Forward

Jennifer Lee Hoffman

What is the place of sports at a university?

Spring 2024 brings the 3rd Edition in the series, the 4th collection overall, showcasing student perspectives on a simple question, what is the place of sports at a university? As in previous EDUC 200 classes, the question is seemingly simple, but just as varied as each student experience of college is unique.

 

Image of a banner hanging on the UW clocktower outside Kane Hall. There is aperson dressed as UW Husky Mascot 'Dubs' in the stands with other fans at a UW football game
UW Football Banner hanging in Red Square | Photo Credit: Jennifer Hoffman | CC BY SA NC

In the 3rd edition, we continue taking up the question of the place of sports amidst the excitement of an incredible sports year on college campuses. From the 2024 media frenzy over women’s college basketball to our own University of Washington football program playing in a National Championship, student contributors examined the impact of these highly visible sports on a campus. Just as importantly, are stories that reveal the impact in so many other sports opportunities a campus offers. Those stories are featured prominently in this edition.

 

From spikeball to snowboarding, student sports interests are known play an important role in helping foster a sense of belonging and building community. But how exactly does this happen? To answer this question, students examine the place of sports on campus across a wide range of sports and locations. We explore place as a physical location and as a metaphor for the purpose of sports. We also consider how playing and spectating reveal the qualities and characteristics of sports that build belonging and community in college.

Informational image showing a table with UW jersey and shirt displayed on top and a hand painted poster hanging off the front of the table with Women's Ice Hockey
UW Women’s Ice Hockey tabling on campus | Photo Credit: Jennifer Hoffman | CC BY SA NC
This image is an example of student group flyer advertising a UW student taiko club spring concert performance theme nin-taiko sports. It combines sports icons and taiko drum characters.
Flyer for the UW Nin-Taiko Student Club Spring Concert | Photo Credit: Jennifer Hoffman | CC BY SA NC

 

Image created by AI with the prompt, University of Washington woman athlete playing spikeball. Features a realistic image of a player. AI 'hallucinations' 1) The spikeball scale could be a volleyball and 2 ) the player is standing on the spikeball trampoline
UW Women’s Spikeball Athlete Image created with AI | Photo Credit: AI created image by Jennifer Hoffman using Gengraft Image Generator

Spring 2024 also brought another opportunity to explore the ways in which students tell their story of sport on a college campus after the advent of AI. We discussed AI and its use in our class. When and how we should take advantage of this new tool as students, so as to be prepared for its use after college? We discussed when we should not use AI and when we should. We crafted guidelines to help navigate AI even as practices for its use are still emerging. Readers will see the result of these thoughtful discussions and decisions in each Chapter.

 

On behalf of the 2024 contributors, welcome to the 4th edition of the Place of Sports In The University.

 

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Stories From The Place of Sports in The University, 3rd Edition Copyright © 2024 by Students of the Place of Sports In the University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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