WKU News & Events

New Book To Explore How Football Functions As Religion

June 05, 2008

Bowling Green, Ky. - Like a running back heading for the end zone, Eric Bain-Selbo is about to reach paydirt with his new book “Game Day and God: Football, Faith, and Politics in the American South.”

The book, due to be published later this year or early next year by the University of Mercer Press as part of a series on sports as religion, has been a three-year project for Dr. Bain-Selbo, head of Western Kentucky University’s Department of Philosophy and Religion.

As a football fan who grew up in Nashville and attended the University of Tennessee, Dr. Bain-Selbo learned the significance of college football in the South. As a university faculty member and researcher, he wanted to determine if what sports writers and others have been saying for years that college football is a religion in the South.

The project began while Dr. Bain-Selbo was chair and associate professor of religion and philosophy at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. His research focused on five schools in the Southeastern Conference – Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana State, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

“In the end I’ve gone farther than I thought and there’s more to it,” he said. “It’s more true for some people than I thought. College football functions as religion but it’s more compelling than I thought.”

Dr. Bain-Selbo has found that college football and religion share many similarities including the following:

A day of worship – for college football fans, that day is Saturday.
Well-known worship centers – in the SEC, those include Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.; Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.; and Tiger Stadium, aka “Death Valley,” in Baton Rouge, La.
Large congregations – tens of thousands join together for Saturday worship.
Fathers of their faith – each school has its own but probably none larger or more revered than Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama. “Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant is a godlike figure in Alabama for many people,” he said.
Rituals and symbols – tailgating, pep rallies, team walks, fight songs, distinctive lettering or uniforms. “Tailgating is central to the whole ritual and is what separates college football from college basketball. You don’t just show up and go to the game and go home,” he said.
Hard-core believers – like at church, the best seats and tailgating locations go to those who are longtime members or who arrive early.
A sense of community/fellowship – from the tailgating area to the stadium, thousands of people from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds come together for one goal.

In addition to visiting game sites, Dr. Bain-Selbo has conducted research on the Internet, read numerous books and reports on college football in the South and visited the Bear Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and surveyed college football fans.

“In preparation for doing this, I would go to online chat forums and describe what I was doing,” he said of his pregame preparations.

Survey results included the following:

33 percent of respondents ranked their college football team to be higher in importance in their lives than church.
39 percent ranked their college football team higher than church in regard to where they experience the deepest and most positive emotions.
48 percent ranked their college football team higher than church in regard to where the experience the greatest sense of community.
59 percent ranked college football ahead of church in regard to the amount of income they spend on each.

Dr. Bain-Selbo also takes a look at how college football has affected the issues of races and class in the South.
College football has played a role in helping the South overcome segregation, he said, but “when looking at the issues of race and class, college football has functioned to preserve the status quo and preserve the wealth and class of the upper echelon of society.”

After visiting several SEC schools, Dr. Bain-Selbo can look to the future as WKU makes its transition into college football’s top division.

The tailgating atmosphere and game day rituals will be key to WKU’s success at the IA level, he said, because the team can’t count on a good season every year. He cited Ole Miss as an example because whether the Rebels go 3-9 or 7-5, thousands of fans tailgate before every home game in a wooded area called The Grove.

“When I saw tailgating at Western last fall, I thought they’re catching on,” Dr. Bain-Selbo said. “That’s how you build the tradition.”

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Eric Bain-Selbo at (270) 745-5744.

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