8 College Sports That Don’t Get Enough Love
There’s no doubt about it — college football and men’s basketball dominate the collegiate sports arena. These sports draw in the biggest crowds and the most money from ticket sales, alumni donations, and advertising, forcing all other college sports to take a backseat. College football and men’s college basketball will never lose their popularity, but don’t you think we could make a little room for the other sports that are just as tough and demanding? Here are eight college sports that don’t get enough love.
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Tennis:
Men’s and women’s tennis is adored by millions of people worldwide, but the love and support doesn’t seem to be the same for college tennis as it is for professional tennis. Anyone who’s ever played tennis knows it’s a very difficult sport and it takes a lot of technical skills and athleticism to play. Perhaps it’s the fact that tennis is not a team sport or maybe it’s the country club association that turns people away from the sport, but one thing’s for sure — tennis is a tough sport that deserves your attention!
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Wrestling:
You’ve probably seen it depicted in TV and movies, but when was the last time you checked out a college wrestling match? Maybe your college doesn’t have a wrestling team, or maybe you have zero interest in watching sweaty guys grappling on a mat. Whatever the excuse, it’s pretty clear that college wrestling doesn’t have the strong following and popularity that football, basketball, and baseball have. Wrestling is an obscure sport and it’s not available at all high schools. When wrestling isn’t available at the middle or high school level, it’s much harder for athletes to get involved in the sport and compete in college.
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Volleyball:
Volleyball might be popular in high school and played on beaches every summer, but the sport doesn’t get as much love at the college level as there should be. Maybe it has to do with the lack of professional volleyball options after college or the fact that it’s predominantly played by women, but college volleyball deserves way more support and respect.
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Women’s basketball:
Traditionally, women’s sports don’t draw as much attention or have as big of a fan base as men’s sports, and a good example of this is women’s college basketball. Men’s college basketball is easily one of the most popular sports in college, but many schools couldn’t care less about their women’s basketball teams, and that’s a sad, sad fact. Women’s basketball may use a smaller ball and a slightly closer three-point line, but these ladies work and train just as hard as the men.
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Lacrosse:
Lacrosse is a unique mix of several very popular sports like football, soccer, hockey, and even baseball. But despite its popular sport foundation, lacrosse is not nearly as popular as other major sports in college. Many people don’t understand or can’t relate to the game because it is so unique. After all, very few lacrosse games are televised, and the act of throwing and catching a lacrosse ball is a special skill that takes years of training to perfect. But lacrosse is just as fast paced, just as brutal, and just as thrilling as football, and it deserves more love than it gets.
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Gymnastics:
With fewer than 100 colleges competing in gymnastics, it’s no surprise that this rare and physically demanding sport doesn’t get enough love from college sports fans. Gymnastics is an extremely tough sport that requires a great deal of flexibility, agility, balance, coordination, and physical strength. It shouldn’t take the 2012 Summer Olympics for the country to start taking notice of these hardworking athletes. Go support your college gymnastics team today!
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Soccer:
For years, soccer has been treated like the red-headed stepchild of American sports, so it’s no real surprise that college soccer doesn’t get enough love either. Even though soccer is not America’s favorite pastime, there’s no reason why it can’t become a bigger part of our culture. If you’ve ever been to a college soccer match, then you know how incredibly fit and tough these players are. Not only do soccer players run an average of six miles per game, but they also get kicked, tripped, and hit all game long. College soccer players’ athleticism is quite a spectacle and deserves a lot more love from sports fans.
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Hockey:
Hockey is a unique and challenging sport with a rabid following of players and fans, but most of them are rooting for the professionals and not college kids. Hockey is simply not as popular as other sports because it is a difficult sport to play. It requires elaborate and expensive equipment and the unique ability to ice skate. In addition, hockey generally requires either cold weather or specialty ice rinks, both of which are not as widely available as, say, a football field. Despite these hurdles, hockey is an incredibly exciting, often brutal, and extremely fun to watch sport. It simply doesn’t get the love it deserves.
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