The Varsity does its best to cover all the sports teams on campus; however, some of the spotlight needs to be shed on a few teams. First, the women’s hockey team should receive more coverage after a successful first half because they are in a tight race for OUA supremacy. Furthermore, Jacqueline Cherevaty will be chasing the record for most points in an OUA season; all eyes will be on her. The team looks in good shape to capture the title if all goes well.
The men’s basketball team seems to be turning the tide in the new year. At the moment they are at 4-6, but they have won three straight games. If they continue to play strong they should be able to crack the top three. More press should be devoted to the progress of the team, especially because they have quite a few home games in the next couple of months.
Finally, the women’s swim team is in line to win its fifth straight OUA title, and there haven’t been many stories covering the women in blue. Many of the girls from the swim team have qualified for the CIS championships, so the coverage should be heightened.
-NADEEM SIDDIQUI
In our society today, sports have emerged as an enormous source of entertainment. More importantly, they have become a major source of revenue. The Varsity’s coverage of sports should hinge directly on the popularity of a sport and its ability to generate funds.
The focus of this newspaper should be fixed on the four major professional sports-baseball, basketball, football, and hockey-as they hold the greatest earning potential.
A greater amount of publicity to these four sports should, in turn, create a greater fan base and turnout at events. This in turn would force advertisers to sit up and take notice. Revenues from sponsorship or television deals could then be reinvested back into university athletics.
CBS Sports pays $237 million US per year to have television rights to NCAA championships. This is a model that Canadian networks could follow.
Michigan State University’s Spartan Stadium, which recently underwent a renovation, expects to provide its athletic department with an income of $1 million US this year. These funds could then be put into less popular sports in a sort of profit-sharing system.
Although these comparisons seem very far fetched, they are not out of line. Why couldn’t Canadian schools market themselves better, sign huge television deals, and turn sports into profitable ventures, instead of draining university funds?
A greater commitment by the university and its media outlets to athletics would greatly improve the academic lives of all students, faculty, and administration.
-MIKE LYMER
