If dance can be a major, why not sports?

Here at Columbia, you can major in lots of disciplines. English, for example. History. Chemistry. Economics. Spec. Well, maybe not the last one, I guess, even though sometimes it feels that way.

But why can’t you major in sports? Before you dismiss the suggestion as radical and untested, give me a few hundred words to present my case.

First, I question the stigma associated with sports. You might argue that sports is a non-academic discipline. I’d respond by saying that Columbia College lets its students major in dance and music. Yes, it’s true that not all dance classes are hands-on. Dance majors are required to take courses in dance history, movement science, and dance composition. For music, too, majors study music history and music theory en route to a diploma.

Sports should not be any different. A sports major at Columbia would certainly take classes in physical fitness and team sports, but he or she would also be required to study sports history, sports nutrition, and physiology. There could be classes about famous athletes. Hell, I would recommend an entire seminar devoted to the one famous athlete who ever attended Columbia—Lou Gehrig.

Sometimes people perceive sports as all fun and games, but they are wrong. Like many of Columbia’s academic disciplines, sports teach valuable life lessons. With a 4.0 GPA in sports, there is no reason a Columbia graduate couldn’t go far in, say, the business world. If I were designing the sports major at Columbia, I would focus on three key areas of development:

Self-discipline

A successful athlete in any sport—individual or team-based—needs to be in good shape. The weight room isn’t just for offensive linemen and designated hitters, it’s also for long-distance runners, wide receivers, and right fielders. Maintaining a healthy, strong physique takes a lot of work and a lot of hours, just like finishing that Lit Hum reading or history term paper.

Self-discipline is a key driver for success in any field, and a strong athlete must know how to buckle down and take care of business. I’d wager that someone who can control his or her body is probably pretty good about getting up in the morning for an 8-to-6 job as a junior analyst at some bank just after graduation.

Teamwork

Even if a sports major is focusing on individual disciplines, such as running or wrestling, he or she would be required to take classes in team sports like basketball or soccer. Winning (or losing) as a team is one of the most valuable lessons a person can learn. Working in a team teaches an athlete about responsibility, humility, and friendship.

It’s not so different from a group project in science class. Everyone in the group has their role, and everyone knows the team can’t succeed without a complete effort. One slacker could doom the entire operation. In a group study session for biology, for example, if one student is too lazy to prepare an outline for his or her assigned chapters, the whole group is bound to suffer on the exam. Similarly, in a football game where the quarterback, running back, and wide receiver all excel but one guy on the offensive line doesn’t feel like blocking, the whole team will inevitably lose.

Competition breeds success. That offensive lineman wants to impress his teammates and therefore will make sure to give his all on every play. Similar motivations and responses would be called for in any number of postgraduate pursuits, from political campaigns to physics labs to corporate conference rooms.

Leadership

Not every athlete is a team captain, but there are other ways to lead on the field or the court. In basketball, for example, all five players need to understand how a play unfolds and know exactly what to do with the ball if it comes their way.

Still, a quarterback, linebacker, point guard, center fielder, pitcher, shortstop, goalie, center, or sweeper generally has a higher understanding of a sport than the players on the periphery. He or she knows how to direct teammates to work toward a common goal.

A Columbia graduate with a degree in sports who finishes with a high GPA in his or her major would be a valuable asset in any number of vocations. Prospective employers would know they were considering a hard worker who had proven to be a valuable teammate with a broad understanding of how the competitive world operates.

If I majored in sports, I’d hire myself.

Jacob Levenfeld is a List College junior majoring in history and Talmud.
sports@columbiaspectator.com