Concordia University The BYU Rule Article Case Study Questions

Case study and Article Review is below. 

The BYU Rule

Brigham Young University (BYU) is a private religious university with its main campus located in Provo, Utah, and another campus located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The university is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church). According to the BYU University Policies (2020), students who are accepted and then choose to attend BYU must abide by an honor code that requires students to live by a moral code and be willing to

• be honest;
• live a chaste and virtuous life;
• obey the law and all campus policies;
• use clean language;
• respect others;
• abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and substance abuse;
• participate regularly in church services;
• observe dress and grooming standards; and
• encourage others in their commitment to comply with the Honor Code.

BYU has received a great deal of criticism for their policies regarding student behavior because students who do not abide by the rules will be suspended or expelled from campus. But at BYU, the Mormon faith comes first and everything else comes after.

BYU has had a fair amount of athletic success with their sports teams and their recruitment of talented athletes. The Cougars are a NCAA Division I FBS institution. They compete in the West Coast Conference in the majority of sports, but also in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, and some sports independently. 

Historically, Sunday, or the Sabbath Day, is honored by Mormons as a day of rest. Believing that the soul needs to rest and rejuvenate, based on the commandments of Christian theologians, Mormons do not work on Sunday or engage in any type of recreational activity.

This has become an issue in athletics, since many sports teams play on Sunday, when BYU cannot play. The 1958 and 1961 baseball team forfeited a chance to go to the College World Series and play because the games were scheduled on a Sunday. In 2012, a game against BYU’s rival, the University of Utah, almost went to midnight, at which point the Cougars would then have had to forfeit the game. In other sports, like baseball and softball, student–athletes play double headers against teams on a Saturday so that they do not have to play on Sunday. 

Controversy has risen because teams and conferences have had to adapt to BYU and their code of conduct. Most notably, if BYU makes the NCAA tournament, then they are placed in a bracket that does not play on a Sunday, and they are not scheduled for late games on a Saturday that could go into overtime. 

There has been controversy with the rule, with the chair of the NCAA board of directors Kenneth Shaw stating, “to single out Sunday as the only day of accommodation ignores the interests of other schools and places a difficult burden on the management of championship competitions and the academic best interests of other students–athletes” (BYU Magazine 2020). 

In the end, the NCAA has worked with BYU to accommodate the institution’s religious ideology. Still, many question the fairness of accommodating BYU’s no-play-on-Sundays rule and ask if BYU has an advantage over other institutions because of scheduling and eligibility. 

Questions:

1. Does the BYU rule of not playing on Sunday give BYU an advantage or disadvantage? Explain your rationale and find research to support your argument.
2. Give three examples of how religion impacts sport.

Read the article below:

• SportsBetting.pdf 

Compose a one and a half (1 1/2) page paper addressing the issue/topic. The final paragraph should detail your opinion on the issue/topic. 

Some potential things to consider in your research are as follows: How much sports betting occurs in the state? What impact does sports betting have on the state or specific area in which it is known to occur? What are some reasons that sports betting should be allowed? What are some reasons that sports betting should NOT be allowed?