Part 2/8:
Harvard leads the nation in Division One sports participation, eclipsing more prominent athletic schools like Clemson. This leads to a significant point: the admissions process heavily favors recruited athletes, indicating that potential students who show exceptional talent in sports have an easier path to admission than the top academic students.
Class and Sport Privilege
However, the focus narrows further on the types of sports that garner such preferential treatment. The author notes that sports like rowing, fencing, and sailing—traditionally associated with wealth and privilege—dominate the list. This brings an important question to the forefront: why is the university so invested in these ‘country club sports’?