Sportsmanship Essay

Being from the Southeastern part of the United States and in particular around the Southeastern Conference, I have seen the many sides of sportsmanship in all sports in the highly-competitive SEC. The 12 institutions as well as the many fans that follow their respective schools take competition in the league very serious. Saturday’s during the fall are as important as attending church on Sundays. Many who follow intercollegiate athletics, football in particular believe that there is two seasons every year – the actual football season itself and the battles in the recruiting wars in the winter months. Sportsmanship usually takes a back seat during recruiting season especially with the fans. Fans want to know who is recruiting who and who is going where and the most important aspect of a recruit to a fan – the number of stars placed by the high school prospect from recruiting internet sites. The question is why rank an incoming recruiting class that has not even stepped foot in a college classroom? Recruiting has led to many scandals that have tarnished intercollegiate athletics. Although there has been some reform in the area of recruiting, I do not believe that you can get everyone on the same page in the recruiting manuals.