Why is our nation the only one in the world to take school sports so seriously, and what are the implications of this practice? This course attempts to answer these questions by starting with Thomas Jefferson’s Northwest Ordinance, moving to Britain’s “Oxbridge” model of “sound mind, sound body,” then demonstrating how numerous forces combined these elements into a distinctly American concoction. The story is continued to the present day with a look at the business of school sports and at educational contributions that sports provide to these institutions, including high schools and colleges.