College sport scholarships are goals for any athlete. It is a way to get into college doing what you love. From football to swimming, scholarships are awarded to kids all around the nation. However, kids in swimming do not get the same opportunities for scholarships as kids in football. And in baseball, for example, each college only awards 11.7 full scholarships per 25-player team, according to the Next College Student Athlete website.

In America, sports are a staple at every high school for school pride and spirit. There are all kinds of sports, but not all are created equal. Colleges award full-ride scholarships to 71% of football players on the team, but to soccer players, only about 10 scholarships are awarded to the whole team, to be split to a 24-player roster, according to the NCSA website.

“I feel it is very wrong. Colleges pander to some sports that are favored over others,” soccer player Camden Davies said.

So how come football and basketball are considered more important? Popularity. The college football bowl games are watched almost as much as the Super Bowl. And March Madness, the college basketball playoffs, brought about bracketology- the study of making good brackets. But few turn on the TV to watch college baseball tournaments or soccer playoffs.

Popularity is and should be a factor in scholarships, but sports should be created equal. A system could be implemented so every college received the same number of scholarships to give to each sport, but then extra funds could be awarded to the most successful sport at the school. But if football gets 70% of the sports budget at the school, that leaves nothing for lesser-watched sports like tennis or swimming, even though they are working just as hard.

“I feel like there should be some sort of system so everyone could have the same athletic opportunities,” sophomore baseball player Brady Warner said.

So, though you may not turn on college baseball, soccer or volleyball on a Sunday afternoon, that does not mean that those athletes are less worthy of scholarships than those who play the more popular sports like football and basketball.

Every athlete should receive equal opportunities for playing their hardest.