Tackling Football Myths

"Gov Jock" is part of Harvard's jargon--a stereotype so prevalent that the Government Department last year printed up shirts for concentrators modeled on the famous "DHA" sweats.

In fact, for the Harvard football team--perhaps the campus's quintessential "jocks"--the odds are better that those are economics texts on the bookshelf next to the team's playbook. Forty percent of football players are economics concentrators, as compared to 10 percent in government.

But the "gov jock" stereotype is not far off. Of the roughly 50 players shown on the team's Web site and in the Harvard Football News, over 97 percent concentrate in economics, psychology, government, sociology and environmental sciences and public policy (ESPP).

The players and coaches say this focus on the social sciences is partly a product of these concentrations' flexibility--with no long lab sessions, they fit easily into a schedule packed with practices.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 says closely-knit student groups often choose the same concentrations.

Still, even football players themselves say their high distribution among only a few concentrations is striking.

"I guess it is a little overwhelming that so many football players are social science concentrators," says team captain Christopher J. Eitzmann '00. "I guess I never realized it before."

In a Pileup

Eitzmann says the best explanation for the high numbers of football players in the social sciences is that younger players take their cues from older ones.

"Everyone on the team is so close," Eitzmann says. "In that sense, players stick together on such a level that the upperclassmen take on more than just the roles of teammates and friends."

"Because of that a lot of players end up doing the same things," he adds.

Another big factor is the time commitment football entails--hours of practice during the season and again in the spring and travel on weekends during the fall.

Star wide receiver J. Terence Patterson '00, a government concentrator, said that many players look for concentrations they can schedule around practices.

"Well, generally you're going to take classes with your buddies, but social science concentrations definitely allow more flexibility," says star wide receiver J. Terence Patterson '00.

Patterson came to Harvard intending to be pre-med, but dropped that ambition after it clashed with his practice schedule--from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. every weekday.

"My freshman year I took Chem 5 and Chem 7 and I was really struggling to balance football and the tremendous time commitment that can be required of science classes," Patterson says.

Still, the problem isn't universal--Patterson says his two roommates, both on the team, are still pre-med. Eitzmann says many players combine pre-med requirements with their concentration.

"A lot of the guys who want to go to medical school concentrate in ESPP because it offers them a chance to fulfill premed requirements and still fits into practice schedules," Eitzmann says.

Football Coach Tim L. Murphy says that, of the 13 seniors whose academic plans he's familiar with, three are pre-med.

In fact, since Murphy says the football season is shorter than most sports' seasons, their academic lives could be easier than other athletes' in this regard.

Team member William B. Acker '02, who as an engineering sciences concentrator is an exception to the social sciences rule, points out that Murphy makes players' priorities clear.

"I don't think majors are chosen for flexibility," Acker says. "The coaches make it clear to us that school comes first, and if you have a class or lab, you leave practice or come late to attend that class or lab."

Shawn C. Harriman, undergraduate program administrator in the psychology department--which claims about 25 percent of the football team--says the informal advising network of the football team probably plays a large role in their concentration choices.

"I expect that athletes, like any cohesive group of students, discuss their academic options, including concentration choices, with each other, which might explain the concentration of football players within a small set of concentrations," Harriman says.

Work Hard, Play Hard

Dean Lewis says it is common to find closely knit groups of students making similar concentrations choices.

"I know there have been years when a disproportionately high percentage of the ballroom dance team were computer scientists, for example," Lewis wrote in an e-mail message.

"I'll bet there are disproportions of one concentration or another in almost every extracurricular group you can name, from the Advocate to Zalacain," Lewis added.

And Murphy says whatever their concentrations, Harvard football players usually do far better in school than their opponents at other schools.

"This is the strongest academic football team in the world," Murphy says. "That's guaranteed through an Ivy League index system meaning our team academically reflects the overall student body."

Murphy says some players even find time to take on Harvard's ultimate academic exercise--the senior thesis.

"Players do write theses. Usually, players don't take off senior year, they just do it," he says.

The Next Step

Patterson would like to play professional sports after graduating in June. But Murphy has another vision for his star's future.

"I see him as one day being the next governor of Tennessee and I joke with him about that all the time," Murphy says.

The players and Murphy say that, despite the narrow range of concentrations players choose, their career plans vary widely.

"Of eight seniors on defense, three want to go to medical school, three into investment banking, and the other two law school," Murphy says. "They all have minimum GPA of 3.1"

Eitzmann says he may put his undergraduate work in psychology into practice.

"I took a semester off and worked for a hedge fund so that is obviously an option and a consideration," he says. "I've also thought a lot about continuing work in psychology and working towards becoming a child psychologist."

Ultimately, players say, while football may have some impact on the concentrations they choose, they're not that much different from other Harvard students.

"People choose concentrations because of career goals or desires to learn about a specific field, not because the concentration is convenient or easier than another," Acker says. "I think if you did that you would be wasting your experience here at Harvard, which we are all fortunate to have."