By BROCK BENNETT

Staff Writer

Have you ever wondered why some colleges do not have every type of sport’s program? For example, why does Piedmont College not have football, water polo, horseback riding, gymnastics or any other known sport’s teams that other colleges have? Most people would probably say that it is because of money. Unfortunately, this is true. What if we could have these sports without worry of money spent and focus on money earned?

I believe that if every sport were to be incorporated into every college’s athletic program in the United States, more money would come to the colleges. The more people that attend a university, the more money students and/or parents spend going there. Fans would start buying apparel to support their team, tickets to watch and more student-athletes would come to colleges around the U.S. to play the sport they love. 

The only downside of having every sport available at a college is, oddly enough, money. Money makes the world go round, but not every college has money to spend on sports. I think that sport’s scholarships would be harder to come by because colleges only get a certain amount of money to spend on scholarships dedicated to sports. 

However, I believe that the more sports you have at a school, the more money people will spend. This would cover the loss in sport’s scholarships and would bring in more profit for the college itself.  

A lot of colleges have intramural sports that allow for clubs to come together and compete. The sports range from ultimate frisbee and bowling to disc golf and archery. Intramural sports are a good way for students to play the sport they love without having to dedicate serious time to practicing. Intramural sports are non-paid sporting events that allow for clubs and organizations to have their own tournaments and seasons without having to pay the people that partake.

  I would like to see colleges pick up more sport’s programs for their school because more students would come. Money would have to be spent first in order for a college to have every sport’s program, but I believe they would make that money back fairly quickly. Money would be made off of tickets, apparel, donations, branding and media rights. 

Not only would colleges attract Americans, I firmly believe that they would see an increase in foreign students as well. Just think about how many foreign college athletes are here now and how that number could increase substantially because their sport is over here in America.