{"id":2002381,"date":"2023-08-16T11:59:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T15:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-commercialization-of-college-sports-is-ruining-a-great-american-pastime\/"},"modified":"2023-08-16T12:03:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T16:03:12","slug":"the-commercialization-of-college-sports-is-ruining-a-great-american-pastime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-commercialization-of-college-sports-is-ruining-a-great-american-pastime\/","title":{"rendered":"College sports&#8217; commercialization is destroying a beloved American tradition."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-commercialization-of-college-sports-is-ruining-a-great-american-pastime%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2002381&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<div>\n<figure>\n    <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The decision by the Universities of Washington and Oregon to ditch the\u2062 Pac-12 for the Big Ten has\u200d sent shockwaves \u2062through the world of college sports.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier\u2062 this\u2062 month, both schools <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-sports\/story\/_\/id\/38134021\/oregon-washington-officially-leave-pac-12-big-ten\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> they applied and were subsequently accepted to join the Midwest-based Big \u200dTen, meaning\u200c the Huskies and Ducks will become official Big Ten members at the start of the 2024-2025 college football season. The teams\u2019 exits now leave the Pac-12 \u2014 which has been in existence \u200bfor more than 100 years \u2014 on life support, especially given the recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-sports\/story\/_\/id\/38134021\/oregon-washington-officially-leave-pac-12-big-ten\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">departure<\/a> of Colorado and the\u200d expected exit of Arizona.<\/p>\n<p>Remaining member schools such \u2062as Stanford and California are also reportedly looking\u200c to jump ship, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-sports\/story\/_\/id\/38164566\/sources-cal-stanford-acc-hits-significant-roadblocks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ESPN<\/a> reporting that both West Coast-based\u200b teams could be joining the <em>Atlantic Coast<\/em> Conference. You read that correctly. Two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/san-francisco-school-board-spends-hours-debating-whether-gay-father-of-mixed-race-daughter-is-diverse-enough-for-all-female-volunteer-group\/\" title=\"San Francisco School Board Spends Hours Debating Whether Gay Father Of Mixed-Race Daughter Is Diverse Enough For All-Female Volunteer Group\">schools based<\/a> on the Pacific coast could potentially migrate to an Atlantic coast league to play in matchups that hold no historical meaning for them.<\/p>\n<p>Washington and Oregon\u2019s exit from the Pac-12 is hardly the only major <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/story\/_\/id\/35804245\/cfb-conference-realignment-tracker-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conference switch<\/a> to occur in recent \u200cyears, however. In 2021, Texas and \u2062Oklahoma announced they will be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC starting in 2024. Similarly, USC and UCLA announced last year they will join the Big Ten in 2024.<\/p>\n<h2>History and Tradition \u2064Sacrificed for Money<\/h2>\n<p>The main reason for Oregon \u200cand Washington\u2019s \u2063respective departures from the Pac-12 can be traced back to the league\u2019s apparent failure to secure a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desperate-disney-reached-out-to-3-major-companies-to-dump-some-of-espn\/\" title=\"Disney desperately contacted three major companies to offload some of ESPN.\">lucrative media\u200b rights deal<\/a> with major networks. According to\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/ncaa-football\/news\/why-everyone-leaving-pac-12-big-ten-oregon-washington\/w8nj4mmq48olyavgqlfzvytc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sporting News<\/a>, the league\u2019s \u201ccurrent\u200b 12-year, $3 billion with Fox and ESPN will expire in 2024, meaning \u200cthe conference <em>had <\/em>to get a deal in place to\u2063 remain a cohesive whole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With the Pac-12\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-commercialization-of-college-sports-is-ruining-a-great-american-pastime\/\" title=\"College sports' commercialization is destroying a beloved American tradition.\">current media contract expiring<\/a>, league members \u2014 who receive an annual payout\u2062 each year \u2014 would not be subjected to \u201can exit fee\u201d upon their\u200b departure, giving them \u2063leeway to search for alternative conferences that \u2062offer them a better deal. In other words, the progression toward \u2063\u201cmegaconferences\u201d boils down to one thing: money.<\/p>\n<p>While I don\u2019t fault universities for wanting to do \u200dwhat\u2019s in their best financial interest, I take issue with the schools\u2019 clear disregard for the negative effects conference-switching has on college sports \u200bfans\u2019 enjoyment of the game. College sports have thrived off of school rivalries for decades, creating an atmosphere\u2063 where\u2063 jocks and bookworms alike come together \u2064to rally around the home team and defeat their arch-nemesis.<\/p>\n<p>Yearly clashes such as Alabama v. Auburn and Michigan v.\u2064 Ohio State have become religious-like holidays for these teams\u2019 communities, prompting fans to paint their faces in school colors and tailgate for hours ahead of game\u2064 time to show their unwavering support. It\u2019s a beautiful sight to behold.<\/p>\n<p>But conference-switching threatens \u200dto\u200b derail \u200bthis great facet of American culture. Take Texas and Texas\u2064 Tech, for example. Both schools\u2019 football programs\u200b have been intense rivals for decades. The annual matchup has even been dubbed the \u201cBattle for the Chancellor\u2019s Spurs,\u201d as the game\u2019s winner is awarded\u2062 a set of boot spurs.<\/p>\n<p>Now,\u2064 Texas\u2019 move to the \u2064SEC next season puts this\u2064 decades-long rivalry in jeopardy. While there have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/texas\/news\/texas-longhorns-texas-tech-red-raiders-big-12-exit-kirby-hocutt-sec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">talks<\/a> \u2063 between both schools to keep their annual meeting intact, there\u2019s no\u200b guarantee a deal will ever be met; Sports Illustrated\u200c says the talks \u201chave been slow at best.\u201d All that history \u200cand tradition associated with the game could soon become a distant memory.<\/p>\n<p>The overt commercialization of sports \u2014 while advantageous for \u2063universities\u2019 bottom lines \u2014 has disrupted a once enjoyable pastime for millions of devoted fans. Rivalry\u200d games once cherished by millions could vanish, as more big-name schools look to jump conferences to get a bigger piece of the financial pie.<\/p>\n<p>By prioritizing their financial interests over\u2064 the tradition and \u200cheritage long associated with college sports, universities are\u200b threatening to disrupt one of America\u2019s greatest pastimes.\u200c But like many of our nation\u2019s renowned cultural venues, it\u2019s slowly losing\u2062 its shine.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Shawn Fleetwood is a \u200bstaff writer for The Federalist and a\u200c graduate of the University of\u200c Mary Washington. \u200cHe previously served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navy-sailors-indicted-for-sending-sensitive-u-s-military-data-to-chinese-government\/\" title=\"Navy sailors charged for sharing 'sensitive' US military info with China.\">state\u200d content writer<\/a> for Convention of States \u200bAction\u2064 and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, \u200dincluding RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative\u2062 Review. Follow him\u200b on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Universities of Washington and Oregon&#8217;s move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten has caused a stir in college sports. Recently, both schools revealed their successful applications to join the Big Ten, making them official members of the Midwest-based conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2002382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2002381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2002381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2002382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2002381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2002381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2002381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}