From 2009-11, $3.5 billion was cut from youth sports programs nationally. By the end of this current decade, 27 percent of U.S. public high schools will not offer sports at all.
The hard data is staggering, but DICK’S Sporting Goods and the DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation recently announced that they are taking measures to combat sports’ decline.
“If you look at what happened to the Arts in schools, people realized too late that they were being cut and by the time they organized to do anything about it, the Arts have essentially been eliminated from schools,” said Ryan Eckel, DICK’S Vice President of Brand Marketing. “We don’t want sports to suffer the same fate.”
Just last week, the two organizations agreed to a $25 million multi-year commitment to support youth athletic programs and local sports teams. The Foundation also launched its “Sports Matter” initiative, a program designed to address the problem of underfunded youth athletics through public awareness and a crowd-funding platform. The fundraising aspect of “Sports Matter” allows the community to contribute monetarily to the campaign and in the end, hopefully raise $2 million. The DICK’S Foundation will then match any community donations up to that amount.
Eckel mentioned a handful of correlary effects from participating in sports, such as kids being four times more likely to attend college and also, a 50 percent reduced drop-out rate.
“On the one hand, you have opportunities to participate, which are rapidly declining,” Eckel said. “On the other hand, the benefits are so clear that we wanted to try and do something about it.”
“Sports Matter” is partnering with a few individuals, including ESPN analyst Jon Gruden. Gruden — along with actor Michael B. Jordan and four-time Olympic gold medalist track star Sanya Richards-Ross — will all serve as Ambassadors for "Sports Matter." Through speaking engagements, corporate appearances and social media/online engagement, DICK'S believes the trio can further promote the program and slowly halt the "crisis," as Eckel referred to the current situation.
“When I found out that DICK’S Sporting Goods had a passion for this, and they wanted me to be on their team, I was really, really excited," Gruden said. "Hopefully this partnership lasts a long time, it pays off and it affords young people an opportunity to play and compete.”
The DICK'S Foundation is accepting applications until March 21 from teams eligible for the program.
"Every sport matters, big time," Gruden said. "This is where we learn to compete, this is where we learn the value of preparation and hardwork. Youth sports are in trouble."
He added: “A lot of people that I know love football and love sports. I think that if they’re aware of the problem, perhaps they could support their local team. What better way to do that than to unite with DICK'S Sporting Goods."
Mark Burns is a contributor on sports business for Sporting News. He is currently a third-year law student at Belmont University. Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkJBurns88.