Wednesday August 29, 2001 |

Princeton Review's assessment last week of the University of Arizona as the No. 5 jock school in the nation is a double-edged sword. Such a ranking has both positive and negative connotations to the public and comments seriously on the intrinsic nature of the UA community.

While students swamp Arizona Stadium and McKale Center for football and basketball games (the UA ranked No. 7 in the category titled, "Students Pack the Stadiums"), where do they go during school days? What are the goals of a university and, particularly, the University of Arizona?

Public announcements by the UA show the football team's hard tackles and Ortege Jenkins' unforgettable flip at the goal line for a touchdown against Washington in 1998. Lute Olson's squad charges down court for impressive fast-break blitzkriegs in national television commercials. What about our academic requirements? What about the attainment of a greater sense of the world and higher education?

School spirit and pride are good things. No, they're great things. Watching the Wildcat teams in action - dominating opponents and fueling confidence for the UA - inspires people to apply here, stay here and, perhaps, work here.

However, popular schools like Stanford (which won the Sears' Director's cup, an award bestowed on the strongest sports school in the nation, nearly every year this past decade) emphasize research projects, the particle accelerator lab and academia. Finding pride in those elements of a university separates the educational tiers of schools.

So, just what does it mean that students pack the stadiums and that our teams are among the best in the nation? It probably depends on whom you're talking to. A prospective student may feel that the UA loves its sports, but not as much as it loves its researchers. Professors may feel that the pursuit of knowledge has been tainted - that UA is a sports marketing conglomerate fueled by peripheral tuition checks.

Princeton Review also ranked the UA No. 11 in student involvement in intramural sports. Wildcat teams, arguably, inspire our organized exercise. Through intramurals, students reap the benefits of health, stress relief and physical fitness. No doctor denies the positive effects regular exercise has on mental awareness and academic performance. These aspects of athletics certainly speak supportively to the attainment of higher education, and the UA is, indeed, a top-10 research university.

Thus, the underlying questions are these: What is the UA in actuality, and what is the common perception of our direction and focus? So students congregate on Saturday nights at Arizona Stadium rather than a Socratic courtyard. Students needn't always be academic to succeed. Rather, students should push forward on the flag football gridiron or across the lane for a smooth layup to possibly garner an intramural championship t-shirt. It makes for a healthier all-around student. Perhaps the UA should advertise this about our great sports-aided academic pursuits.

Some students will cringe at UA's selection as the No. 5 jock school in the country. Some might celebrate it. Students need to realize that a Princeton Review ranking - just like a football, basketball, volleyball and baseball poll - comes with both great expectations and stereotyping. Sometimes, it's not that bad.