember, it was always a goal of mine to play collegiate athletics," Dave explained. "The advantage of playing at Middlebury, or at any Division III school for that matter, is that your sport does not become your life. Baseball was a big part of my college experience, but by no means did it define who I was. I think that Division III athletics follows an admirable approach that academics come before athletics. My coaches were always supportive of taking care of academic issues first. We took our baseball very seriously, but within that seriousness, we all had separate lives and could pursue other academic and extracurricular interests while still being active and contributing members of the team.
Being part of the baseball program at Middlebury has been one of the most meaningful experiences in my life. I share a bond with my coaches and teammates that is very special to me, and as an alumnus of the program, I am connected to a great network across the country."
Erik agreed.
"I played varsity golf and ice hockey at M.I.T. Playing goalie for the hockey team was kind of a dream of mine growing up," Erik recalls. "I had played outside on the ponds in Maine since I was maybe ten or eleven years old, but I could never afford all the equipment, so I always had the most rag-tag collection of 'equipment' out there. I played with my baseball glove as my catching glove, I used a regular skater's glove to cover my blocker hand, and I used an old sweatshirt with a pillow sewn into it as a chest protector! Going to college at such a prestigious school that also happened to have a varsity ice hockey team was just an ideal scenario for me to realize that dream.
The advantages of being a varsity athlete are numerous and far outweigh any of the disadvantages. To name a few, being part of a team is a truly special experience. Having an outlet to blow off some steam is invaluable. And if you are competitive, then having the arena in which to compete is very fulfilling. The disadvantages, in terms of the time constraints that being on a team place on your time to study or prepare for classes will stretch you out, but the sacrifices that you find yourself making are almost always worth the rewards.
I still remain close friends with several of my teammates from both the hockey and the golf teams," Erik concluded. "As far as juggling my time among playing sports, working, and studying - I feel it served me well to help develop the necessary time management skills that I still use to this day."
Additonal Resources
Wheeler, Dion. A Parent's and Student-Athlete's Guide to Athletic Scholarships - Getting Money Without Being Taken for a (Full) Ride. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
Wheeler, Dion. The Sports Scholarships Insider's Guide"Getting Money for College at Any Division.
Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, 2005.
Campus Confidential Mentors and Uber-Mentors:
Campus Confidential contains the collective advice of a a diverse group of people who have traveled the road to college. Some are recent college graduates who can counsel you on the college experience as it is today. Other are a few years removed from their college days and can provide a longer view of the decisions you will need to make before, during, and after college. Here is a little bit about the mentors and uber-mentors in these articles.
Dan Bissell – Campus Confidential Uber-Mentor
Portland, Oregon
B.A. Middlebury College cum laude, 1993. Major: Geology
M. D. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Adler Scholar, 2002
Tom Teh Chiu – Campus Confidential Uber-Mentor
Brooklyn, New York
B. A. Yale University, 1993. Major: double major in Chemistry and Music
M. M. Juilliard School, 1995
M Juilliard School, 2001
Jim Bright – Campus Confidential Uber-Mentor
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
B. A. Duke University, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1997. Major: History
Amanda Cramer – Campus Confidential Uber-Mentor
Paso Robles, California
B.A. Cornell University Phi Beta Kappa, 1993. Major: Mathematics
Graduate study in food science – Enology, University of California at Davis 1997-2000
Zoe Robbins – Campus Confidential Uber-Mentor
Gouldsboro, Maine
B.A. (1) Wellesley College magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1997. Major: Economics
B.A. (2) University of Pennsylvania, 2001. Major: Nursing
Carolyn Koegler – Campus Confidential Uber-Mentor
Hopkinton, New Hampshire
B. A. Tufts University, cum laude, 1993. Double major: History and Spanish
Erik Norton – Campus Confidential Uber-Mentor
Boston, Massachusetts
B. A. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993. Major: Mathematics
Lyndsee Dickson – Campus Confidential Mentor
Concord, New Hampshire
B.A. New York University, cum laude, 2004. Major: East Asian studies
Kevin Donovan – Campus Confidential Mentor
Somerville, Massachusetts
B.A. Boston College, honors in the major, 1993. Major: English, Minor: Creative Writing
Tiffany Chan – Campus Confidential Mentor
Concord, New Hampshire
B.S. New York University, 2005. Major: Communication Science
Erica Eubanks – Campus Confidential Mentor
Memphis, Tennessee
B.A. Tennessee State University, National Deans List, 2003. Major: Criminal Justice
Dave Irwin – Campus Confidential Mentor
Carlisle, Massachusetts
B.A. Middlebury College departmental honors, 2004. Major: American Civilization, Minor: Education
Chase Johnson – Campus Confidential Mentor
London, England
B. A. Duke University, with Phi Alpha Theta distinction in history, 2005. Major: History
Aaron Paskalis – Campus Confidential Mentor
Magnolia, Massachusetts
West Point Military Academy, then transferred to UMass Amherst
B. A. University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 2005. Major: Legal studies
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