Are the Ghosts Gone? College Football Recruiting and the Oppositional South

Vaughn May, Belmont UniversityFollow

Location

Janet Ayers Conference Room JAAC 4094

Presentation Type

Presentation

Start Date

26-9-2022 11:00 AM

End Date

26-9-2022 11:50 AM

Description

Scholars from various disciplines have identified the importance of college football as a cultural marker and a source of regional pride for the American South. Academic analyses of specific games or specific seasons become lenses through which to make sense of the South’s broader cultural context. The twin themes of “athletically superior” but “morally inferior” constitute master narratives that inform current conceptions of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and that drive much of the national debate on the South’s place in college football. Sociologist Larry Griffin’s idea of the “oppositional South” offers a useful academic framework to examine how these themes intersect with the popular phenomenon of college football recruiting.

Comments

Part of the Panel Presentation: "The Haunting Nature of Southern Sports"

The Theme of September 26 is Whole Person Formation

Convocation Credit: Intellectual Well-Being

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Sep 26th, 11:00 AM Sep 26th, 11:50 AM

Are the Ghosts Gone? College Football Recruiting and the Oppositional South

Janet Ayers Conference Room JAAC 4094

Scholars from various disciplines have identified the importance of college football as a cultural marker and a source of regional pride for the American South. Academic analyses of specific games or specific seasons become lenses through which to make sense of the South’s broader cultural context. The twin themes of “athletically superior” but “morally inferior” constitute master narratives that inform current conceptions of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and that drive much of the national debate on the South’s place in college football. Sociologist Larry Griffin’s idea of the “oppositional South” offers a useful academic framework to examine how these themes intersect with the popular phenomenon of college football recruiting.