OUR VIEW: Althletics give school recognition

The shot goes up, the ball goes in, the Aggies win … and another future college student pays attention to the success of Utah State athletics.

The key words there being “Utah State.”

Universities across the nation spend millions of dollars every year to support athletics programs, money that some skeptics say could be used for libraries, new professors, academic scholarships, or some other worthy cause.

Why do they spend all the money?

Because people like sports. Athletics are perhaps the most visible marketing tool colleges have. Sporting events bring people together, they unite people and give them an identity and something to cheer for.

When high school students rank their top choices in universities, obviously they consider how good the academic department they are interested in majoring is. They consider the location of the school, how far it is from home (whether to be close to parents or as far away as possible), and the overall atmosphere of the school, including extra-curricular activities and sports teams.

This is where Top 25 rankings count.

Win or lose, sports scores get reported across the country every night in the pages of newspapers, magazines, and on radio and television broadcasts.

That’s the kind of exposure money can’t buy.

Of course, the better your team is the more exposure your school gets. That’s why the success of Utah State’s men’s basketball team is so good for the school. It gets people – whether future students, alumni or donors – “think”-ing about Utah State.