Athlete Defends College Sports

Newsweek political commentator Ben Adler wrote an article on Sept. 22, “The Case against College Athletic Recruiting,” that criticizes American colleges for wasting time, money, and admissions slots on athletes. He argues that colleges that recruit athletes are improperly valuing unnecessary and unpopular skills and, in doing so, are hurting their schools and the rest of the student body. He contends that schools are wasting money on sports that no one cares about and giving up admissions spots that might otherwise go to a future Nobel Prize winner or academic. He even likens funding unpopular sports to inefficient economic policies such as farm subsidies or rent control.

But what Adler doesn’t realize is that recruiting and college athletics as a whole are so much more than just pure economics.

Adler criticizes athletics for taking away funds from what he determines to be more valuable activities like music, theater, and dance. But who is he to say that music is more important than squash, debate more important than crew?

As an athlete on one of Harvard’s lesser-known varsity squads, I can attest to the importance of unpopular and oddball sports. Water polo is not very well known outside of Europe and California. But I can’t think of anything that has had more of an impact on me here at Harvard. It made my transition from high school to college that much easier; it helps me to arrange my schedule and manage my time; and it nurtures a competitive edge that motivates me across the river and in the classroom. But most importantly, it has given me a group of friends and teammates who will still be there 50 years after I graduate. I know that Harvard loses money every year supporting all of its athletic teams, but there is no way that anyone can put a monetary value on the benefits that we all enjoy as a result.

Even for the students at Harvard who are not athletes, intercollegiate sports provide an opportunity to come together, to bond over competition. Every year, the Harvard-Yale football game is one of just a handful of events that connects the whole student body. It forces us to trudge across the river and brave the cold together—all in the hopes that the Crimson can pull out a win against that other educational institution in New Haven. In the grand scheme of things, the winner of The Game is irrelevant. But it matters to the students, the alumni, and especially to the teams. That rivalry has helped make Harvard the great school it is today.

Even unpopular sports, like skiing, water polo, and squash, benefit the rest of the student body. Each sport brings its own particular culture to campus and contributes to the student community as a whole. By meeting and interacting with people from different teams, students are exposed to these cultures and become more aware of what life is like for others.

Despite all of these benefits, Adler is quick to criticize Harvard in his article, specifically mentioning that the admissions office sets aside a significant number of spots for recruited athletes rather than give them to people who might make more of an academic contribution. At some schools, that might be an issue. But at Harvard, our athletes blend in just like any other student. We all have to meet the same admissions requirements. Every school likes to admit students with special talents. Why should some people be at a disadvantage if their talent is putting a ball through a hoop instead of playing the violin?

Like most Harvard athletes, I’m never going to have a chance to make a living by playing a sport. Very few people come here with the goal of going pro. But because Harvard has given me, along with so many other athletes on our 41 varsity teams, the chance to play for four years during my time in college, I know that I will be a more complete person, and Harvard will be a better place for all of its students.

So, Ben, are Harvard’s priorities really so out of whack? Considering the education I’m receiving, both in the classroom and in the pool, I’d say they’re right where they need to be.

—Staff writer Evan J. Zepfel can be reached at ezepfel@fas.harvard.edu.