College sports in the United States are a huge deal.Almost all majorAmerican universities have football, baseball, basketball and hockey programs, and{{U}} (1) {{/U}}millions of dollars each year to sports. Most of them earn millions{{U}} (2) {{/U}}as well, in television revenues, sponsorships. They also benefit{{U}} (3) {{/U}}from the added publicity they get via their teams.Big-name universities{{U}} (4) {{/U}}each other in the most popular sports. Football games at Michigan regularly{{U}} (5) {{/U}}crowds of over 20, 000.Basketball’s national collegiate championship game is a TV{{U}} (6) {{/U}}on a par with any other sporting event in the United States,{{U}} (7) {{/U}}perhaps the SuperBowl itself.At any given time during fall or winter one can{{U}} (8) {{/U}}one’s TV set and see the top athletic programs — from schools like Michigan, UCLA,Duke and Stanford —{{U}} (9) {{/U}}in front of packed houses and national TV audiences. The athletes themselves are{{U}} (10) {{/U}}and provided with scholarships.College coaches identify{{U}} (11) {{/U}}teenagers and then go into high schools to{{U}} (12) {{/U}}the country’s best players to attend their universities. There are strict rules about{{U}} (13) {{/U}}coaches can recruit — no recruiting calls after 9 p. m., only one official visit to a campus — but they are often bent and sometimes{{U}} (14) {{/U}}. Top college football programs{{U}} (15) {{/U}}scholarships to 20 or 30 players each year, and those student-athletes, when they arrive{{U}} (16) {{/U}}campus, receive free housing, tuition, meals, books, etC、 In return, the players{{U}} (17) {{/U}}the program in their sport. Football players at top colleges{{U}} (18) {{/U}}two hours a day, four days a week from January toApril. In summer, it’s back to strength and agility training four days a week until mid-August, when camp{{U}} (19) {{/U}}and preparation for the opening of the September-to-December season begins{{U}} (20) {{/U}}.During the season, practices last two or three hours a day from Tuesday to Friday. Saturday is game day. Mondays are an officially mandated day of rest. |