College sports are a great way of building a culture of teamwork and discipline. In recent times, the donations for athletics have gone up more than that for academics hence it is becoming very important for colleges to show their performance in terms of sports to attract such donations.
Some Of The Challenges College Sports Face Today Are:
Cost Of Infrastructure
The colleges have to invest a lot to develop and maintain the infrastructure required for sports. This is difficult for smaller colleges, which are short of funds.
Grades Vs Sports
Most of the colleges know that their students may not become professional players and would like them to have good grades so that they can get good jobs when they pass out from college. Whereas the coach would always like his/her players excel in the sport despite knowing this reality. This makes it difficult for colleges as well as students to concentrate properly on either of them.
Performance Enhancing Drugs
With so much money involved and peer pressure, the players may get involved in using performance-enhancing drugs. Though some checks are in place to monitor this, this remains one of the biggest challenges in college sports.
Gender Inequality
Despite much progress in college sports, gender inequality still exists. The female students have generally fewer opportunities in sports. Also cases of sex scandals in recruiting have tarnished the image of sports in colleges.
Unethical Practices By Players / Coaches
Sports’ betting is another challenge faced by colleges. With high stakes involved the coaches and players may get involved in unethical practices. This weakens the integrity of college sports.
Not only colleges and players but also the administrators have to find ways to deal with these challenges so that college sports achieve the purpose they are meant for.