Which conference is the best college football conference?
By: Colin Carnes
Newton County Theme School
8th Grade
Sociology
Curry-Miller
Verification Page
I verify that I, Colin James Carnes, researched this topic and typed as my father, Rod Carnes helped me to research. My mother, Wendi Carnes, helped me to edit this paper by choosing a variation of words and phrases that will not cause me to become repetitive. We did this together.
“I verify that this paper was typed by me, Colin Carnes”
Thesis Statement
Many people associate the fall season with leaves changing colors, decreasing temperatures, and seasonal occasions such as Halloween and Thanksgiving. However, my family and friends think of college football. As I thought about the topic for my paper, it seemed most appropriate to research a hot social topic among college football fans. Which conference is the best college football conference? I think the Southeastern Conference is the best football conference, but since I am a fan of the University of Georgia, an SEC member, I wanted to make sure my thesis was based on historical facts and not blind bias. To do this, I will focus on five areas: Money generated, fan attendance, wins against non conference opponents(Including bowl games), number of national championships won, and number of players on NFL rosters.
Methodology Page
To start my research, I discussed my topic with my dad. He played competitive football for over ten
The first positive influence that football has on high schools is teaching students many valuable attitudes and social skills. Football players dedicate themselves to their sport and relentlessly train and practice so they can compete with others. While doing this they
A united university through sports is often a rarity. College football can be one of the most intense experience in college sports. The passion and energy is nearly impossible to encapsulate into a single feeling. Sports teams and their fans share a bond that cannot be recon with. The colleges with prestigious athletic backgrounds have a numerous alumni who carry pride into every game day. A lot of fans equal a lot of fun, but attending an school with diehard fans is best part of college sports. College football has gained the reputation for becoming the most celebrated sport. The best way to celebrate a college football game is tailgating. Tailgating and college football have become such a tradition that it is hard to see one happening
Football acts as a “driving force” for many high-school and upper level athletes, and often keeps the players striving to do better on the field, and in life. The support parents give physically, emotionally, and financially to their child that is participating in sports is important; however, fathers’ involvement specifically can often bring added pressure due to the high expectations.
Football is a sport known for the excitement it brings to the audience and to the players. This sport is being played around the country professionally, and throughout colleges and high schools. With all the tackling, screaming, touchdowns, and energy football produces, people either love the sport or find it to be too dangerous. Many people who believe football to be a dangerous sport especially fears the danger it puts high school students in. The concern of young lives being at stake just to be a part of a sport makes numerous people question football in high schools. What those people don’t realize though, is that football in high schools is an amazing opportunity for young men (and in some cases young women) to prepare for life and the trials it comes with. Playing football in high school will teach young men to learn to have a great work ethic, make quick decisions to better not only themselves but the others around them, and give them a chance to get athletic scholarships for colleges.
The topic of most concern for both parents and school board members is the risk of injuries. Tackle football may be fun for children, but the hits can be hard, resulting in excruciating injuries that can have long lasting effects that aren’t fully understood, such as reason as to why some kids don’t recover from a single injury or why some children have more catastrophic
With the annual debate revived by fans and sportswriters, the involvement of the federal government, and the financial benefit that bowl games offer schools, the issue of wheatear to replace the Bowl Championship Series with a playoff system continues to be one of the most discussed aspects of college football. Most people agree the Bowl Championship Series should be replaced by a playoffs, however there are a few who believe otherwise. The Bowl Championship Series works, and college football has never been more successful, thrilling, popular, or more enjoyable than ever. The Bowl Championship Series is fairer, safer and more effective than a playoffs.
For decades, American Football has captivated this nation as one of the prime sources of entertainment. With the culmination point, the Super Bowl, attracting more viewership than any other televised event in the country, the sport has seen a tremendous growth since its origination in 1920. In an era of economic struggle, job shortage, and high-cost of living, those with above average physical abilities can find the lure of professional football to be extremely attractive. With the wealth and fame attached to a professional career, many of our youths share the common dream of achieving football star status. In order to attempt this lofty goal, many kids enroll in this contact sport at an early age, often times with the support of their parents.
What college teams are not anymore, are sports teams that represents their schools. As stated by Dan Wetzel “they are profit points that command their own cable television networks, massive stadiums, huge media rights, national tournaments and billions and billions in revenue” (Wetzel, 2014). As identified previously, both basketball and football are referred to when discussing college sports that generate the large revenue. The transformation of what college sports has become cannot be more evident, especially during March Madness for the NCAA. With these factors in mind, Division I football and men’s basketball players do not merely play a sport of leisure. According to Edelman, “rather, they are core members of their university’s marketing team, as well as the labor force behind a lucrative
Twenty eight of the division one college football teams generated over 100 million dollars in revenue last year (Schroeder). The 65 universities that make up the Power Five conferences, plus Notre Dame, totaled $6.3 billion in revenue during 2014-15 as compared to the $11 billion brought in by the NFL. With the amount of publicity that the colleges and NCAA are receiving along with the money that they bring in from college football, the players deserve a portion of the money rather than just a scholarship. The revenue brought in by these colleges are often seen going to the coaching staff and the overpayment of their coaches as seen when Jim Harbaugh transitioned into being a college coach but received the same wage.
To start off, conditioning and practicing is a necessary part of football. Conditioning is when you physically make your body stronger and more equipped for a sport. In the article “ How Dangerous is High School Football?”, it stated that “ ...because we observed high levels of ankle and knee injuries, we recommend increased conditioning of ankles and knees and rule changes aimed on protecting these vulnerable body sites.” This sentence from the article is a prime example on how football is safe because they are helping the vulnerable and weaker parts of your body stay protected, which in doing so helps prevent injuries. This shows how they are not only tackling big issues, but small issues as well. Not only is conditioning a big role in football, practice is also required for the game. Practicing helps players learn the game of football in a safe way. According to the article “Hard Knocks”, “... one recent study found out
Football is a rough sport. Many fans of the game watch it for the hard hits. These hard hits and the potential for injury is part of what makes the game so exciting. Some people say that football is too brutal and should be banned. Parents all over the United States don’t allow their children to play because of the risk of head injuries. Others allow their sons, and every now and then their daughters, to play and risk injury for a chance to earn a college scholarship and for a small percentage of players, the chance to play in the National Football League (NFL).
The “contradiction at the heart of big-time college football,” as Michael Oriard describes it, is the competing demands of marketing and education. The 1890s proved to university administrators that there was an enormous market for collegiate football, which postulated opportunities for university building. Since this ubiquitous realization, there has coincided this blatant, yet unchanging contradiction that academic institutions are permitted to profit off of the services provided by its student-athletes while the athletes must idly accept that they are amateurs, donating their efforts to their respective schools. The schools then direct this revenue toward strengthening their athletic departments, and thus continues this seemingly endless growth of big-time college sports, all while athletes remain uncompensated and academics continue to take a backseat.
Physical and mental strength plays a major role in a football player’s life. Football is a twelve month process, which consists of off- season (six months), in -season (five months), and the Transition (one month). During off-season the football player’s main goal is gaining strength, size, and much power, in-season they continue to practice and work on maintaining the gains in strength during the off-season, and the transition is when they rest and recuperate their body from the physical exercise. Football players are constantly bumped and knocked down during practices
In order to truly appreciate the overall beneficial influence football has had on American culture between the 1890’s and 1930’s, we cannot turn a blind eye to the negative obstacles football has overcome. In the early years of development, football was played similarly to rugby and universities played by different rules, making standardization within the sport a difficult task to accomplish. One of the major problems observed during the infancy of football was the sheer violence witnessed on the field. Mass play was the common play style during the first years of football in which the entire offensive force would focus on one spot of the defense; the offense was determined to go through the defense rather than go around them. The raw power behind these plays lead to serious injuries as well as the death of a player in the early 1900’s. This disastrous event deterred numerous universities from playing football out of fear of a repeat of events. Following more serious injuries
From the first two national champions, Rutgers and Princeton, to last year’s debateable Auburn national championship winning team, college football has always had difficulties deciding national champions. The BCS National Championship game was thought to give a less prejudice opinion on which teams play in the championship game than humans did. However, it has stimulated more controversy in college sports than Cal-Stanford “The Play.” The problem with the BCS teams is, it chooses two teams that are based on profit, popularity, and record. The BCS is in need of replacement by a playoff system because with a playoff system college football teams have more of an opportunity to show themselves.