Dive Summary:
- Spelman College is expected to announce Thursday that it is doing away with intercollegiate athletics in favor of a campus-wide wellness initiative at the end of this academic year.
- Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of the historically black liberal arts women's college in Atlanta, says the nearly $1 million dollars being redirected into the wellness initiative will be life-saving because 44% of black women over the age of 20 have high blood pressure and are more than twice as likely as white women to develop Type II Diabetes, among a number of other health concerns.
- The school has always had a physical education requirement, but the redesigning of the curriculum will focus more on activities women with careers are likely to continue into their adult lives, like running and yoga.
From the article:
Many colleges will do just about anything to get a bigger share of the ever-increasing revenue and recognition brought from participation in intercollegiate athletics. This past year alone, universities rushed to join conferences that made little sense geographically or competitively, and college presidents dropped their initial resistance to a football playoff system. Spelman College is doing the exact opposite. The historically black liberal arts women’s college in Atlanta will announce today that it is completely eliminating intercollegiate athletics at the end of this academic year. ...