[baymeadows3408]

This is a super interesting thread and I appreciate everybody's contributions. I'm not plugged into the Stanford scene, so I am not going to speculate about what might be going on within the school administration or athletic department.

I completed my undergraduate education at a big public school in the southwest (University of Arizona) and I currently attend graduate school at a medium-sized public school in the northeast (University of Maine). I like college sports and all of the pageantry and rivalries. Although my interest in Stanford sports has waned a little in recent years, I still call myself a fan. I enjoyed attending football games at the U of A and men's ice hockey games at UMaine. 

But there are aspects of college sports that make me feel uncomfortable. At UMaine, I see all of the facilities that are dedicated to athletics, from the hockey arena, football field, baseball and softball fields, basketball court, indoor track, weight rooms, and swimming pools and I wonder about all of the resources that go into maintaining these programs. With a few exceptions, these facilities are not available to the general student body. Having a competitive men's ice hockey team might add a little prestige, but there aren't a lot people in the general public who care about women's ice hockey or America East basketball or football. In other words, I wouldn't expect there to be too many high school students who choose to go to a school because it has a basketball team that competes in the America East conference. 

College sports were different way back when when the teams consisted of athletes who came from the general student body. You could make the argument that these teams allowed general students to maintain fitness, learn about discipline and sportsmanship, and socialize, but recruiting and athletic scholarships have changed that. Universities do have recreation programs and club sports for the general student body, but those budgets are minuscule compared the budget of the athletic department. 

You can't make a direct contrast between an elite private school that competes in a major conference like Stanford and the flagship public university for a small state in the Northeast, but I do think Stanford is grappling with this issue of what sort of role athletics should play in education. Football generates a lot of publicity, brings in donations, and generates millions in television revenue, but the CTE issue isn't going away. Tournament runs by the men's or women's basketball teams will get attention. The Directors Cup and national championship streaks are nice. But if you were to say the word "Stanford" to the general public, you might get a response that mentions academics, Google or Hewlett-Packard, a football player like Andrew Luck or Richard Sherman, or the Hoover Institution, but you probably aren't going to hear anything about the wrestling or field hockey program. Of course, this depends on who you ask. Ask somebody involved in high school girls' soccer and they might think of Stanford's women's soccer program.

I'm not making any value judgments about college sports or dismissing the worthiness or the Olympic sports. I'm not a Stanford alum, so I feel like I don't have any skin in this battle. It just feels like it's part of a much bigger war about the place college sports should have American society.

[baymeadows3408]

This is a super interesting thread and I appreciate everybody's contributions. I'm not plugged into the Stanford scene, so I am not going to speculate about what might be going on within the school administration or athletic department.

I completed my undergraduate education at a big public school in the southwest (University of Arizona) and I currently attend graduate school at a medium-sized public school in the northeast (University of Maine). I like college sports and all of the pageantry and rivalries. Although my interest in Stanford sports has waned a little in recent years, I still call myself a fan. I enjoyed attending football games at the U of A and men's ice hockey games at UMaine. 

But there are aspects of college sports that make me feel uncomfortable. At UMaine, I see all of the facilities that are dedicated to athletics, from the hockey arena, football field, baseball and softball fields, basketball court, indoor track, weight rooms, and swimming pools and I wonder about all of the resources that go into maintaining these programs. With a few exceptions, these facilities are not available to the general student body. Having a competitive men's ice hockey team might add a little prestige, but there aren't a lot people in the general public who care about women's ice hockey or America East basketball or football. In other words, I wouldn't expect there to be too many high school students who choose to go to a school because it has a basketball team that competes in the America East conference. 

College sports were different way back when when the teams consisted of athletes who came from the general student body. You could make the argument that these teams allowed general students to maintain fitness, learn about discipline and sportsmanship, and socialize, but recruiting and athletic scholarships have changed that. Universities do have recreation programs and club sports for the general student body, but those budgets are minuscule compared the budget of the athletic department. 

You can't make a direct contrast between an elite private school that competes in a major conference like Stanford and the flagship public university for a small state in the Northeast, but I do think Stanford is grappling with this issue of what sort of role athletics should play in education. Football generates a lot of publicity, brings in donations, and generates millions in television revenue, but the CTE issue isn't going away. Tournament runs by the men's or women's basketball teams will get attention. The Directors Cup and national championship streaks are nice. But if you were to say the word "Stanford" to the general public, you might get a response that mentions academics, Google or Hewlett-Packard, a football player like Andrew Luck or Richard Sherman, or the Hoover Institution, but you probably aren't going to hear anything about the wrestling or field hockey program. Of course, this depends on who you ask. Ask somebody involved in high school girls' soccer and they might think of Stanford's women's soccer program.

I'm not making any value judgments about college sports or dismissing the worthiness or the Olympic sports. I'm not a Stanford alum, so I feel like I don't have any skin in this battle. It just feels like it's part of a much bigger war about the place college sports should have American society.