Product Description
Continuing its series of spectacular coffee-table books for the holiday season, Sports Illustrated presents The College Football Book, the ultimate gift for America's most passionate fans.

SI launched this series in 2005 with The Football Book, devoted to the professional game. A New York Times best-seller that year, the book has taken root as a perennial, selling more than 200,000 copies to date. Now the editors of Sports Illustrated return to the gridiron, this time to serve the most avid football fans of all.

With the best words and pictures SI has to offer, The College Football Book, brings to life the game's unparalleled excitement and pageantry, its legendary players, historic teams and epic rivalries.

In 288 pages of the greatest photography and writing available anywhere, The College Football Book spans the sport's history, from its infancy in the 1800s right up to the postseason showdowns of 2008. The book is packed with stunning pictures, award-winning stories, original stats, decade-by-decade all-star teams and iconic artifacts photographed exclusively for this book at the College Football Hall of Fame--the same exciting mix of elements that makes each book in the SI series a must-have for sports fan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Great book for all College Football Fans
This book is so amazing!My wife and I are huge college football fans and I was excited when I first heard about this book because of our love for college football.We knew it would be a great addition to our coffee table books and it is a great book to have on the table during the fall because of all the rich history of college football that is in the book.I would highly recommend buying this book if you are a huge college football fan and enjoy learning about the early years of college football and how it has transformed into the sport it is today.

gift
Purchased as gift for grandson.

Sports Illustrated publications are a wonderful way to motivate both children and adults.

Great
Great service
Book was new
Lower cost than borders even with shipping
Order and had within 6 days

Great service

College football fans should love it
This coffee-table book is a more-or-less pictorial history of college football, and contains many great full-color pics along with info and stories, and should make a great gift for a college football fan! While not the comprehensive history of college football such as say Ken Burn's is for baseball it contains many great full-page pictures from the last 100 years.In addition it includes summaries by decade of the great college football teams, epic games, "all-decade team,"Heisman winners, and innovative figures of the decade (although I'd personally say listing the conference Commissioner who created the "BCS" is a suspect honor...).

Also listed are fun "Campus Culture" tidbits by decade including major books, movies, news stories of the day, and other - everything from "the foxtrot" and Thomas Edison in the early part of the century to "facebook" and the O.J. verdict in the latter part.But the book is mainly devoted to college football - throughout the book are also featured great pieces on such legendary figures as Bear Bryant, Ernie "The Express" Davis, Dick Butkus, Knute Rocke, and stories such as the "U," the Flutie-comeback game, and more. In addition to pictures also featured are many classic game-program covers; one other creative feature is a large illustrated foldout of the "all-century" team - greatest players/coaches.

Overall, a very enjoyable collection of pics and information. One thing I found quirky - the book lists the national champs from each decade up to 30's, when they then are replaced by the Heisman award trophy winners. I suppose SI couldn't fit both on one page so just they stopped listing the national champs - but it seems strange they consider the individual award more important than team championships (in any event a listing of national champs can easily be found on-line, if one cares to, in tandem with reading this book). Overall, this book will provide college football or American sports fan plenty of enjoyment, and lives up to its title of "THE College Football Book!"

Great Product
My son loved the book, but for the same price I found it in BJs and could have saved on the shipping. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a follow-up to the popular first book in the series, "Sports Investing: Profiting from Point Spreads," which remains a top-selling book in its sports gambling category.This book focuses on specific college football betting systems and strategies.The book remains true to the philosophy of contrarian value in sports investing.In particular, the authors reveal betting systems and parameters that they have used to successfully navigate the college football sports marketplace. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Easy to read, went 25-5 first 4 College Football Saturdays
The results speak for themselves. Using the "Bet Against the Public" betting strategy, I went 25-5 in the first 4 weekends of college football. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to make money at sports betting while having fun watching the games.

College Football -- handicapper's edge
I like the fact that the author doesn't hype his work.I believe that this "sports investing" value approach can help cappers get an edge.I think it is best used in combination with other handicapping methods as well.Although the edge is slight, the historical numbers DO show a statistically significant bias that backs the approaches.Even so, I'm liking the 6-0 start to the 2010 season for one of the author's college football approaches.

I hope the authors keep up the good work and I look forward to a Major League Baseball version of their research.

Contrarian Betting Systems for College Football
I enjoyed Fabrizio's first book, "Sports Investing: Profiting from Point Spreads" - which gives a good overview of applying contrarian methods to the sports betting world.The first book is fairly general but does a good job of helping readers apply systematic methods.In particular, the author advocates objective approaches that make sense, such as: "betting percentages" (to find value and bet against the general public) and "line movement setups" (that indicate the direction of syndicate/big bettors).

http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Investing-Profiting-Spreads-Marketplace/dp/160970004X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283008305&sr=8-1

This follow-up book on "College Football Betting Systems," is fairly thin, but it takes the first book a step further.It focuses on college football data - and in particular, shows parameters such as specific point spreads and betting percentages ranges that have helped the author and his team achieve decent results.

Sports bettors looking for a get-rich-quick method will be disappointed.However, those looking for a solid approach that can be used both "stand-alone" -- or as part of additional handicapping methods -- will find a lot of useful and practical betting info.Dan Fab and his team have put themselves out there with published data, methods, and picks for years -- and have produced generally profitable results, even after vig. ... Read more

Product Description

The #1 book on sports scholarships, completely updated and revised!

Customer Reviews (10)

Great Book and Great Author
I am a public school teacher and sports coach who was a scholarship athlete at a division one university; I wished Coach Wheeler would have written this book twenty years ago. I have used his book to help out my kids whom I teach and coach at my school-the book is a valuable resource to help kids understand that there are options to help them attend a fine university or college. I ran into a couple of questions I wanted to ask the author (Coach Wheeler), about his book and he promptly emailed me with some guidance. In today's world, which author do you know who will respond to his readers questions?

This is an excellent book as a resource
I purchased this book based on previous reviews written.I have to say it is an excellent resource.I even contacted the author and he has provided me with some additional information to assist my daughters in our recruiting endenvour.

My guide!
Coach Wheeler has written a remarkable book! My daughter, Rachel, has completed a successful junior track season. We were confused and disappointed by the paucity and caliber of recruiting contacts she received, so I needed some guidance. An associate of mine alerted me to the Sports Scholarship Insider's Guide. I purchased the book and we entered a high stakes contest as the book says, "and only the opposition knows the rules". And in our recruiting experience it is obvious, they aren't sharing those rules with parents. The mother of one of her teammates learned that I was devouring the book and asked if she too, could read it. My unfortunate answer was yes. Shortly, I realized that one of the book's most valuable assets is as a ready reference and situational guide. The Goal Setting Chapter for the athlete guided her to learn to set a goal and helped her design a plan of action to achieve it. The Chapter on Questions To Ask is valuable to parents because it brutally defines how little we know of the process and for athletes because it can be handily used during phone calls and visits. The Chapter on Negotiating Skills prepares parents with actual dialogues to use negotiating strategies, devices and tactics that would be the envy of any used car salesman. Four chapters illuminate and candidly explain Division III duplicity in awarding financial aid for athletic ability and teach how to use that knowledge to a parent's advantage. Want to cut to the chase? Find the two "killer questions". I now recongnize that her high school coach can't get her an athletic scholarship and it's ourresponsibility to create the kind of exposure that can. We used one idea from the book and on the shortest of notice a college coach contacted and talked with Rachel at the State Track Meet, as well as generated an unofficial next week. The mother bought her own book.

Susie M, WI

It simply works!
First let me start by saying that two weeks ago my son committed to a 5- year scholarship at a D-1A sports program. This school is ranked #2 in the country for this particular sport. Initially I bought 5 books when starting the process. This one was for me very easy to follow and had a nice step-by-step process. It is not all that we used, but it provided us with the framework that we built our recruiting process around. When others ask us how we did it, we tell them to first read this book and then check in with us.

One thing that I really like about it was that it covers how to get a scholarship from a D-1, D-2, and D-3 or NAIA division school. Just add talent and good grades and your kid is on his or her way.

Happy hunting!

Easy to read and useful information
The book is actually fun to read and provides very good information.I have a high school junior this year and believe that the information in this book is preparing us to understand and anticipate the recruiting process. ... Read more

Product Description
Intended for the high school athlete wishing to leverage his or her talent to get into the best possible school, this book explains how a student-athlete can package and present him or herself to college recruiters. With tips from dozens of college coaches and pro scouts, the book describes how to create a support group, form a target list of potential colleges, and even how to make a highlight video. A comprehensive overview of the college landscape lists the top programs for over a dozen sports by division, and a checklist and forms provide easy tools for starting the application process. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

BUY THIS BOOK !!! NO OTHER BOOK is necessary !
Superior! Forget all the other Books in the category. Buy the book because this is what you are looking for. The book is Clear, Concise,and informative. Best of all, the book's format is fantastic . It is an easy read!! You get a clear plan of attack, and you will learn what you need to do to master the recruiting process. You will continue to reread and refer back to it many, many times. I purchased and read, and reviewed, on amazon, other books on this subject. All the other books I read on this subject were DONATED to the local library. This is the only book I kept in my personal library.

A must read for student athletes!
A very informative book for student athletes and their parents. Every page has important information for high school athletes considering playing sports in college. You will not regret this purchase. I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
The editors and their contributors address such issues as BLThe restructuring of the NCAA; BLThe role of athletics in the university objective function; BLAthletic revenue and Title IX compliance; BLFinancial implications of athletic endeavors; BLCartel rents for collegiate athletics; BLInstitutional changes and competitive balance in collegiate sports. ... Read more

Product Description
Murray Sperber uses research from students, faculty, and administrators to argue that what universities offer instead of a meaningful education is a meager and dangerous substitute: the party scene that Sperber calls beer and circus, which keeps students happy while tuition dollars keep rolling in. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Thought provoking, but flawed
As a faculty member at a school (the University of South Alabama) that recently decided to field a Division I football team, I read Beer & Circus with some interest.

The best two things that one can say about this book are a) it is an entertaining book that you want to read & b) it is thought provoking. I would recommend Beer & Circus to anyone interested in the role of athletics at the contemporary university.

However, I have two criticisms:

1) Perhaps the most pointed criticism I would make is that Sperber does not provide sufficient evidence to back his basic argument - that college sports ruin undergraduate education. Yes, there clearly is a link between partying & sports. But how do we know that sports are responsible for all of the other problems that Sperber cites in undergraduate education? Where is the link? His argument is unconvincing on this crucial point.

2) Sperber's "solutions" are entirely unrealistic. He urges schools to "imitate Rice [University]" (page 252). This is completely unrealistic. Not every school can be a wealthy, private institution filled with the best undergraduate students. By definition, most schools - and their students - are average.

Sperber urges (page 263) large, state-sponsored schools to cut dramatically their undergraduate enrollments. This will never happen. State-supported schools depend on taxpayer support. Is it feasible for these institutions to tell large segments of their populations, "Your child is simply not intelligent enough for an undergraduate education. Moreover, we are going to take the tax dollars that you pay for higher education and spend them on enhancing undergraduate education for students who are more deserving and smarter than your kids"?

Finally he urges schools to reward professors for excellent teaching. He never mentions that good teaching is very difficult to assess. If you want to reward great teaching, you have to find a way to measure the quality of teaching first. Most schools simply have not figured out a way to do this.

In summary, Beer & Circus is a thought-provoking, but flawed, book.

imperfect, but important
For all its faults, this book honestly changed the course of my life. I read it shortly before applying to college. I was, and remain, a serious college sports fan, and prior to reading Sperber's book I looked at teams that did well in football and figured, well, I'll go to one of those universities. Then I read Sperber's book.

Sperber argues that sports-and-party-based frat-boy culture is being capitalized on by colleges, who market their party atmosphere and great sports teams to draw in an ever larger pool of applicants. They then take the tuition money and spend it on their prestigious grad programs, not to mention millions for the advertising, er, athletic department, which draws in ever more applicants. Meanwhile, the universities don't spend any significant money on their undergrad programs. They hire great faculty but then treat their undergrads to 750-person lecture halls taught by assistants, not the hot-shot professors that are advertised. They have rampant grade inflation. They accept virtually everyone and let just about anyone through, degrading the quality and relevance of the undergraduate degree. Thousands of students might not learn much or get a good, comprehensive education, but they will have a drunken good time doing it, and the university still gets the tuition money.

This book has some problems. It makes sweeping sociological generalizations of college culture (any school with 30,000 or 50,000 students cannot be fairly divided into three or four categories of student, as Sperber attempts). It has an obsession with the movie Animal House. It sometimes strays from its general thesis into other complaints. It's easy to come away with the general impression that a degree from a large state school is worthless, as is the education. (I think a fairer statement would be that you CAN get a good education from a large state school, but it's very easy to get a degree WITHOUT having gotten one.)

But the important message is this: big-time universities are using big-time college sports to draw in collegiates to an entertainment-based college experience, skimping on their undergrad programs, and using the tuition money to further fund sports teams and their extensive graduate programs to enhance their name and prowess. It's an academic pyramid scheme. The moral: for graduate education, go to Division I State U. For undergrad, try a DIII liberal arts school. Largely because of this book, that's what I did, and I haven't been disappointed.

A tale of two reviews
Sperber does a lot wrong in this book.His title is misleading.He does spend a good amount of time discussing college sports and their effect on the university, but he also takes long extended detours into topics such as honors programs, college rankings, professors' teaching habits, and the shocking lack of homework and studying done by students.Really, he's taking aim at the university as a larger entity.He commits just about every logical fallacy in the book (case studies used to prove large sweeping theories, post hoc logic, ecological fallacy), although really there isn't any way to experimentally study the variables he's considering.Sperber also comes off sounding like the nerdy kid from college who hated the dumb jocks in high school and college and now that he's got a job and they're probably all on skid row (or so the fantasy goes), he will now have his revenge.If this describes you, you will love this book.If the only pleasure you have in life is watching State U play football on Saturdays, then you will find Sperber as nothing but a killjoy.Despite all these problems, Sperber awkwardly brings up a few good points.Why is our culture so obsessed with sports and alcohol?Has the undergraduate diploma become a simple right of passage to which the middle and upper classes are entitled to?His base argument seems that either too many people go to college nowadays or we need to re-think the cultural mythology of what a college degree really means.

Undergraduate Education Comes Up Way Short Next to Sports
There is not much doubt that undergraduate education for the typical student at large universities is most unsatisfactory: one is, with few exceptions, a nonentity with no opportunity to shape the educational experience. The only option is to follow the rules; then it is swim or sink. Furthermore, there is no doubt that forming farm teams for professional leagues with substandard students has no place in a university.

The author shows through his survey data that major sports teams in Division 1-A of the NCAA give a focal point to the incessant partying that occurs at most major, large universities. It is the essential point of the book that college administrators are more than willing to give undergraduates "beer and the circus" of big-time sports in lieu of drastically overhauling undergraduate programs. The need for tuition dollars leads large colleges to pack freshman courses, virtually precluding a chance to learn. Sports and partying is the cynical substitute.

Clearly, the prestige focus of top college officials precludes quality education for most students. It is all about image and reputations. Good sports teams increase recognition. So do adding prestigious faculty, engaging in research for corporate America, and having special, honors education for a select minority of undergraduates. The author makes abundantly clear that well-known faculty and elaborate research do not benefit the typical student. Furthermore, athletic programs are invariably a drain on the finances of the university. Even with Fat TV contracts, athletic programs are net losers.

The author breaks down the main student subcultures into "collegiate, vocational, rebel, and academic." They have different goals and different problems interacting with the substandard educational regime. The fact that the party element, the collegiate group, is content, or resigned to, with the current educational situation hardly justifies the de-emphasis on education.

The author does briefly touch on the purposes of college education. Is college mostly a social experience; is it to obtain job skills; or is it to be liberally educated. And do colleges actually support all of those goals for all students.

There is much wrong with universities and the author makes some effort to shed light on the problems. But much more can be said. Should universities perform a special social role, or are they simply big corporations looking out for the bottom line, cutting costs where they can, while paying lip service to a grand mission? It is clear that universities will not perform that mission with the distorting impact of big time sports.

Excellent!
Finally someone speaks the truth!
Dr. Sperber is a leading proponent for reforming the NCAA and it's about time people start listening...

END THE SHAM OF AMATEUR COLLEGE ATHLETICS! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Readable Expose of Corruption
Murray Sperber shows the scandalous financial side to NCAA college sports in this well-crafted book.It's hardly news that college sports are corrupt - amateurism is and probably always was un-workable.What is news, however, is that most colleges lose money from their athletic programs.Readers see that while football and basketball might attract revenue, they seldom offset the losses from "non-revenue" sports like gymnastics, tennis, swimming, track, etc.Also, winning sports teams fail to increase academic donations to host colleges - alumni don't like their schools having "jock" reputations.The author shows how colleges abuse Pell and minority grants to benefit athletics, and how these institutions force students (or their parents) to pay hefty "activities fees" along with tuition to bail out the athletic department

Like most appeals to reform NCAA sports, this book fell on deaf ears - we simply like the games too much.Still, this book should be of interest to educators and to students forced to pay outrageous activity fees at tuition time.
... Read more

Product Description
Get the job of your dreams in college sports through this step-by-step job search process from former NCAA Division I athletics director Howard Gauthier, Ph.D., who has over 25 years experience in college athletics.Getting Hired In College Sports will help you to identify the type of job that is right for you, and provide you with a system that will give you a leg up on your competition.Getting Hired in College Sports is a reference book that should be in the personal library of every sports management student, coach, administrator, or sports professional. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Gauthier's book is RIGHT ON!
This book is dead on.It's a great compilation of insights into the collegiate sports market from an academic that has spent much of his career as a very successful Athletic Director as well.I would recommend it to any student or current professional looking to move into the profession, up the ladder, or change schools.

Kelly J Higgins, Ed.D.
Director of Athletics
Getting Hired In College Sports

No Longer Looking
Finally, a book that has all the information and guidance needed to find and secure a job in the fields of athletics.There are many books on a single subject such as writing the resume, but this one addresses all facets of the process from job search to getting hired. Although this book provides outstanding direction for those seeking employment in the fields of athletics, it effectively provides complete guidance in the job search in most any field.Employing its principles will likely eliminate the competition for the job you want.The content can be used as guidance beginning with the job search and resume and ending with the employer's handshake.In this economy of unemployment and massive competition, this book is a must read.

I rated this book as five stars only because the rating doesn't allow six. ... Read more

Product Description
Make sure to check out (www.tuttlerules.com). davidgreene39@gmail.com is where I can be reached. My next book, "So You Think You Can Gamble, on Sports"(which will be pertaining to the "Big-3" of sports gambling); is now available. These booklets, are just that; in the fact that they will only be between 90 to 115 pages in length, always. Hence the low price, even though there's plenty of wording (12,104 in this booklet), and it certainly packs a punch! Although, this book was written with all football bettor's in mind; its teachings are a bit advanced for the Beginner/Novice. The Avid/Advanced football bettor, will absolutely LOVE IT!! The "systems" discussed in this book are absolutely years ahead of their time! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

I wish I could give 0 stars
I can't believe I was stupid enough to unwittingly buy a book written under one of Joseph Tuttle's pseudonyms.They're usually easy to spot, but obviously he's doing a much better job of disguising all of the earlier good reviews that were written by himself and accomplices.

The only good thing about this book is that it's ridiculously short and printed in a gigantic font.The little actual content consists of a few theories and formulas that range from laughably simplistic or meaningless, to outright mathmatically ignorant.And the incessant pimping of a couple of websites gets really tiresome.

One can only hope that he is following his own gambling advice.I'd much prefer knowing that the proceeds from this book are in a bookie's pockets, rather than the author's.

Too Basic
Not sure how people gave this 5 stars, but the book is too basic to learn new things. You will only learn new things if you have no idea what football is. It's short and his large writing. A waste of my time.

I'm dumber after reading this
This book is full of errors showing a complete lack of understanding of sports betting in general.

For example, on page 23, the author compares a player's advantage in betting an NFL team at -5.5 when the fair line is -6, and concludes this yields a 1 % advantage. A 6 point-favorite wins by exactly 6 about 4.5%, which translates into a 4.5% advantage over a bet at -6.

On page 35, in explaining how the fair odds on a 3-team parlay are calculated, he explains "quite simple. 3 x 3 = 9 - 1 ... equals 8 to 1 odds. This is so bad, it is laughable that it is published. This mistake is repeated on page 48 "5 team parlays should pay 5 x 5 = 25-1, or 24:1".

Most of the advice in this book is plain awful as well. He recommends hedging often to prevent bad beats. As far as money management, he advocates keeping about half your money at your main book, and suggests Bodoglife. Any decent pro has money spread out between 5-50 books. Bodog deals dual lines, and won't take a large bet from anyone with a brain. No mention is made of either Pinnacle or Matchbook, which are mandatory outs for pros. He also suggests that your average wager size should increase to 10% or more of your bankroll once you have "gotten ahead at least $4000".

Every few pages contains more unsupported conclusions and horrendous advice. Save yourself time and money on this one - there is nothing redeeming in it.

outdated
this book is already outdated.He mentions a website in here that he relies on a lot.The website does not exist anymore.He also provides his email address, but he doesn't respond to emails.So much of this book relies on the website that he refrences so this book is not worth it.Don't buy it, it's not even well written.It's like John Madden wrote it.He gives some good advice on bankroll but overall, this book is not worth the price.

83 pages, thats it
This short book is like reading a magazine article.Not too much in there, just kind of thrown together.How do people make 83 page books?
... Read more

Product Description
Improve your college football gambling success this season and every year to come by reading this book from a statistical expert. The author explains college football handicapping methods in an easy-to-understand format. You will learn: (1) how easy it is to identify statistical mismatches that lead to high-percentage pointspread winners, (2) why to focus on the college game rather than the pros, (3) what types of bets to make and what types to avoid, (4) how the author views money management and betting units, and (5) the reasoning behind each of the author's picks in the 2005-2006 college football season, when his record was 40-20, along with the outcome. The author provides his college football picks in his blog to prove his methods can be applied to any season (click "Bill Bravenec" at the top of this page). How many other college football handicapping book authors provide free college football picks to their readers? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

very satisfied
This book provides some basic concepts that the author expands upon for each of the 60 picks.Each pick is discussed alongside a statistical chart for both teams so that the reader can see which statistics were used to make the pick.The focus is on defense and rushing and the examples provided have helped me improve my winning percentage from 50 to 55%.I especially appreciate the author posting his picks on his website, it gives him a sense of legitimacy and it shows he stands behind the methods of his book.

Mark Degge

Don't waste your time or money.....
This book offers up some basic theories that are obvious to all semi-experienced football bettors.Over the years I have read quite a few handicapping books, and this was probably the least beneficial.I would recommend this book to a beginner, but not to someone who already knows how to read a boxscore.

Boring and obvious
Not happy I wasted my money on this book. Everything he talked about is obvious. It's basically a book for someone brand new to betting on football. No advanced stuff. This book should be called Betting On Football For Dummies.

The College Football Handicapper:How to Beat the Spread in College Football
Overall I think it's a great book.It teaches you the basics and how to identify which games to bet on.My only problem is the author didn't follow his own advice sometimes.

Very Solid Read
The author gives a very basic and easy to follow book. I consider myself an intermediate capper, but I am always willing to look at things from different angles. What the author does here is bring it back to the basics.

Beginners to the game will find this very beneficial. The concepts shown are quite simple and easy to follow. He lists every bet he made and why he made them.

The author though does give himself a bit too much credit when things go his way. He needs to understand the concept of variance (which, looking at his website, hit him hard last year).

Recommended for people looking to start out, or would like some pointers on the basics. ... Read more

Product Description
Perhaps more than any other two colleges, Harvard and Yale gave form to American intercollegiate athletics--a form that was inspired by the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry overseas, and that was imitated by colleges and universities throughout the United States.Focusing on the influence of these prestigious eastern institutions, this fascinating study traces the origins and development of intercollegiate athletics in America from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Smith begins with an historical overview of intercollegiate athletics and details the evolution of individual sports--crew, baseball, track and field, and especially football.Then, skillfully setting various sports events in their broader social and cultural contexts, Smith goes on to discuss many important issues that are still relevant today: student-faculty competition for institutional athletic control; the impact of the professional coach on big-time athletics; the false concept of amateurism in college athletics; and controversies over eligibility rules.He also reveals how the debates over brutality and ethics created the need for a central organizing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which still runs college sports today. Sprinkled throughout with spicy sports anecdotes, from the Thanksgiving Day Princeton-Yale football game that drew record crowds in the 1890s to a meeting with President Theodore Roosevelt on football violence, this lively, in-depth investigation will appeal to serious sports buffs as well as to anyone interested in American social and cultural history. ... Read more

Product Description
Keep Playing! is aimed at helping perspective college students who want to play a sport in college AND pursue academics. This guide was designed to help marry the college athletic search process with the quest for the right college academic program.

Keep Playing!: The Six Step Game Plan, the Non-Superstar's Guide to Playing Your Sport in College grew from the authors' experience with their daughter, who went from a non-starter on a high school varsity basketball team to a Division I scholarship player. While doing research for their daughter, they found a whole gamut of possibilities at the NCAA Division II and III level of college athletics, as well as NAIA and other associations, that many parents and student athletes don't know about.

Keep Playing! was written to benefit both parents and students, to help them understand how a non-superstar can compete at the college level and possibly even obtain academic or athletic scholarships. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Not Just for college bound students!
I read and finished this book just as my youngest child was beginning his search for a high school program that could match his personality and desire to play basketball in high school.
We took the time to go through the book together, asking and answering questions, going to the schools that he thought he was interested in and finding out that maybe he wasn't that thrilled with one or two of them. My son has one more year to continue honing his academic and athletic skills and with the help of this book I'm sure that together we will make the right choice the first time. We will be sure to keep the book and the process going as he progresses through high school.
My daughter, who is not an athlete but is a high school student, has begun to use the book to help her wade through the many choices available to her for college.
The obvious take away is that this is not just a sports book, it is a process that can be used and applied to any search for school, be it grade school or college.

"Finally! Not a fanatical parents sports advice!"
This book was passed along to me through friends.As the mother of two younger children, just starting their sports careers, I found the information invaluable.Too often, these kids get caught up in the "you have to be better than the best" mentality, and I think the unfortunate side effect is a loss of love for the games they play.I will more than recommend this to all parents and hope by reading this early in my children's lives, they will benefit from the guidance I've gotten from this book.Kudos to the authors!

wish i had this book before.....
I wish this book was out when my two children were searching for colleges.It is an essential read both for parents and studentstrying to figure out how to combine athletics and academics -and to navigate all theingredients that will provide a terrific college experience and make fora good match.The interviews with student athletes are especially helpful, as well as the monthly check list of"how to do it".

Great Resource for College bound athletes
Keep Playing! The Six Step Game Plan: The Non-Superstar's Guide to Playing Your
Sport in College by Pat Marino and Al Musante is an invaluable resource for
college bound athletes and their parents who are engaging in the confusing
search for the right college 'fit'.Every high school library and public library
should have it in their College Sections. I don't know any other book that
speaks so directly and plainly to student athletes and their parents as it
guides them step-by-step through the maze of intimidating college choices
in search of athletic and scholarship opportunities. I highly recommend this
book and have already passed on copies to grateful friends.

insighful and well written.
I ran across this book when despertly searching for advise on completing a students college application. MY HUSBAND AND I WERE THRILLED! Thank you for sharing your insight and humor. We have shared this knowledge with many of our friends.
Mary-Lynn and Mitch Weinger
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Customer Reviews (27)

excellent
I was shock when ups handed me the book the next day. I luv amazon Prime.

ACSM Guidelines...
Excellent!The book came promptly and is a helpful guide to the ACSM test.I would definetly recommended buying from this seller.

PT textbook
I received the textbook within the week that I ordered it, and I used standard shipping. So that was awesome.Also, the book was in the exact condition as it was described.This seller did really well.Thanks so much.

ACSM's Resource Manual
As a resource manual for passing the ACSM's HFS Certification Exam it leaves a lot to be desired.For a 3rd edition it is painfully full of typo errors which include wrong answers for the review tests which makes you doubt your knowledge.In addition it only covers about 1/2 of what's on the exam.To be fair the authors do suggest that it not be the only resourse used to prepare for the test.I strongly suggest that you also purchase ACSM's Resource Manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription and use it as your main source.

Great Buy!!!!!!!
I needed this book for summer school and they was able to send me this book in a fast time since I explained that I needed it right away.I would def. buy from this seller again!!!! ... Read more

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The adjectives associated with the University of Washington s 2000 football season—mystical, magical, miraculous—changed when Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry s four-part exposé of the 2000 Huskies hit the newspaper stands: “explosive . . . chilling (Sports Illustrated), “blistering (Baltimore Sun), “shocking . . . appalling (Tacoma News Tribune), “astounding (ESPN), “jaw-dropping (Orlando Sentinel).

Customer Reviews (8)

grist for an ethics or even a psych class
I'm not a huge college football booster, although the convenience of having Stanford stadium a couple blocks away makes home games a pretty hard thing to not pick up some of the game excitement. But reading Scoreboard, Baby game me a whole new appreciation for the game of college football, and maybe big college sports in general. I guess I was happily ignorant of the complexities of the sport, and the business of the sport. I think back to all the college games I used to go to, and getting swept up in the spectacle and enthusiasm. An easy thing to enjoy and get not think too hard about. Now I doubt I could go to another game and not think about some of the issues raised by this book. I would hope most big college football doesn't remotely have the same level of dubious ethical standards that UW had during this period. But I've seen how money and fame can corrupt in other venues, and its never pretty. I wonder how our hometown team at Stanford deals with these issues and pressures. Its something I'm now motivated to check into.
It would be interesting to take a detailed survey of how the general undergraduate student feels about college sports before and after reading this book. You could probably do a whole psych class on its impact. I can't imagine an intelligent reader, however much a sports fan and team booster, not being profoundly affected. How many books have you read in the last 5 years that you could say that about. I will never look at college sports the same way again.
It's also a fun read. I read the bulk of it on a plane trip to and from Buffalo this week. Hard to put down.

andy Kau
palo alto CA

A Metaphor for Professionalized College Sports in America
Ken Armstrong's and Nick Perry's SCOREBOARD, BABY like Paul Gallico's classic, FAREWELL TO SPORT, is replete with disturbing facts and allegations. The authors tell an equally disturbing story of college football, crime and complicity -- exposing a community's collective convoluted values -- while back in 1937 Gallico said "Colleges have managed to get themselves involved in a dirty and subversive business." The tale of this business is one of several dimensions and has been told in these and the other revelatory books listed below.

Over the years, revelatory books, reports, essays, and sporadic news stories have had little if any impact on the powers that be in Washington who give every indication of being asleep at the switch. Members of Congress and presidential administrations overlook the fact that there are all too many communities and universities throughout the nation where deep investigative reporting would unearth similar problems and societal passion for professionalized and highly commercialized intercollegiate sports competition. Since there is much in our colleges and universities that is already amiss, the depth of these sports related problems and the intensity of this passion could very well be predictive of the decline and eventual fall of higher education in America from its position of world leadership.

The SCOREBOARD, BABY narrative could serve as a fitting metaphor for the crime, complicity, and convoluted values associated with professionalized college sports in America with a one-to-one mapping of the book's cast of local characters, organizations, and citizens onto corresponding entities on the national scene. Why so?

Looking the other way and declining to act on abundant evidence of widespread wrongdoing is commonly seen to be the best way to keep your job as an elected official, as a government or a college administrator, or as a news media reporter.Likewise, appalling silence and indifference can be expected from non-sports-addicted university faculty, students, and parents, as well as from 'good-citizen' taxpayers across America.

For more, see Serena Golden's August 20, 2010, story based on a Q & A with the authors, ['Scoreboard, Baby' at the insidehighered website], "Scoreboard, Baby Notwithstanding, Things Do Not Bode Well for College Sports Reform in Washington," [Splitt Essays at thedrakegroup org website], Rick Telander's September 3, 2010, Chicago Sun-Times story about the Big Ten's spiel that it's expansion isn't about money," [Derisible by '10' at chicagosuntimes website], and Michael Barone's September 6, 2010, commentary on America's
overstressed system of higher education, [The Higher Education Bubble: Ready to Burst? at the rasmussenreports website].

Book List: James Michner's SPORTS IN AMERICA, Walt Byers' UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT, Allen Sack's and Ellen Staurowsky's COLLEGE ATHLETES FOR HIRE, Murray Sperber's SHAKE DOWN THE THUNDER, ONWARD TO VICTORY and BEER AND CIRCUS, Rick Telander's THE HUNDRED YARD LIE, John Thelin's GAMESCOLLEGES PLAY, Andy Zimbalist's, UNPAID PROFESSIONALS, Jim Duderstadt's INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS AND THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, Don Yaeger's and Doug Looney's UNDER THE TARNISHED DOME, Allen Sack's COUNTERFEIT AMATEURS, John Gerdy's SPORTS: THE ALL AMERICAN ADDICTION and AIRBALL, William Dowling's CONFESSIONS OF A SPOILSPORT, Mike Oriard's BOWLED OVER, and Mark Yost's VARSITY GREEN.

Frank G. Splitt, Member
The Drake Group
Former McCormick Faculty Fellow
Northwestern University

Great Read!
I grew up in Ohio and have lived in Virginia for 24 years, and I have no strong interest in the University of Washington or its football team, but I couldn't put this book down! Scoreboard, Baby is thoroughly reported and wonderfully written. It's an example of sports journalism at its very best, but it's more than that. It will also appeal to anyone who likes true-crime books and to anyone who just likes a great read.

Can't put this book down . . .
Okay, full disclosure, Nick Perry is my brother-in-law, so of course, I'm reading his book. But regardless of my initial motivation, since I picked the book up yesterday, I simply can't put it down. I've been wandering around with it everywhere, and I can't wait to be on vacation tomorrow to keep reading it. It is riveting!

Since I have read many of Nick Perry and Ken Armstrong's news stories here in Seattle, I already know that they are excellent, well-respected, award-winning journalists, but in this book, they get to go deeper, and I am completely drawn in by the fascinating characters in this real-life drama.

I believe this book will prompt important and serious discussion about what cost we as a society are willing to pay to cheer on college athletes, and I hope it also opens our eyes to the price many have already paid.

About Time!!
This book should be required reading for parents of college bound sons and
daughters.We need to examine the morals and courage of schools' athletic
departments in additiion to their academic standards when evaluating colleges
for our children. ... Read more

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A study featuring 112 vintage photographs chronicles Ivy League football from past to present, including stories on how Teddy Roosevelt, Cole Porter, John Reed and F. Scott Fitzgerald became part of the tradition of student-athletes. ... Read more

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In an era when college football coaches frequently command higher salaries than university presidents, many call for reform to restore the balance between amateur athletics and the educational mission of schools. This book traces attempts at college athletics reform from 1855 through the early twenty-first century while analyzing the different roles played by students, faculty, conferences, university presidents, the NCAA, legislatures, and the Supreme Court. Pay for Play: A History of Big-Time College Athletic Reform also tackles critically important questions about eligibility, compensation, recruiting, sponsorship, and rules enforcement. Discussing reasons for reformoto combat corruption, to level the playing field, and to make sports more accessible to minorities and womenoRonald A. Smith candidly explains why attempts at change have often failed. Of interest to historians, athletic reformers, college administrators, NCAA officials, and sports journalists, this thoughtful book considers the difficulty in balancing the principles of amateurism with the need to draw income from sporting events. Ronald A.Smith is professor emeritus of sports history at Penn State University and the author of several books, including Sports and Freedom: The Rise of Big-Time College Athletics and Play-by-Play: Radio, Television, and Big-Time College Sport. ... Read more

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When your goal is to play college soccer, this is the guide to get you there. 1400 programs listed with a step-by-step how to guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Men's Soccer Guide
I found this book to be informative and a very useful tool for my son who is looking for a soccer playing college with certain criteria. It is thorough and the information saved us a lot of time in visiting some colleges that he thought he was interested in, and it revealed some other schools to us that he is now considering exploring further.

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The President of Williams College faces a firestorm for not allowing the women's lacrosse team to postpone exams to attend the playoffs. The University of Michigan loses $2.8 million on athletics despite averaging 110,000 fans at each home football game. Schools across the country struggle with the tradeoffs involved with recruiting athletes and updating facilities for dozens of varsity sports. Does increasing intensification of college sports support or detract from higher education's core mission?

James Shulman and William Bowen introduce facts into a terrain overrun by emotions and enduring myths. Using the same database that informed The Shape of the River, the authors analyze data on 90,000 students who attended thirty selective colleges and universities in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s. Drawing also on historical research and new information on giving and spending, the authors demonstrate how athletics influence the class composition and campus ethos of selective schools, as well as the messages that these institutions send to prospective students, their parents, and society at large.

Shulman and Bowen show that athletic programs raise even more difficult questions of educational policy for small private colleges and highly selective universities than they do for big-time scholarship-granting schools. They discover that today's athletes, more so than their predecessors, enter college less academically well-prepared and with different goals and values than their classmates--differences that lead to different lives. They reveal that gender equity efforts have wrought large, sometimes unanticipated changes. And they show that the alumni appetite for winning teams is not--as schools often assume--insatiable. If a culprit emerges, it is the unquestioned spread of a changed athletic culture through the emulation of highly publicized teams by low-profile sports, of men's programs by women's, and of athletic powerhouses by small colleges.

Shulman and Bowen celebrate the benefits of collegiate sports, while identifying the subtle ways in which athletic intensification can pull even prestigious institutions from their missions. By examining how athletes and other graduates view The Game of Life--and how colleges shape society's view of what its rules should be--Bowen and Shulman go far beyond sports. They tell us about higher education today: the ways in which colleges set policies, reinforce or neglect their core mission, and send signals about what matters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Sorry, just another blowhard pushing a false premise
Bill Bowan, the former president at Princeton pulls together a lot of accurate facts about athletes having a leg up gaining access to our most prestigious academic colleges, but like most people who argue about anyone being given a leg up in any situation he fails to give you all the facts. Yes you can argue that these institutions academic experience might be somewhat lessened at some minor level, but in reality, that is not the case. The professors in these colleges have very very high expectations for their students which do not change because they have a minor amount of students in their classes that are not prepared to deliver honor like efforts. He does a great job of presenting statistics on the negative impacts, in his mind, for allowing a small number of slightly below academic show stoppers into these schools. But on the other hand does nothing to highlight the positive impact that these athletes and their teams have on the entire college experience. He seems to think that putting all the best and brightest together and enclosing them around a similar group of students is the true path to real success.

Nothing could be further from the truth as many of these lesser students, in fact, represent the working world that most of these graduates will enter upon graduation. Somehow Bill makes the leap of faith that these gifted students will have the luxury of being completely surrounded by gifted academia's for the rest of their lives and all problems and issues can be resolved by this group of elite students simply because they are so talented. Bill completely misses the point here, in that, this world does not exist and just because these learners were gifted with the ability to memorize information, which comprises the majority of the SAT tests. Again the reality is that having a much more diverse student population than Bill advocates for is the best interest of all the students. Diversity is something Bill doesn't like to consider, yet somehow he likes to have you believe that this non-homogeneous academic fantasy he promotes will take care of itself and having a nerdy group of thinkers hunkered together is the road to true wisdom. Sorry Bill, but that's the case. I could, but won't point out specific schools, but trust me there are a small number of schools that have taken this track and besides not producing a significant number of high climbers than the schools that do embrace athletics as a positive, these schools have one common characteristics, and that being and abnormally high suicide rate. Opps he forgot to mention that. He also forgets to point out that the athletes do bring a true diversity to their campuses, unlike the students of sidewalk diversity ( a phrase used by students who recognize the joke of having foreign looking students, who usually come from money to present the allusion of diversity).

The other thing that Bill does not point out is that leg up opportunities that are afforded to students of wealth that these same schools allow entry into. Having worked at one of these schools, I can tell you first hand, that these schools have the same standard for these students than they do for athletes. Bill somehow doesn't mention this. Don't make the mistake of thinking that these families of wealth pull out a hundred grand to buy entry; that is chump change in these schools minds. I'm talking about putting up a million or more to level the playing field.
Lastly, Bill doesn't point out that most of these schools have the highest levels of grade inflation in the college ranks. This fact is due to the pressure that the profs are under to give better grades than students deserve of they will be shown the door. ie They know that the wealth that drives these buddy system of entry are not ponying up big cash for their sons and daughters to being hitting the streets with a bunch of C's on the transcripts.

Don't waste your money on this overblown and inaccurate set of conclusions.

Slanted and dull read
This book resembles two men with a vendetta over people with a solution.Using a lot and I mean a lot of statistics they turn the data to favor their arguments.If one school out of many supports their claim, that is the stat they use, ignoring the stronger evidence.The authors do not offer solutions beyond "there should be changes made nation wide." These are the same people who write the mellon report, so getting additional attention is their goal, over informing a reader.

Great data but a slow academic read
I was enlightened and educated by this book.My starting opinion was directly opposed to college athletics as they are at many major universities.However, through this research, I've come to see the differences between "big-time" sports such as basketball and football, and most other college sports.This agreed with my college recollections where I knew many athletes in "smaller" sports who worked hard as schoolwork and their sport.They played their sport for the love of the game and the camaraderie, but most knew that their careers ended at graduation.I continue to admire them and wonder why some many universities continue to hurt those sports to maintain the larger sports.

College football and basketball, in particular, are fully-subsidized minor leagues for the NFL and NBA.If the NCAA drastically changes the way it does business, those leagues will have to find another way to test and screen athletes.This won't hurt the schools at all; in fact, the schools will benefit.Good student/athletes will still get a college education (as many baseball players do today), and pure athletes will still have a chance to compete and become professionals.

This book substantially helped shape my opinions on college sports in a well-researched and documented manner.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants a balanced yet critical look into college athletics.jgalt5@yahoo.com

Ignore the star ratings... for now.
As promised, I am coming back to you with my observations after having read through most of the book.

Sadly, for all the hype and all the praise the book has received, I am beginning to wonder if a) reviewers actually read the book, and b) if they did read it, did they actually question the merits of the authors research and conclusions.After having read most of it, I conclude that they did not.

I could go point for point, but alas, because of space I can not. A number of troubling points however -

First, the authors take liberties with anecdotes and too frequently back up their claims with them.For example the discussion about the Williams College Lacrosse team, or the Ivy League Lacrosse player....I think it is a mark of dishonesty that the authors quickly point out the poor state of collegiate athletics because they read a story in a university newspaper... as was the case in the Princeton players instance.

Second, in graduate school we were always told never to overlook footnotes.After reading through most of them, I am glad I did.In a number of instances, there conclusions are based upon data that was compiled at one school in their universe of thirty.Or that an anecdote used as an illustration, was actually from a instance taken from outside the universe of schools they used.

Third, I think they demonstrate a disdain for athletes when they question at length their value to the diversity of campus.In their mind, because of a whole host of issues, they don't add to the amount of diversity in a university.... what are some of those issues?Political inclination (Not Liberal or Far Left), choice of major (economics or Poli Sci), tend to group with other athletes.Which begs the question, what type of student do the authors believe add to the diversity of university.

Finally, there is a terrible lack of balance.If you knew nothing else before you read this book, you would finish by thinking athletes are a lower caste of intellectuals that for some reason were admitted into these universities, not based on their academic abilities of course.That universities have made some sort of deal with the devil to accept these sort of intellectual anchors to improve their markting and PR machines that are built solely on athletics.... which begs to ask....

Where is the critique of these institutions and their pactices?And why is it only athletics that is responsible for losing money, while all the other departments are deemed as critical elements in the mission of the university?Sadly, these are questions that aren't answered but should... if athletics is going to be put under such scrutiny, shouldn't the rest of the university be submitted to the same rigours?

Anyhow, I will be back.If you are interested in my notes, feel free to email me ...

Partial Review (Star rating to be ignored)
Let me start out by saying, I am only about a third of the way through.I am also a former student athlete and current coach.But it seems as though someone should chime in with their views on the book since no one else has.So with that in mind, take my initial observations as such.

While I am struck by the depth of analysis and the thoroughness of their methodology, I am also struck by the sense that the authors have decidedly taken the view that college athletics, in of itself, is an entity unto itself.And that in the instances cited, are incongruent with the mission of an educational institution.While there certainly is merit in the academic performance analysis, it is unfortunate that they fail to see the merits of athletics in the educational environment.While it is easy to quantify the development of a student in a classroom, it is impossible to quantify the role of collegiate athletics in the development of the individual student.Does devoting 12 hours a week to studying for Western Civ. add something more, something more fundamental to the student that spending 10 hours a week on the practice field does not? Regretably, academicians have spent more time dismissing the value of athletics, rather than creating methodology to judge its worthiness.And while classroom performance remains something tangible and quantifiable, no one has endeavored to quantify the merits of working within a team for a common objective, experiencing leadership within a team environment, and all the ancillary benefits that are brought about from participating in collegiate athletics.Instead, they are quick to point out and highlight everything that is detrimental, but not unique to, collegiate athletics (alcohol, violence, etc.).

My overriding concern is one that may or may not have merit and could potentially be dismissed by the end of the book.Written by and for academics, it is with great concern that this will be adopted by institutions of higher learning to justify the alienation of student-athletes based upon quantified generalizations.This could very well become the classic coffee table book that so many quote and act on, but have never read.

I will be back for another review when I am struck with the additional thoughts that inevitably come from reading a book of this nature. ... Read more