Of all the events on campus, sports might be the one that best brings the school together. We all know the sense of unity that we feel when we sit in the stands and cheer for our team to make the winning touchdown or score that final basket in overtime.

Even in defeat, we are bound in our mutual sense of heartbreak. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat: all of those are felt universally by everyone in attendance.

Sports are an activity that ties us together: spectator and athlete, student and professor, or community member and family. Whatever the role one plays we all feel a connection to the game and to the sport, no matter what game it might be.

So why does our school seem to favor certain sports over others, time and time again? It seems that only some sports garner proper attention from the university, while others are forced to create their own publicity.

It is not to say that the school isn’t equally proud of all of their sports and athletes.

This is more a matter of the promotions and advertising, press, and public statements that are released from the school to the public and to the campus in regards to all of its sports. It feels that the focus is typically shifted to a few specific sports, while others are mentioned more rarely.

Perhaps it is because these sports are the most commonly talked about in society in general, so it would make sense they receive more attention on a campus level. If this is true, there are a couple of responses that could be made.

First, awareness of a sport is cyclical: people only know about it, and thus develop an interest in it, if it’s promoted. And promotions only seem to occur for the sports people are already the most aware of.

So if the school wanted to create more interest in an under-discussed sport, the best way to do that would be to start promoting it more heavily.

Secondly, it should be remembered that these sports are at the collegiate level. The athletes and coaches train and perform to the best of their abilities, and many will probably advance to the professional level in the future.

Another possible reason is because some sports bring in more money than others.

But as we are in college we should remember that part of the purpose of taking part in sports is for the experience and not solely for the sake of winning. There should be a stronger sense of equality on a campus-wide level than would be expected at a professional level.  Each sport should be given a fair amount of publicity and public support regardless of its current social popularity or success as a team.

Success as a team brings up another interesting point. If the promotions of sports are based on a basis of success, meaning those that win the most will receive the most attention, then the balance of attention seems even more unbalanced.

Football does not have the strongest record of wins out of all the sports found on campus, yet it receives the most university attention and the highest attendance during games. Meanwhile, other sports such as track and baseball do consistently well, yet receive less attention.

The best thing you can do is go to track meets, soccer games or the other numerous sports that occur regularly throughout the seasons.  Word of mouth is another pivotal and inexpensive way to spread the word about upcoming events.

The Bulletin would like to do its share and increase its coverage of upcoming sports events as well as recaps of what has recently occurred. Any ideas or suggestions can be sent to Shane Wilson, editor of the sports section for The Bulletin.

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