Awakening sleeping giant in college sports
TERTIARY institutions are known for providing a solid launchpad for sporting excellence.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), for example, is a massive organisation that regulates sporting activities in the American collegiate sporting system. It organises national competitions for its major sports.
NCAA athletics championships are a major feature, as are the finals of the American football and basketball tournaments.
The association runs sports “among about 1 100 schools in the United States and one in Canada. It also organises the athletic programmes of colleges and helps over 500 000 college student athletes who compete annually in college sports”.
Approximately 21 percent of players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) have college degrees.
The NBA mandates that its basketball players must be one year removed from high school, or be at least 19 years of age, to enter the draft.
According to the website Collegesport.com, “in the National Football League (NFL), five out of every 10 players earn a college degree even though many of these players attended college for four to five years”.
This shows that, while professional football players may have excelled on the field, a small percentage did the same in the classroom.
It is believed this is, however, one of the higher percentages among other professional sports, as the NFL does not have a viable minor league system. It recruits directly out of college, requiring most NFL players to attend a college if they would like to play professionally.
Closer to home, the University Sport South Africa (USSA) oversees sporting activities in tertiary institutions in the neighbouring country.
In essence, the National University Sports Associations recognised by USSA are responsible for the planning, organisation, administration and promotion of their respective sports.
“Their primary function is to organise annual student sports tournaments for all member clubs during which national student teams are selected to represent South Africa and USSA at various national and international championship events,” reads part of a write-up on USSA’s website.
“Development programmes should further be organised for all students in conjunction with the appropriate senior National Sports Federations, for example, Athletics South Africa (ASA), South African Football Association (SAFA).”
Varsity cricket, athletics and rugby have dedicated TV programmes showcasing the matches involving these teams.
University teams, such as the University of Pretoria squad (TUKS), have even gone as far as qualifying for the Premier Soccer League in South Africa, while the Wits University team was a fixture in the league, even though it featured players from outside the campus, who were then offered opportunities to study while playing for the team.
In Zimbabwe, the tertiary institutions’ sports sector is divided into four main subcategories — universities, teachers’ colleges, technical colleges and vocational technical colleges.
They all fall under the Zimbabwe Tertiary Sports Union, which is an umbrella organisation for all tertiary institutions.
Additionally, the country has now established a National Sports Academy at Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE).
The combination of sports and academics is vital for creating opportunities for athletes after their playing days are over.
The National Sports Academy says its aim is “to be a world-class centre for the identification and nurturing of sports talent and produce athletes who will be able to compete at international level and win medals for Zimbabwe”.
Its overall functions include talent identification, talent development, competition, resource mobilisation and optimisation, research and scientific support services, and administrative support services.
However, for this academy to work, there is need to make it beneficial for corporates to support sports and recreation.
The concept of a national academy of sport working in conjunction with a university sounds like a match made in divine spaces.
We can only hope that the institution learns and grows from the experiences of others that have succeeded.
Once sport becomes a viable part of academic spaces, and when students and parents see this, it can lead to sponsorship and scholarships. It will also aid in the mindset change towards sport and can change the discussion of sport versus academics.