Introduction

Introduction

My name is Matthew Weight and I am a 29 year old pilot, flying for Pinnacle Airlines. I am married to Erianne Weight, an Assistant Professor at Bowling Green State University. We have a two and half year old daughter, Aleah, who possesses an intellect that far surpasses her mother and father. We moved to Bowling Green five and half years ago from Champaign, Illinois. It was there that I attended college, receiving a degree in Aviation Human Factors while earning the required licenses and ratings necessary to become a commercial pilot. While enrolled there, I attended a conference for my church, where I met my future wife, who was studying at Indiana University to become a doctor of philosophy in sport management. During that time, I also wrestled for the Fighting Illini, starting my senior year and qualifying for the national tournament. It was the meshing of these two worlds, wrestling and marriage, which helped me to realize that I had a passion for sport that could be manifest through research and academy.

My high school experience was one big sporting event. Along with wrestling, I played football, and it seemed that I was in some sort of training for one of those sports all year round. I pursued my training with a dedication and passion that eventually bled over into other aspects of my life, such as with school work and service. I learned invaluable lessons from all the hard work, patience, pain, reward, and sacrifice that came with participating in sport. These lessons have molded me into the man I am today.

Along with the lessons it taught me, athletics also created opportunities. Because of the drive I had toward sport, I was able to place third nationally in wrestling while in high school. As a result of this and other accomplishments, I was able to earn a scholarship to the University of Illinois, thereby giving me the opportunity to attend college.

While I was wrestling in college, my passion for the sport grew, as did my desire to see it preserved. Fortunately, I had married a doctoral student who shared that passion for the preservation of non-revenue sport. While she was working on her dissertation (which involved interviewing my coaches), we frequently discussed the intricacies of collegiate sport. Although my interest grew through these discussions, it was not until an opportunity presented itself that allowed me to attend grad school at BGSU that I realized I could play a role in the research too.

To that end, I began writing my thesis on the arms race within intercollegiate athletics, specifically with regard to conference commissioner perspectives. Commercialization has led to increased spending which has the potential to undermine athletics in the college environment. I believe that the conference commissioners of FBS schools possess a unique and important view on this subject and for some reason have gone un-factored. Last Tuesday, I proposed this to my thesis committee and received their approval to move forward with my research. I am anxious to see what the conference commissioners have to say.

So it is that I am enrolled in the Sport Administration program at Bowling Green State University. I am here because I truly believe that the lessons learned in sport are invaluable and cannot be taught in any other way. Through research we can learn the ways that these experiences can be preserved and even expanded. That is what drives me in my studies.