The camaraderie exhibited by 49,250 students, alumni, friends, and families is hard to deny, especially when they are all dressed in orange. My first experience visiting Syracuse was during homecoming weekend just a few months ago. Honestly, it was breathtaking and I can still feel the excitement.
I was on campus visiting two former high school friends, along with my best friend who also has ‘Cuse at the top of her college list. Maybe it was the familiarity of being with friends or the atmosphere of college gameday. Whatever factors came into play, it just felt like home.
I know there are large college stadiums and enthusiastic (crazed) fans in just about every corner of America, and it is possible that this feeling of belonging could have
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
Attending Kennesaw State University has been a very rewarding journey. As a current senior in college, I have been given the chance to experience the University environment. An environment full of my interaction with my fellow classmates working in study groups and tutoring sessions. Also having the option to sit in on my professor's 2nd lecture that you did not understand fully during your class period.
Then came the concern that the universities built stadiums that were too big. Many feared that there would not be enough people to fill the seats on game day. A majority of the stadiums were built too large for the time period. The teams had to grow their fan basis by winning important games in order to get more people through the gates. Also, many stadiums were built to hold one big game and crowd a year. But, would this one game bring enough money in to pay off the millions of dollars that were spent to build the stadium? The large stadiums eventually paid off when the fan base became larger, but it took years for that to happen. Now, there are so many people that want to come to the games that there is simply not enough room for everyone.
The success of a sport in the college level can create a supportive alumni base also. When a team becomes successful and stays successful, the alumni donates money and stays connected with their alma mater. On the flip side of that, if a team is not as successful and does not produce as much, the alumni does not have a good showing at the games and the donations decline.
Tailgating, costumes, rivalries, and spirit are all fun, yet important, aspects to college sports fans. College athletics is a multi-million dollar making industry because it keeps people wanting more. These college students have devoted their time and energy at a young age to do something they love at the next level. Like any college student, they work hard and take time on their college classes. Although they are claimed to be just students, they are required to miss class for televised games that bring in revenue to the school.
Using the entire border of where the Appalachian boundaries expand to, colleges in these states have the highest attendance average. This is proven by using the statistics given by The National Collegiate Athletic Association on the average attendance in 2014 of the top 30 Division 1 FBS teams’ home games. Not being a shock, five of the top ten teams on this chart were from Appalachian region states. Leading number one in attendance is The Ohio State University with an average of 106,296 people, followed by the others being Pennsylvania State University (101,623), University of Alabama (101,534), University of Tennessee (99,754), and University of Georgia (92,746). These statistics, in particular prove my argument of college football shaping Appalachian communities. By the statistics coming from home games means the home team fans and the away team fans traveled to these Appalachian areas to experience a Division I college football game there. Not only does that give exposure to the geographical area, but it gives people from around the country the opportunity to see what the Appalachian community is like. The vibes that radiate through the stadium and around the city offer an unexplainable experience. Without these statistics it is hard to believe that Appalachian culture was shaped by college football. College football is an immense and
I am grateful because that lead me to North Carolina Central University. From my time here, I have grown immensely. Being a student at NCCU is the best thing that ever happened to me. I enjoy debating, fine dining, and shopping. One of the greatest experiences I had at NCCU is an etiquette class.
The diversity and location of NC State is what draws me to this University. From the first moment I stepped onto the campus, to the tours and talking to current students, I felt the excitement of the campus. NC State is a rich community that is strong because of the variety of classes, teachers, students, and activities, and for the array of perspectives and experiences. From attending a small school in a small town, then transitioning to a larger high school, this feels like a natural next step.
As an Iowa State student, I enjoy going to the games and supporting my school and team. The games are what I look forward to every weekend. There is a common characteristic of the love for Iowa State and Iowa State’s athletic teams in the stadium. The excitement from all the students and other Iowa State fans brings joy to my eyes. My favorite part of the football games is when all the fans in the student section are standing on the bleachers and cheering together and supporting our team. Although our football may not be very good, we still go to the all games and see our football players do the best they can and bring a win for Iowa State University. Everyone enjoys when the fight song plays and when we sing all the common cheers all together. The stadium gets so loud when there is an exciting play that happens in the game. When there is a touchdown for Iowa State the stadium gets so loud that I can’t even hear myself think and I enjoy the commotion from everyone where we all go around and high-five the people around us. With so many fans, the stadium must have a good size to hold all the cheering fans in one place. Because of so many fans, the stadium is the sixth largest stadium in the Big 12 Conference (by capacity) and the third newest in the conference. The record for most attendees to a single-game was against Kansas State with an attendance 56,800 people
For my first visit to Kalamazoo College in July, I fell in love with the small school within the big town atmosphere. Once I walked onto Woodworth Field and walked around in the outfield grass, I knew this could be my home for the next four years of my life.
49,250 seats, all filled with orange-dressed alumni, students, friends, families, and visitors. An enclosed dome; full of life, excitement, and 5 division one athletic teams, located in the heart of Syracuse University. Yes, I am talking about the famous Carrier Dome, Syracuse University’s home sports stadium.
It is almost, or already has, turned into just one big business. Where one college or university is just competing with one another to see who could have the nicer things. Now a days, they are always building new dorms, dining halls, sports facilities, and academic halls. For example, according to Aaron Brenner, Clemson university has reportedly spent 128 million dollars on their sports facilities in the past year. They spent over 60 million ($63.5 million to be exact) on just renovating their basketball arena. Why would they spent that much money on their basketball arena? The simple answer is to make money you have to spend money. University spend money on these type things to simply try and make more money for themselves. The fact is college sports is a big income booster for most colleges. The question that comes up a lot though is, how are the universities paying for these
Big 10 Culture has a Big Impact A civil society is held together not only by common values, but also by institutions that bring various elements of a community together. College athletics offers a good example of sport’s unifying function. As university enrollments have increased and diversified, athletic teams have promoted institutional unity and school spirit. The entire university family, from faculty, students, and local fans, to alumni living in faraway places, can usually rally around the university’s athletic teams.
College football rising to be one of the most popular sports has put a huge price tag on big game tickets. The athletes never see a dime of the millions made off the championships that they grinded a long season to get to. Under the management of the NCAA, there has been a drastic increase in how popular college football is. Today, College football is only second in popularity to the most popular sport in the country, the NFL. What makes the sport so popular is every single state has a college football team to root for and most states have a big-name division 1 team. The large supply of college football meets and equally large demand and the effect of every city having a home town team makes this sport extremely popular. If you look at the top ranked football teams of last year, none are in major cities. In the top five you have: Tuscaloosa, Columbus, Louisville, Ann Arbor, and Clemson. In most of the cities mentioned football on Saturday is king. In these five cities on Saturday night everyone stops what they are doing and watches their favorite team play. The fact that these small towns can have nationally recognized programs plays a role in the popularity of college football. TV contracts also boosts college football’s popularity and increases revenue exponentially. Games that are nationally televised gives national exposure to small town schools. TV are actually what makes schools so much money off athletics. TV networks pay ridiculous amounts of money for the rights to broadcast the schools football team, stuffing the pockets of the university. Marc Tracy of The New York Times writes, “Under the championship playoff format that began this season, ESPN is paying $7.3 billion over 12 years to telecast seven games a year” (Tracy). ESPN and other networks are willing to pay billions of dollars to see college athletes compete without any
The greatest sight is cars and motorcycles, anything from little Hondas to Lamborghinis and also little Harleys to big fast crotch rockets outside and everywhere around you, also my favorite the Yamaha R6. Guys and girls revving their loud engines is the best sound ever. That is the place I feel the best at, the car shows and motorcycles meets. The car and motorcycles shows can relate to college many ways and with the most meaningful part.