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College sports have a very unique status in the USA. In contrast to many other countries, sports are often played in high school teams and then continue on at the college level.

Key Takeaways

• College sports enables athletes to pursue their sports at a high level and earn a degree
• Athletes receive great support, train in top facilites and often live with their team mates on campus
• Most teams recruit players from different backgrounds, creating a multicultural team environment

1) Playing at the College Level

College sports have a very unique status in the US. In contrast to many other countries sports are often played in high school teams and then continue on to college teams. It is through college sports that the majority of players will be selected to go pro.

Pursue Education and Sports: College sports are taken very seriously, and are extremely important to universities, both culturally and economically. One of the major benefits of college sports, is that you don’t have to choose between sport and academics. College sports enables athletes to continue to pursue their sport at a high-level, and potentially earn them a spot at the pro level, while continuing to invest in their future with a college degree

2) Benefits of College Sports

Resources: Some of the major benefits of college sports is the serious nature they have within universities. The school expects their teams to be high-achieving and showing improvement, which is why they invest in all the resources the team will need.

Athletic facilities and support: Student-athletes can rest assured all their athletic needs will be taken care of so they can focus on performing their best. Schools will provide all the uniforms and gear necessary, special facilities specifically for student athletes, and whatever a student-athlete may need to help with their success- whether it may be seeing a special doctor, psychologist, or nutritionist.

Live and travel with your friends: Additionally, playing in college sports normally means living on campus, typically with teammates, and traveling a lot with your team for competitions. This provides for a new level of independence to be gained for students coming out of high school, which certainly helps athletes mature and be ready to take on the real world after college.

3) College Sports Culture

Recruting: The average university sponsors between 15 and 20 different sports. The sports are typically made up of athletes from diverse backgrounds- coming from many different countries or places across the U.S.

Diverse Teams: When recruiting for their teams, coaches certainly want people who can work together, but they see the value in having a diverse group of people who can all contribute to a team in different ways. This in turn creates a culturally diverse environment for all the athletes.

Economic Impact: From an economic perspective, college sports have a huge impact on a university’s revenues. With stadiums holding up to 100,000 fans, some universities generate millions of dollars from ticket fees and merchandise. Additionally, the NCAA (being the largest college sport organization) generates around 800 million USD in yearly revenue from television rights, of which a significant amount goes back to the universities.