A Sports Performance Major at Pacific

William Knox Holt Memorial Library and Learning Center

Myles Brand, the first President of the NCAA to be a former faculty member and university president, offered a provocative defense of the role and value of intercollegiate athletics in universities. He argued that they are substantively similar to traditional performing arts, such as dance and music, and so should be accepted by faculty as a legitimate part of a university’s educational mission. I contend that Brand did not bring his persuasive analogical argument to its logical conclusion: intercollegiate athletics should become a part of the academic curriculum by contributing to a new, first-of-its kind 'Sports Performance’ major. In my presentation, I describe the rationale for this major, its specific liberal arts-oriented curriculum, the learning objectives and outcomes, the results of a survey of Pacific athletes about the desirability of the major, and how playing a competitive sport can be considered a liberal art.