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Yep, that's the way it is. Universities are only incidentally about knowledge and learning. Please do not confuse the grant money draw that is research with e

Yep, that's the way it is. Universities are only incidentally about knowledge and learning. Please do not confuse the grant money draw that is research with either teaching or learning. Clearly they are part of it but money is the main driver. Money is priority #1, that's why sports are so important. Money is important to students as well, the bulk of the income their degree will generate depends on the reputation of the school, not on how much they actually know. And that's when they are first entering the job market. After that first job, the only way college matters is through the relationships you built there. Obviously relationships you build at work matter more and more over time. And here again sports is important in creating that image of tribal success that draws the people that you want to connect with, to make it far in life after college. That's the way life and college work. If you don't like this harsh and cynical money based game, go to a school that doesn't have a sports program and be a scholar. And if you do that, don't ever think about money. If you do find yourself thinking about money, especially more then is needed to simply survive, then get an MBA... preferably from a school with a very successful sports program.

petercooper 18y ago
That's true in the US, but sports has barely any importance at all in British universities (and perhaps applies to the EU generally). Okay, we all know about the Oxford vs Cambridge boat race, but beyond that, there's no public exposure to university sports. I think the focus on sports at US colleges says a lot about the US, rather than universities or the education system in general.
davi 18y ago
"Money is important to students as well, the bulk of the income their degree will generate depends on the reputation of the school, not on how much they actually know." Only for non-entrepreneurial types. I think for an entrepreneur (in whatever arena -- business, programming, scientific research), using college as a sort of pure, long-term investment in a general arsenal of facts and perspectives can actually pay off very nicely in the long run. Time will tell if I'm right....

petercooper 18y ago

That's true in the US, but sports has barely any importance at all in British universities (and perhaps applies to the EU generally). Okay, we all know about the Oxford vs Cambridge boat race, but beyond that, there's no public exposure to university sports. I think the focus on sports at US colleges says a lot about the US, rather than universities or the education system in general.

davi 18y ago

"Money is important to students as well, the bulk of the income their degree will generate depends on the reputation of the school, not on how much they actually know." Only for non-entrepreneurial types. I think for an entrepreneur (in whatever arena -- business, programming, scientific research), using college as a sort of pure, long-term investment in a general arsenal of facts and perspectives can actually pay off very nicely in the long run. Time will tell if I'm right....