Book Review #1

Dowling, William C. Confessions of a Spoilsport: My Life and Hard Times Fighting Sports Corruption at an Old Eastern University. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007. Print.

In Dowlings, Confessions of a Spoilsport: My Life and Hard TImes Fighting Sports Corruption at an Old Eastern University, there are many different issues presented that strongly depict how big-time college athletics are toxic to the learning environment of higher education. The primary focus of Dowling's experience is at Rutgers University. Rutgers, once in what is known as the Patriot League, played Ivy League institutions such as Princeton, Colombia, and Yale, made the transition into the Big East conference. This was the beginning of an all out invasion that would prove to throw aside the intellectual foundation of the University. Increased funding and a focus on athletics inevitably resulted in a loss of a the educational environment that once consumed Rutgers. Dowling reflects on his experiences with the RU1000, a club dedicated to getting the word out about the reality of Big-time athletics in higher education. Through many ups and downs, the fight to get Rutgers back to the University that it once was would prove to be one that was out of the reach of such a small organization. All in all, Dowling provides evidence that shows just how harmful Div IA athletics are to the integrity of higher education, essentially alluding to the fact that there is no room for glorified athletics in higher education. 

William C. Dowling, once a professor of English at the University of New Mexico, experienced the corruption of athletics and how they diminish the value of education. He has seen, first hand, the negative effects that follow an institutions commitment to Div IA athletics. With his experience and ever lasting respect for education in American institutions, there is no better person to present these controversial facts. 

Some terms used frequently in his book are the "magic sphere" of Division IA athletics, and he often uses sports boosters as the reason that athletics continue to be such an important part of college.

Magic Sphere- is the term used to depict the bubble of corruption that surrounds college athletics. In this sphere anything goes , and recruits are guaranteed acceptance to a university at any cost necessary. 

Sports Boosters- sports advocates that view college athletics as the heart of a university. These people don't see any harm, only the so called benefit, that sports bring to a university. 

“a world in which the power wielded by the athletics department could rearrange, to any degree necessary, the environment in which athletes lived their daily lives” (pg. 7).-This quote describes the power tat athletics coaches have, and shows the corruption that lurks behind the curtain of college athletics programs. 

“..the only thing that matters at a university is big-time sports, the symbolic center of the institution has shifted profoundly”. (pg. 9).-The center of American institutions was once academics, but the presence of big-time athletics programs had lead to abrupt shift in the priorities of the modern institution. 

"Universities exist to transmit knowledge and understanding of ideas and values to students, and to add to the body of intellectual knowledge, not to provide entertainment for spectators or employment for athletes". -Friedman (pg.56).- Milton Friedman, a decorated Rutgers alumni endorsed the RU1000, and makes a clear point that athletics, in no way, contributes to the academic atmosphere that should be the center of a university. 

The material explained in Dowling's book strongly supports the topic of my research paper in the manner that it shows the degrading priorities of an institution committed to athletic success. It essentially provides me with the evidence needed to construct a well rounded research paper on the growing issue of Division IA athletics in higher education. It is short and to the point, with a clear message, it has proven to be exactly what I need to further my research.