In the US, the hype around college sports is intrinsically ingrained in the sporting culture, with ties to professional leagues and lucrative career opportunities. College athletes become stars before they have even graduated and scouts closely monitor the college leagues. Furthermore, athletic scholarships are often a ticket to higher education for students that wouldn’t be able to attend college otherwise, but also place a premium on sporting talent in the prestigious college admissions process in the US.
However, in the UK, university sport occupies the role of a hobby for most people, often being an extracurricular used to make friends, get exercise and continue with sports they enjoyed in school and when they were younger. Competitions like BUCS and Varsities up and down the country are cherished at most universities and an integral part of a huge amount of university students’ experience, but they lack the national attention and professional development that the American counterpart has. These events are more likely to be covered on university-led media platforms like Forge, rather than national companies.
One exception to the rule is the Oxbridge boat race, a historic event that captures much more interest than a lot of other varsity sport in the UK. With an average audience of 4.4m viewers, it stands out as the most watched university sport event in the UK. However, even this pales in comparison to tournaments like the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which boasted an average viewership of 10.1m across all platforms in 2021.
Despite the differences, UK universities are making enormous strides in investing in sports programmes, providing intensive training plans and state-of-the-art facilities to amateur athletes. Nevertheless, it’s unlikely that university sport in the UK will ever reach the same heights as the American version. The structure of sports development in both countries is completely different. In the UK, the focus on professional sport begins at an extremely young age; professional men’s football clubs often start their academies at under-9 level. This means that children as young as 8 can begin playing for a professional club and will follow that route throughout until they reach professional level, if they do so. The structure of this is that until 16 they play for the academy part-time alongside school, but then if they make it to the under 18s squad, they become a full-time footballer, with different schemes on offer for them to complete qualifications in other things at the club.
However, there are many stages they need to make it past before they are a senior player, as after this they need to make the under 21s and then make the step-up to the senior squad. This can lead to dreams being crushed in many ways, whether that’s not making it into the squad and being left with little to no aspirations or skills for anything other than football, or even being sent to a team that pays very little in the lower leagues. The impact this can have on aspiring players’ mental health is immense, and it is pivotal that clubs make an effort to conduct wellbeing checks on past and present players, as the selection process can be incredibly stressful for young people. Maybe if they had a university degree alongside it, like those in the American system often do, they would have more hope after football.
This aspect of the American system has been lauded for its ability to provide opportunities for athletes beyond their sport. Even if they don’t make it to leagues like the NBA, NFL or the NHL, athletes will have their degree and pursue successful careers outside of the sporting world, mitigating a lot of the risks associated with a singular focus on athletics.
Although it would be great for UK universities to adjust to a more American model, they are unlikely to match the acclaim and infrastructure of American college sports. The differences in culture, development pathways and attitudes towards education contribute to this contrast. After all, do all great athletes make great academics?
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