Sports and Mathematics for the Media and Classrooms in the United States

 A Call to Action: Sports and Mathematics Initiative is needed in America

There are so many reports that cite problems in mathematics classrooms. One of the problems is related to motivation and student’s ability to apply what they learn.

Several years ago, I was introduced to Calculus Reform. In those workshops and conferences, educators and mathematicians combined the content of textbooks with graphing calculators and computer algebra systems.

Eventually, professors who authored textbooks began to integrate information on the use of technology in the classroom. This movement has now spread to culturally diverse communities, although initially it was started in other academic environments.

Since those experiences, I began to explore the use of mathematical ideas to discuss, interpret and analyze sports data.

My focus was the National Football League because I had the opportunity to attend college with several young men who became outstanding professional athletes.

My concern, later in life, was that many of these men are left out of the textbooks and history books. Their contributions were measured in ways that, sometimes, did not capture the power and impact of their contributions to the world of sports.

This article will relay some of the strategies I have used since 2007. I never really had time to explore the world of sports when I was younger. My schedule only allowed me to be fully dedicated to my collegiate studies and teaching career. But, something happened in 2007.

An inspiration to discover what happened to my college classmates who had careers in sports is what prompted me in a direction of designing and writing materials on sports and mathematics.

The first project was inspired by an article published on a blog on May 18, 2008. While reading a qualitative study on the 33 best wide receivers in the National Football League, I saw the name of a man who attended Texas Southern University (TSU).

To my surprise, the Pittsburgh Steeler researcher listed the man from Texas Southern University two times at the top of a list of skills for wide receivers. Furthermore, I learned in that article that Don Hutson was the first and foremost wide receiver in the history of the National Football League.

During the summer of 2008, I mentioned the data to a mathematics class. Some of the students knew of many of the men listed in the study. No one had heard of the TSU alumnus. This prompted me to begin designing a mathematical modeling project to compare wide receivers, and to attempt to measure attributes that might help classified them and rank them more accurately.

My conjecture is that the use of mathematics beyond simple statistics might help to develop a higher level of veracity in sports discussions, both in the media and in the classroom.

The first project entailed the students collecting NFL data on two wide receivers. Categories were labeled numerically, and the horizontal axis was used for categories. The vertical axis was used for the ranks.

The ranks were inverted so that the graphs would have more height. The incrementation was labeled in multiples of five, and ordered pairs were determined by using a point on the x axis with points measuring the inverted ranks on the vertical axis.

A multi-linear function was drawn using Excel. Each linear piece was modeled using the point-slope formula. After a linear equation was developed for each line in the multi-linear graph, the students were asked to use integral calculus to calculate the area under each line, bounded by two points on the x axis.

Afterwards, the areas were added. The total area was a measure of the “greatness” of a wide receiver.

When the students compared two wide receivers, decisions were made about “greatness” by determining the player with the maximum area under his multi-linear curve.

Another project that students enjoyed involved a comparison of NFL teams from their founding date to present. The teams that are celebrating 50 years were aggregated. The data was collected in categories such as wins, losses, ties, win-loss percentages, number of Super Bowls and number of championships.

The teams were ranked within each subcategory. Students were encouraged to compare and discuss which team has performed more excellently over the 50 year period.

A suggestion was made. A global discussion of team performance was enhanced by what I called a local discussion of team, individual, and offensive and defensive performance. Graphs were made, using Excel or a website called Many Eyes.

Several examples of the sports and mathematics articles have been published on the Bleacher Report, a major sports blog with an international audience. Examples of these are provided.

Some of the articles have Excel charts which were converted to jpeg files, using the snipping tool of Windows Vista. Other articles contain animations and other enhancements provided by Photobucket.

The reading level of the articles is moderate because, as you may know, journalist keep materials definitive and simple for clarity and comprehension of large readerships.

An attempt to adhere to these guidelines was made. By aligning with the expectation of attracting a large readership, the articles also have become a vehicle for teaching some mathematics concepts.

Additionally, people from all walks of life are having opportunities to see the use of mathematics in a real world situation. No doubt a reader’s fears and distaste for mathematics will be reduced because of the style and content of the sports and mathematics articles.

Another project which generated high interest in a two year college classroom required the students to calculate the volume of a prolate spheroid, a football.

Several student groups made a decent attempt to measure the volume. Others preferred to find the volume of a soccer ball or basketball because of the spheroid shape.

A short video of students measuring the outer circumference of a sphere was produced and uploaded on YouTube.

A proposal that I am supporting is that more mathematicians make themselves available to discussion groups and blogs to share strategies on educating the public, and students at all levels of education in the United States.

This movement can enhance all of the other initiatives we have launched to address the crises in the STEM professions.

For more articles and discussions, visit this link: http://bleacherreport.com/users/41687-damali-binta-yael