Has MIT finally lost its brains?

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is home to so many large heads.

Heads that need nurturing. Heads that needs feeding. Heads that need, just occasionally, to sweat and play and bang.

Now, some of MIT's finest brains will be denied these sources of release.

Yes, in a swathing, thoughtless massacre of all that is good and important in human development, MIT has withdrawn funding for eight crucial sports.

No longer will the men and women of MIT be able to represent the school in ice hockey or gymnastics. No longer will the artificial intelligentsia of tomorrow be able to declare: "I alpine ski for MIT."

No longer will they be able to duel with competitive pistols at dawn, nor wrestle their fellow brains from Dartmouth or Cornell to the floor, clutching at their spare tires as if trying to grasp a new thesis.

Who will be surprised if these windows are suddenly assaulted by flying golf balls?

(Credit: CC Open Content/Flickr)

However, perhaps most shocking of all, most stunning to the ear, the eye and the moral system that so many live by, is the fact that MIT will no longer have a golf team.

Golf, a game that requires the precision of a programmer, mixed with the nerveless guile of a venture capitalist. How is it possible that MIT might slice its golf team like the rind of a dried-up ham?

This surely is the equivalent of British ministers eschewing semi-clothed sex in the Houses of Parliament.

Might I beg those who seem to believe that saving a derisory $1.5 million on this insane potential-shrinking scheme consider whether they have accidentally donated their brains to some Cuban cloud computing cabal?

Our finest technological brains need golf to appreciate how capricious a game, and therefore life, can be. They need golf to grasp how even the most perfect stroke can be diverted by the mere grain of growing grass.

They need to understand the pain of poor club selection. Yes, they need to appreciate that sometimes they're just not right.

If golf doesn't tell them, who will?

[Angmarr]

Honestly I wish some other universities would devote ""some"" funding from sports to academics!

[cvaldes1831]

And I wish some other universities would devote "some" funding to cheerleading.

[Angmarr]

@ cvaldes1831

I don't get it? does MIT supposed to have a bad cheerleading or something!?

[xhable]

@Angmarr

more to the question, why don't you like cheerleaders? I belive It's the most important sport to keep going :p

[3DPhoto]

I work for a Div 1 university, and I am academic, not athletic. I don't know about MIT, but I can tell you that, at most schools, football funds itself as well as other athletic and academic programs. Like it or not, it is a money-maker. So in fact, money is usually diverted from football to academics, not the other way around.

[markdoiron]

3DPhoto wrote: " I work for a Div 1 university, and I am academic, not athletic. I don't know about MIT, but I can tell you that, at most schools, football funds itself as well as other athletic and academic programs..."
A couple years ago a sports writer was researching a book to prove that very point. His book ended up proving, to his dismay, the exact opposite. Very few schools are fortunate to have any of their sports programs pay for themselves. --mark d.

[minkokiss]

3DPhoto wrote: " I work for a Div 1 university, and I am academic, not athletic. I don't know about MIT, but I can tell you that, at most schools, football funds itself as well as other athletic and academic programs..."
A couple years ago a sports writer was researching a book to prove that very point. His book ended up proving, to his dismay, the exact opposite. Very few schools are fortunate to have any of their sports programs pay for themselves. --mark d.

Mark. D can you name the author and the book? This would be a very interesting read as I have been hearing this to be the strongest argument for excessive funding of Sports over academics in almost every big school.

Thank you

M

[sandor_f]

minkokiss:

http://tinyurl.com/d9epxu
http://tinyurl.com/czpatt
http://tinyurl.com/czpatt


three amazon links, theses three books will provide a well-rounded look at varsity athletics in universities.


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5248/is_12_21/ai_n29080199/
this is an article from Arkansas Business, which is state-specific, but as a case study, displays the dismal financials of athletics programs in universities. Yes, D1 schools may be able to make money, but when you are talking about the thousands of schools D1 AA and D2 and D3, most of those schools will be losing money through their athletics programs.

[rayvix]

You know, I really wish my school, the University of Washington would do this exact same thing. The state legislature just passed a bill that cuts funding to the UW by 26%. Tuition is going up by $1800 over the next two years. At the same time, the athletes get priority registration, priority housing, a free ride through their 4-year and all-expenses-paid trips all over the country... TO PLAY A GAME! I know sports bring in revenue for the school, but lets be realistic. Football, baseball and basketball bring in revenue. I feel the rest should be fair game for the accountants.

[lovesh_1]

The game of Cricket also conveys about the capriciousness of life. Moreover, Cricket teaches the value of patience and accumulation (especially the 5 day version). Cricket builds character. Cricket may be a game better suited to turn out leaders since one has to strategise over a longer period and learn how to tackle the opposing team.

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

@lovesh_1,

And, of course, the beautiful thing about the 5-day version is that, quite often, as in life, nobody wins at all.

Chris

[jezzur]

What is this kri-kit?

[lalomartins]

I have a feeling you're being sarcastic, but for the record: yay for anyone who decides to waste less money on sports and put it on education and technological advancement instead.

[gsekse]

MIT can get away with dropping sports. If they dropped ALL sports, they would still have more applicants than spaces for them to go. It is true though, it would be nice if college was MORE about learn stuff, and LESS about "life lessons" that everyone "claims" they get from college. College is a fantasy world, nothing like it exists outside of college.

[bootchmagoo]

Very true. For the vast majority of undergraduates, college is very much a fantasy world. The entire experience is on someone else's dime and the student's only real responsibility is to show up (sometimes).

[loose_screw]

I don't know about you, but I went to school to learn, not to play sports. Less of students' dollars that go toward sports, the better IMO. Seems like the majority of other commenters agree.

[Maine_Dude]

Physical development is just as important as intellectual development. If sports are going to be cut, it should be replaced with some other form of physical education, perhaps martial arts, dancing, or outdoor programs. Even us nerds need healthy bodies in which to enshrine our superior brains:)

[assman]

I think students can exercise and do physical activities just fine out of school, no need to waste money on it in college. Spend it in the gym.

[loose_screw]

I suppose that is why most educational institutions have gyms.

[Inconnux]

You want to get more nerds in shape at university? Ban knuckle draggers from the gym... Universities shouldn't waste any money on sports

[dascha1]

Come on, it's obvious why. They're increasing funding for their Marching Band to compete with the Nation's finest sounding (even a 'better-sound' than USC during the 'title' part of '08 F-ball season):

The Marching Royal Dukes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DugJtVsCg-k

[totalmonkey]

And this one time, at software engineering camp,...

[caladan607]

As long as the sports are self-funding and contribute something to the academic expenses, keep them going. They provide a release and build stronger bonds among students. However, no school sport should be funded by student tuition. They need to be not only self-funded but also provide income to the school.

[markdoiron]

Did they ban golf, wrestling, gymnastics or the various other sports mentioned in the article? No. They just stopped funding the intramural program; students are free to continue to participate in various sports--and should be encouraged to do so by a school that provides the facilities for it. They've got their priorities right. --mark d.

[sparrowhyperion]

I tell ya. I went there, and withdrawing the sports funding from a group of super intelligent techno geeks is NOT a smart thing to do. I mean the students there know about a thousand ways to exact creative revenge with a high powered Helium Neon laser.. And I won't even go into what they can do with a bottle of liquid Nitrogen..... Not smart at all.

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

@sparrowhyperion,

I feel, that with your perspicacity and sense of perspective, you may, one day, be in the higher echelons of government.

We need more people like you.

Chris

[Ted Miller]

Sports do help to build the brain is very true. What MIT needs to do is incorporate "lifestyle" sports to their curriculum. Golf is one of them, vollyball, badmittin, squash are some others. When these geek and nerds leave collage it would be nice if they took one of these not so aggressive sports with them. For again it should be mentioned, that they do help to strengthen the mind, body and spirit. Especially when it comes to working off all those twinkies!

[shldvebnacwby]

I think you should look into MIT a bit more. Students are REQUIRED to take gym classes and do stuff outside of being science and tech geeks. They have plenty of different kinds of gym classes for everyone to take (shooting, bowling, karate, sailing, the list goes on and on...) and they have tons of intramural sports. The bottom line is that MIT is arguably the best science and engineering school on the planet and they are in Division III athletics. It is natural that they want to keep up their academics instead of their sports.

[pentest]

Really?

Maybe 1 in 100 'student' athletes belong in college, and I am being generous.

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

@Ted Miller,

Twinkies. Yes, Twinkies. Their effects need to be fought with all society's might.

Chris

[Ted Miller]

I just could not help it! ;-)

[Maarek Stele]

The new look of MIT students and staff

http://www.spurgeonworld.com/blog/images/farnsworth.jpg

[bonesbautista]

I've got to get on the *** bandwagon here, but I'm all for dropping athletics at MIT. If those guys and gals want to bang heads at MIT, that's what intramural sports are for. Given MIT competed in 40+ sports (they have a pistol team, and had at least 25 more sports teams than my alma mater, a small private school competing at the D-I level) and the state of the economy, I think most taxpayers won't have too much heartache over paring down MIT's competitive sports teams to, say, 32-35 teams. Sheesh.

[ledhead1962]

My first thought on this was that it was a bad thing - you know, the balance of life, all work and no play makes Eugene a dull boy - but on reflection I am not so sure. The story says these programs are going south but that doesn't mean that students won't be able to participate intramurally to de-stress themselves. I highly doubt that the sports mentioned offer much in the way of donations, hockey maybe, but target shooting - nope. I also wonder how many scholarships 1.5 million buys. So instead of being an ill considered decision by the administration it is possible that they just might have a point. Hmm?

[gorgeclimber]

If you have ever visited the MIT campus, you can see where they could stand to maintain their buildings better. The millions saved by eliminating the sports programs can be put to better use. Gosh, mabe some money could be spent on improving academic programs.

More colleges should consider this also.

[eddroid]

2 words: Wii Sports. Any sport that can be played on a Wii should be defunded until the economy improves.

[bootchmagoo]

Agreed!

[Ted Miller]

Might not be a bad idea, I lost 30 pounds with Wii fit. Go figure ;-}

[loose_screw]

Congrats!

[esolomon15]

Stop thinking every decision exists in a vacuum. Universities like MIT are fueled on alumni donations and that is an important factor to consider when cutting sports. Not only is it a smack in the face to the students in the varsity program, who in the future will be a pool of potential revenue, it is also an insult to current alumni who generously gave to MIT, only to see their money wasted in "protecting" a multi-billion dollar endowment. The BEST way to protect an endowment is to give the students the best experience you can DESPITE an economic downturn - they'll show their appreciation with the dollars they make a few years down the road.

[SergeM256]

Sport is for dumb students. Colleges should support some recreational-level athletic activities but competition-level sports does not belong to college.

[Inconnux]

exactly... keep golf, drop football... :) actually as long as the university doesn't waste a dime on sports programs it shouldn't matter.

[idfubar]

By your logic the entire student body would be dumb as the change pertains to intramural sports.