Introduction

Welcome to the online collection of materials for Contemporary Issues in Sports. The idea behind designing an online open resource for this class was a desire to stay current in several different areas that apply to the social science areas behind the study of sport and recreation management. It is our sincere hope that this resource will help expose you to the definitions and theory that will lead to better understanding current and future issues that challenge our industry of sport. Our industry is asked to be both a mirror and model to our society, while being run as a self-sufficient business and a conduit to the community for other businesses.

In the United States, we ask a lot of sport and recreation: as a personal refuge, a fitness element, a community builder, a conservation interest, an educational tool, a leadership development opportunity, a marketing vehicle, entertainment resource or a source of local, regional or national pride. We expect sport and recreation to simultaneously create and maintain social norms. We look to sport to be an example of meritocracy and then root, play and enjoy based on tradition, regionalism and belief.

Sport and recreation is not a social science unto itself. It is a construction that is influenced and partially explained by every branch of social science – as well as the physical sciences – as a human need as we have learned to live in community with others. This course will introduce students to some of the fields of social and business sciences that impact the way we organize and perform sport and recreation in the United States. This format is chosen with the goal to allow the effort to be as collaborative as sport and recreation themselves.