Amateur Sports in America: The Effect of the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act

Amateur and Olympic sports showcase the most passionate desires of athletes around the world. These athletic endeavors involve hard work, dedication, and perseverance. American amateur and Olympic athletes truly embody the concept of the American Dream. Although it may be hard to believe, these athletes have had to overcome difficult challenges in the past in order to compete in their beloved sport. As the problems of American amateur athletics escalated in the mid 1970's, Gerald Ford issued the President's Commission on Olympic Sports. The report analyzed the atmosphere surrounding amateur sports in America, and searched for a potential solution. This report resulted in the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act of 1978 which created cataclysmic change in American amateur sports over the last three decades.

A quick look at the history of Amateur sports in America shows the prominence of two major organizations; the AAU and the NCAA. The AAU resembles a club sport system which is utilized in most countries around the world. In the club sport system, athletes typically join a local club sports team. This system is independent of school related sports and usually takes place after school and on weekends. The United States is the pretty much the only country that has had a school related sports system as successful as the NCAA. The NCAA is something that is very unique to America and it meshes both academics and athletics. These two organizations were both developing into very strong organizations in the mid 1900's, but neither had total control over amateur athletic sports in America. That is where the problem began.