Essay #3 Mixed martial arts is one of the fastest-growing sports on the market. The sport’s fan base is excited, dedicated, and extremely supportive. While sports such as football or baseball are far more well-known, mixed martial arts or MMA, as it often referred, is featured regularly on sports news stations, and magazines, such as ESPN. The biggest stars of the sport, such as Conor McGregor, are famous celebrities in their own right. However, there is no college feeder program for the sport, unlike every other major sport in the U.S.
The reasons for making MMA a collegiate sport are as follows. First, for colleges, MMA would present an opportunity to make money off of the spectators of the sport. Fans would be willing to pay decent prices for tickets, bringing income to the school. Second, the popularity of the sport could attract prospective athletes and donors to the school and program. If a school became known as a sort of “breeding ground” for successful MMA fighters, it could attract talented fighters to attend the school, who could then donate back to the school and program. Finally, the rise of the sport means that colleges would be able to make use of another option to attract students. Some schools in the U.S. are able to attract students solely off of the performance of their sports teams. Other schools are able to attract students simply because they have those teams. Therefore, I would like to argue this: Due to the advantages of increased income for the colleges from the sport, as well as the popularity and rise …show more content…
College football teams bring in vast sums of money for their colleges, at least at the high levels of the sport. The University of Alabama football team, for example, brought in $123,769,841 in 2008, courteousy of ESPN.com (This was the most recent figure available). The Texas Longhorns came in second with
The reasons for making MMA a collegiate sport are as follows. First, for colleges, MMA would present an opportunity to make money off of the spectators of the sport. Fans would be willing to pay decent prices for tickets, bringing income to the school. Second, the popularity of the sport could attract prospective athletes and donors to the school and program. If a school became known as a sort of “breeding ground” for successful MMA fighters, it could attract talented fighters to attend the school, who could then donate back to the school and program. Finally, the rise of the sport means that colleges would be able to make use of another option to attract students. Some schools in the U.S. are able to attract students solely off of the performance of their sports teams. Other schools are able to attract students simply because they have those teams. Therefore, I would like to argue this: Due to the advantages of increased income for the colleges from the sport, as well as the popularity and rise …show more content…
College football teams bring in vast sums of money for their colleges, at least at the high levels of the sport. The University of Alabama football team, for example, brought in $123,769,841 in 2008, courteousy of ESPN.com (This was the most recent figure available). The Texas Longhorns came in second with