A timely, unbiased look at the positive and negative effects of school-sponsored sports on the American education system. At a time when sports coverage inundates the airwaves, when coaches are routinely among the highest-paid school employees, and when professional sports recruiters are increasingly focusing on high school students, Sports and Education offers a balanced, thought-provoking look at a deep-cutting issue. Is it time for the United States to mirror a number of other industrialized countries and remove sports from educational settings, as many education and athletic professionals have suggested? Sports and Education challenges many long-held assumptions and examines all viewpoints surrounding this question. The result is a clear-eyed, research-supported look at both the positive and the negative impact of school-sponsored athletics on the participants, their nonparticipating classmates, parents, coaches, fans, educators, and school boards. A comprehensive introduction provides the framework for an in-depth presentation of the most frequently debated issues related to sport as an educational aspect of society A chronology details the evolution of sport and education with topics such as the Olympic games, sport in formal educational settings, and when specific sports were established at the professional level