Reflection

As the semester draws to an end I look back on my course work and believe that the classes I have taken will help me in the future.

I have been in two communications classes: Media, Advertising, and Society; and Business and Professional Communication. In addition I am taking History of Sport in the Western World, which discusses how sport has evolved over time. My final two classes were Entrepreneur classes through the school of Business. I think that I have taken away valuable lessons from all of these classes which will help me in the Marketing/Public Relations field of sports.

I am also very excited to start my course work for next semester. I am enrolled in two communications classes, two sports studies classes, and Entrepreneurial marketing. I firmly believe that these classes will also contribute to preparing me for my future career.

Ethics of Recruiting: Tennessee Football

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/sports/ncaafootball/09tennessee.html

This article discusses an investigation on the recruiting practices used by the University of Tennessee's football staff. It is suggested that they have violated recruiting regulations and have used legendary Tennessee football stars to persuade perspective student athletes to commit to their school.

I think that recruiting in the NCAA is a very tricky, and touchy subject. There are many rules that the normal population does not understand. A perspective student athlete has strict rules on who they can talk to and under what circumstances. If these regulations are violated a player may lose their eligibility.

Personally, I think that some of these rules are a little over the top, and I understand that it makes it difficult for an athlete to make an informed decision. However, I think that they are set up in a way that provides each athlete and each school with a fair chance at matching up with the perfect fit. I think that these rules are essential in order to eliminate one school from becoming to big of a powerhouse in a certain sport.

I am glad that the NCAA is continuing to investigate recruiting practices, and I hope that other schools learn from Tennessee and recruit in the right way.

Tiger Wood: Sex scandal

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Tiger-Woods-ads-pulled-as-alleged-sex-photos-surface/H1-Article1-484879.aspx

This article, along with many others I have read, discuss how all of the company's sponsoring Tiger Woods have chosen to drop him as a representative following his late night car crash scandal.

Tiger Woods has been winning golf tournaments for as long as I can remember, and I have been cheering him on all this time. Unfortunately , his nearly perfect name has been tarnished after recently being accused of drinking/ doing drugs while driving, in addition to numerous sex scandals while married with a child.

Woods has lost the respect of his fans, both young and old, and I honestly don't think that there is any way he can come back from it. I heard a TV announcer saying that the American people are very forgiving, and will be willing to look past it if he apologizes and does everything in his power to correct the situation. However, when someone is put on such a high pedestal for such a long time, I don't think it is possible for them to make it back to where they were after making such drastic mistakes. I think that drastic measures will have to be taken to gain back the trust and respect of our country, and even then, I don't think it will be the same as it once was.

My inspiration:

Here are three blogs that inspired me to start my own;

http://bx.businessweek.com/sports-marketing/blogs/
Has great updates, and reactions to the latests sports news


http://sportsbiznews.blogspot.com/
Contains the comments and insights of SBN Publisher Howard Bloom regarding current sports news

http://www.thesportseconomist.com/
Discusses the economical point of current events in the sports industry