Chapter 6 of the Rader textbook goes in depth about the Rise of Intercollegiate Sports in the late 19th and early 20th century. Rader explains that “college sports helped to foster a new social form, the college community.” He continues in saying that sporting events at universities “forged and strengthened ties between students, faculty, college presidents, and alumni” like no other collegiate activity could (p.84-85).
The game of football, in particular, materialized as a major attraction on several college campuses. With help from the newspaper industry in the late 1800s, college football developed into a must-see event across the country.
At a large majority of college campuses, football is still a grand spectacle. Even when the particular team that you are rooting for is not playing well, thousands of students, alumni, faculty, and other professionals join together at stadiums across the country for each home date.
A recent example of the buzz and excitement that football can produce on a college campus was when BGSU hosted #8 ranked Boise State. By Thursday classes of that week, the nervous energy surrounding the match-up was visible. It was great to see Doyt Perry Stadium hosting a capacity crowd, although the results on the field caused quite a few Bowling Green supporters to head for the exits by halftime.
No matter how a team’s season is playing out, that year can be defined by a strong performance in their rivalry game. A victory against a traditional opponent can raise team and community morale. Universities reap the benefits of this as well because ticket, concession, and merchandise sales at these contests usually produce a significant amount of revenue for the school.
Just in case you have never seen ESPN’s College Gameday, here is a look at what their presence on a campus can produce (YouTube). Just further proof that while other university sports can generate interest, no other sport in a college town can bring the people together like the game of football.
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That was a great You Tube clip to include from College Gameday. Having lived in Texas for 9 years, I can attest to the fact that Texas A & M has an amazing fan base. Speaking of rivalry games, I was sorry to not make it back for the BGSU v. Toledo game, but was glad to see that "we" won!
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