tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2223164318287164511.post5814688571776053767..comments2023-05-15T04:51:31.444-07:00Comments on The First Time I...: USF's Latest Marketing Campaign, and A Proposal for "Pre-Professional Athletics"Amma Marfohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06439222199257233508noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2223164318287164511.post-72664668763732724462012-11-27T08:25:26.795-08:002012-11-27T08:25:26.795-08:00First of all, I wasn't aware of that marketing...First of all, I wasn't aware of that marketing campaign by our dear alma mater, but I hate it.<br /><br />Regarding majoring in athletics, this is what jumped off the page to me from the Chronicle article:<br /><br />"Why not legitimize such an academic specialty in the same manner that other professional performance careers, such as dance, voice, theater, and music, are recognized and supported? [..] Why not establish a well-planned, defensible, educationally sound curriculum that correlates with a career at the elite level of sports?"<br /><br />First, my obligatory kneejerk shudder, as a vocalist, at the suggestion that "voice" and "music" are separate disciplines. That said, having minored in one of the areas with which he wishes to make an analogy, I want to dig deeper. Programs in each of the disciplines listed above require an audition. Auditions take place largely to ensure that applicants enter college with a skillset that could lead to success. Will sports performance majors "audition"? If so, is making the team the threshold, or does it lie higher, since the threshold for gainful employment is higher?<br /><br />Beyond admission, there's the coursework. Parallels can be made between music theory, ear training, and performance classes and learning schemes/offensive/defensive philosophy, film study and practice/games, respectively. But if the ins and outs of playing on a sports team become credit-bearing courses, what of the students who choose not to major in sports performance and now have an overwhelming courseload? To suggest that the performance majors engage in analogous coursework outside of their team duties is disingenuous; I don't see the "professors" (read: coaches) engaging in that way.<br /><br />Despite the shortcomings, I'm actually for this, with proper attention paid to it. I especially like the inclusion of classes that prepare them for the off-the-field piece of professional life, and frankly, they'd make a great capstone for pre-NFL and NBA students regardless of discipline. Still, it's worth noting that a student-athlete is just as likely to be disinterested with this field of study as any other.Curtishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com