SMGT 201: Research Paper Assignment

Arguments for and Against Football and Early College Sports

American college football generated substantial dispute as students and administrators argued about its worth. Proponents of football argued that it served as a vital tool for teaching individual character development through the teaching of discipline, biblical team-based cooperation, and perseverance in adversity (New King James Version, 2017, Eph. 4:3). According to Davies (2017), the “Muscular Christianity” movement emphasized childhood physical fitness as an essential requirement to achieve together both spiritual and ethical maturity: SMGT 201: Research Paper Assignment.

The college leaders understood football as a powerful method for increasing school loyalty along with securing funding and elevating their school’s reputation. Educational administrators believed football offered both safety and order as well as directed youthful energy to beneficial uses across colleges because of reducing possible campus indiscipline.

Critics expressed strong objections against the horrific nature of sporting events during that period. The excessively violent nature of primitive football practices resulted in many lethal injuries, which sparked a tsunami of public outrage that propelled the push for sports reform (Grow, 2022). Most observers were worried that as students engaged in football, they would lose their focus on academics.

The system faced ethical problems because questionable recruiting practices combined with doubtful athletic admission rules displayed insufficient monitoring and unethical standards. The controversies surrounding college sports urged officials to intervene through new safety rules until they established organizations like the NCAA, which now controls college athletics​.

Victorian ideals Vs. Modern Secularism of the Progressive Era

Victorian culture based its principles on severe moral teachings that insisted on sobriety, restraint, and protestant religious practices. The encouraged sporting activities required players to keep their behaviors within defined boundaries that underserved societal ranks and gender expectations.

Competitive sports showed limited access to women because their “delicate” nature supposedly did not allow such physical performances (English, 2022). The Victorian belief about recreation supported moral development. At the same time, it placed greater worth on spiritual advances than physical achievements.

In contrast, the Progressive Era blended modern secular values by using sports and exercise to create socially enhanced conditions. Also, it pushed health benefits and universal participation. During this time, society enabled the creation of public parks and playgrounds alongside new organizations such as the YMCA to teach health through social reforms rather than religious teachings (Davies, 2017). Society displayed a growing appreciation for scientific, educational methods and health approaches.

This culture embraced the increasing use of rational thinking and alternated from religious and biblical values toward secular values (New King James Version, 2017, Phil. 4:13). During the Progressive Era, sports reforms allowed additional opportunities for women and immigrants while breaking free from Victorian-era’s limited access. The progressives pursued the democratization of physical activities to establish fundamental components of educational settings and neighborhood interactions, while Victorian principles maintained social organization.

Relationship Between Muscular Christianity and Ports

During Victorian England, Muscular Christianity developed into a movement that established physical fitness as an essential aspect for attaining moral strength and spiritual growth. Notably, this philosophy connected athletic vigor with ethical growth and self-discipline. Notably, this is so because it held that physical strength strengthened intellect and spiritual power (Davies, 2017).

Throughout the United States, Muscular Christianity rose to dominance between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, led by Theodore Roosevelt, whose message celebrated rugged individualism along with physical capability (Cottrell-Boyce, 2022). Through its influence, programs emerged to form the YMCA alongside scout services that merged athletic training with moral and civic educational components.

Sports functioned as training grounds that taught boys how to handle adversity in upcoming professions and future roles as military officers and civic leaders. During the periods of industrialization when America was shifting toward new cultural behavior, the sports movement found popularity because of its dual focus on competition and bible teamwork principles (New King James Version, 2017, Eccles. 4:9-10).

Through sporting activities, the muscular Christianity heritage persists in the contemporary world. Essentially, this manifests through teaching essential lessons that combine personal growth with team dynamics and discipline training. Since modern sports culture focuses on entertainment with commercial aspects above moral growth, the movement has evolved from its original sporting paradigm.

References

Cottrell-Boyce, A. (2022). Catholic and Protestant conceptions of secular education in Victorian England. History of Education, 51(6), 769-788. https://doi.org/10.1080/0046760X.2022.2076930

Davies, R. O. (2017). Sports in American life: A history. John Wiley & Sons.

English, C. (2022). Separate spheres and separate roles: Christian beliefs, medical ideology, and women’s sport and physical activity in the late 19th and early 20th century United States. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 39(4), 350–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2022.2068527

Grow, N. (2022). The future of college sports after Alston: Reforming the NCAA via conditional antitrust immunity. William & Mary Law Review, 64, 385. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4053659

New King James Version. (2017). Thomas Nelson. (Original work published 1769). https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/.

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Research Paper Assignment Instructions

Overview

It is important to demonstrate your understanding of sport topics and how they connect to present conditions. Therefore, you will complete 5 Research Paper Assignments based off selected topics from the world of sports.

Instructions

For each paper you will answer the presented questions. Your answers must be comprehensive and be supported with current sport-related examples. Critical thinking must be demonstrated in each answered question.

Write your thoughts out effectively as you complete the reading assignments. Do not answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to any of the questions.

• Each question must be answered with no less than 200–300 words.
  • Each assignment should include a separate title page, the body of your paper and a separate reference page.
• APA (American Psychological Association) Format should be used to complete these assignments.
  • All answers must be compiled in a Word document.
  • Times New Roman, 12- point font, and double spaced throughout.
  • List ALL references, including your scriptural references using current APA mechanics.
• Each question must include references to support your answer.
  • Textbook support should be limited to two or three citations per question.
  • At least 1 reference in addition to the course textbook.
  • A scriptural reference that is related to the topic.
• Acceptable sources include.
  • Scholarly articles published within the last five years.
  • Any Biblical translation.

Note: Each assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

Research Paper: Early Sports Assignment

Please answer three (3) of the four (4) questions.

1. Summarize the arguments used for and against football and early college sports.
2. Compare and contrast Victorian ideals with the modern secularism of the progressive era.
3. Explain the relationship between Muscular Christianity and sports, past and present.
4. Evaluate the role and contributions of organizations such as the YMCA, Boy Scouts of America, New York Athletic Club, and the AAU in the history of American sports?

Research Paper: Women in Early Sports Assignment

Please answer all three (3) questions.

1. Describe the activities of a typical “play day.” How did play days differ from athletic competition?
2. Evaluate the changing views of womanhood and femininity as seen in the life of Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias.
3. What were the “Smith Rules?” Why are they significant in helping us understand gender roles at the turn of the twentieth century?
   

   SMGT 201: Research Paper Assignment

Research Paper: Reports and Innovations of the Early 1900s Assignment

Please answer all three (3) questions.

1. Describe the impact the Carnegie Commission report of 1920 and the 1951 gambling scandal had on college sports.
2. What was the impact of the career of Tex Rickard upon the structure of American sports?
3. How did organized baseball try to survive during the 1930s? Were these innovations successful?

Research Paper: Television’s Impact of Sports Assignment

Please answer all three (3) questions.

1. How and why did “Friday night fights” and television negatively impact the existing culture of professional boxing?
2. Describe and assess the contributions of Roone Arledge to televised sports.
3. List and discuss three major ways television impacted sports.

Research Paper: Stadiums, Leagues, and Professionalism Assignment

Please answer 3 of the 5 questions listed below.

1. Explain the Sanity Code. Why was it approved by the NCAA national convention?  Was it successful?
2. Compare and contrast the different eras of stadium construction. Be sure to include factors such as financing, location, and design.
3. Assess the contribution and impacts of competing leagues, such as the AFL, ABA, and USFL.
4. Pick one of the following and discuss its development and struggles: NASCAR, NHL, MLS.
5. Outline the changing views towards professionalism in the Olympics from Pierre de Coubertin to the present. How and why have views changed? Who is responsible?