Thomas and Smith 1

Jonathan Thomas and Donald Smith

Daniel Frank
English 1030
February 16, 2015
Discourse Exploration: College Football
From the biggest sports enthusiast to the sports hater, everyone has
an idea of what College athletics is. The reality is that very few, even the die
hard fans, actually know what college athletics truly is. To know the depths
about college athletics one has to live it, experience it, and be immersed in
it. In James Paul Gees terms one must be a member of this Discourse to fully
grasp its essence. This identity kit as Gee defines it is extensive and
involves everything from values and morals to behavior and habits of the
individuals involved in this Discourse. College athletics, which will be
narrowed down to football for the purposes of this paper, is a distinct group
of college young men that eat, sleep, and live with each other day in and day
out. Through this paper, there will be deep analysis of the values and
behaviors of college football athletes and how their unique Discourse affects
the greater conversation going on around them.
Just as in any community of people there are daily routines and
behaviors that a majority embody. This is no different for college football
programs. There are distinct things that set every program apart from
others, and even in some cases can bring them together. College football is a
massive sport that is watched and followed so expectantly by millions of

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people. Therefore these athletes and coaches put tremendous amounts of

time, effort, and money into delivering the best entertainment to their loyal
fans and the nation. This time and effort do not come with ease. It takes
dedication and a deep rooted commitment to the team for success. This type
of commitment shapes the individual into what would be deemed a
Discourse for that specific program. This could not be more evident than in
the first hand account of Jabari Howard in his personal blog that was shared
on the Huffington Post website. Jabari recounts countless hours put into the
program, even saying the fall camp is the longest three weeks of the entire
year. During that span of time the entire team is required to attend practice
from 7am in the morning until position meetings are done, which is some
time after dinner. This amount of time together creates a sense of family,
something that Jabari claims makes it all worth it (Howard). In Jabari's
statement he is shinning light on how much he values family and community.
By saying that all the hard work is worth it explicitly for the sense of
belonging that he attains directly shows that college football athletes put
value into this aspect of the sport and this Discourse. Jabari exemplifies here
that the family aspect is important, that it matters to him that they have a
deep relationship. This dedication shapes the habits and lifestyle of this
community of football players that provides them unique habits and
characteristics that extend through the whole team. Douglas talks about the
unity required in winning sports teams in his paper from the journal

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Sociology of Sports, this unity has to create a distinct Discourse unique to

every football team.
In-state tuition at Michigan State University in 2011 for four years of
schooling is $78,000. That was the numerical value placed on Kirk Cousins
education. Kirk Cousins was MSUs former, starting quarterback. As a junior
in 2011, Cousins only had one more year of school until he would go on to
graduate from MSU with a degree in kinesiology (ONeil). Cousins is quoted,
I dont think any of us can understand what having a college degree can do
for you going forward, and, honestly, we wont until maybe we retire.
Although Cousins received a free education, he shows that he still
understands the value of an education from a four-year university. This
understanding roots itself to the beliefs and morals of the players. Many
players can be cited saying that they are thankful for the opportunity to
attend a four year institution and receive a free education. Showing that the
college football Discourse has values in education and many capitalize on
the opportunity to further their education. While Cousins is a strong advocate
for playing in order to receive an education, there are still a plethora of
athletes in the college football Discourse that are only playing in order to
move up to the next level and eventually receive monetary reimbursement
for their athleticism. Looking deep into this idea really exposes that college
athletes are not here for just football and other aspects of the Discourse
involve enriching their future in some way. They have values that extend
past the present moment, whether that is in the classroom or professional

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field. These college athletes have something they value for the future. This
juxtaposition exemplifies the idea that different programs can shapes values
differently and the morals of some athletes can be distinguished by the
behaviors that they express on and off the field.
After exploring the Discourse of college football athletes and going in
depth with the behaviors and values represented in them, the conversations
that are being conducted now are also very important. One of the biggest
and quite frankly controversial conversations happening within this
Discourse is the decision of paying college football players. As hinted at
above college football makes an enormous amount of money in a single
season. In fact Image 1 shows the monetary value of every BCS college
football program (see Appendix), with 50% of them cashing in at over 150
million dollars (Everson). This is an enormous amount of money that is
passing through these programs and one would assume that the players are
receiving some portion of it. The answer is yes and no; because it all
depends on what the player and the observer define as a portion of it. Many
critics hold the stance that college athletes are paid through free education
and many other benefits like; expert coaching, on-campus housing, frequent
meals, non-uniform clothing, free medical consultation, free access to stateof-the-art training facilities and free professional development (Zimbalist).
However, since you can't trade knowledge (i.e., mental enhancement) for
an immediate financial asset, higher education is often assumed to have no
value for athletes (Burton). The previous quote comes from Richard Burton

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a Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University and he claims an

opinion that many hold true. Basically the idea that college athletes are
getting paid by the education they receive does not keep food on the table.
This may seem far fetched at first but it is true, mental enhancement does
not put immediate spending money in the pocket of the player. This is a
problem when the players are asked to commit 40 hours a week to the sport
and take a full load of classes, leaving no time to have a job. Either way the
conversation is observed, it is impacting the college football Discourse as a
whole. Many programs have been caught violating the rules and giving top
players more incentives than others. Image 2 is a cartoon that uses rhetoric
extensively to show how the NCAA has true capitalist values when it comes
to its athletes (See Appendix). The line in the cartoon, only I can shows
perfectly that all the money revenue goes straight to the big businessmen of
the NCAA. The swirls around the athletes head is trying to show how the
athletes are being misled and misinformed on the whole matter, leaving
them in a state of confusion and almost making it seem like they are dumb
for putting up with it. This is directly affecting the Discourse by adding in
values and morals that might not have been there otherwise. Players that
are now aware of the money they could be making are deciding the break
the rules now in order to attain money. Secret behaviors (such as under the
table payment) that might have never been practiced if this conversation
was not having such an impact of this Discourse.

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The Discourse of college football is extensive and immersive. The

uniqueness that it carries with it is interesting and requires participation to
truly understand. The community that is created and is required to be great
is deeply rooted in each player. Every individual program has a team-created
culture around them that shapes the habits and behaviors of everyone on
the team. From waking up together at 7 am to eating all three meals
together, the community atmosphere is an important part of this Discourse.
The values that the players hold can vary from player to player, many
players play for their education as seen in Cousins testimony. Others play for
the opportunity to make it to the next level and earn a living. Each players
reason for playing shapes their individual part in the Discourse as a whole.
These ideas of behaviors and values all play a role in the conversation that is
happening in this Discourse currently. Paying of college football players is a
controversial topic that is under increased debate and statistical analysis.
The players are being impacted by this conversation and the Discourse is
possibly taking on new aspects because of this. What ever the case, College
football as a Discourse is one shaped and molded by each players personal
values and morals and the impact, as a collective, that the players have on
the program.

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Appendix
Image 1: Visual representation of the amount of money that each individual
schools football program is valued at in millions (Everson, 2013).

Image 2: This is a cartoon showing the irony of the NCAA making money off
of Todd Gurleys jersey, while he makes nothing.

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Work Cited
Burton, Richard. "College Athletes Are Already Paid With Their Education."US News. U.S.News
& World Report, 02 Apr. 2013. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.
Everson, Darren. "What Is Your Team Worth?" WSJ. Wall Street Journal, 07 Jan. 2013. Web. 10
Feb. 2015.
Foley, Douglas E. "The Great American Football Ritual." Sociology of Sports 7 (1990): 111-35.

Web. 08 Feb. 2015.

Howard, Jabari. "The Life of a Student Athlete." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com,
06 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
O'Neil, Dana. "The View from The inside." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 13 July 2011. Web.
11 Feb. 2015.

Zimbalist, Andrew. "The Cost of Paying Athletes Would Be Far Too High." US
News. U.S.News & World Report, 01 Apr. 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.