Panelists to discuss role of sports

The Center for the Humanities will sponsor a panel discussion, “Should There Be Big-Time Sports on College Campuses?” featuring one of the nation’s foremost critics and commentators on the subject of college sports and culture.

The critic, Murray Sperber, author and English professor at Indiana University, will join several other panelists at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, in the Varsity Room of Union South, 227 N. Randall St.

Other panelists include Gilda Hudson-Winfield, Chicago attorney and former UW track star; Linda Bensel-Meyers, University of Tennessee English professor; and David McDonald, history professor and special assistant to the chancellor for athletics. Each panelist will speak for 10-15 minutes, with questions from the audience to follow.

Sperber, who has taught English and American Studies for more 30 years, is the author of the book “Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports Is Crippling Undergraduate Education.” He is known for his strong criticism of Indiana’s sports program and its former basketball coach Bobby Knight. His other books include “Onward to Victory: The Crises That Shaped College Sports,” “Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football” and “College Sports, Inc: The Athletic Department vs. the University.”

Hudson-Winfield, who currently specializes in family law in Chicago, is a former member of the UW–Madison Athletic Board and current member of the executive board of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Hudson-Winfield says the camaraderie among the female student athletes serves to encourage pursuit of an education at the university.

Linda Bensel-Meyers, associate professor of English and director of composition at the University of Tennessee, will speak about “Keeping Our Eye on the Academic Mission: How Big-Time Sports Exploit All Students for Institutional Gain.” She gained national prominence in the sports world by exposing plagiarism and cheating condoned by the University of Tennessee and its athletic department.

David McDonald, professor of history at UW–Madison, chaired the UW–Madison Athletic Board in 2000-01 before being appointed special assistant to the chancellor for athletics, a post created in response to NCAA violations that the university reported in April 2000. As special assistant, McDonald’s responsibilities include rules compliance and academics, as well overseeing day-to-day operations. McDonald teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on the history of imperial Russia (1649-1917).

For more information, call (608) 263-3409.