The great institution of American college athletics almost perished in its infancy. In 1905, due to 45 deaths caused from in-game football injuries during the prior five years (including 19 deaths in 1905 alone), there was broad outcry to outlaw the sport. This movement was crystalized by Harvard President Charles William Eliot, who mounted a campaign to abolish the game.
Today, more than a century later, college sports once again face an existential turning point. It will result in either fortification or destruction of this uniquely American system that provides opportunity to hundreds of thousands of young people and intrinsically cultivates American values.
https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/28...ollege-sports/