Murray Sperber
Encyclopedia
Murray Sperber taught at Indiana University
, Bloomington, from 1971-2004 and
is now a Professor
Emeritus of English and American studies of the school.
At Indiana, he published seven books, most recently, Beer & Circus: How Big-Time College Sports is Crippling Undergraduate Education. His previous books on college sports include: College Sports Inc.: The Athletic Department vs. the University; Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football; and Onward to Victory: The Crises That Shaped College Sports. His books have won many awards - Sports Illustrated placed Beer & Circus on its list of "100 Best Sports Books of All-time" and named Shake Down the Thunder as the second best sports history book.
Sperber is also a former chair of the Drake Group
, a national faculty committee advocating reform of college sports. In conjunction with his work on college sports he has appeared on many national TV and radio programs, including ABC-TV's Nightline and Good Morning America CBS-TV's 60 Minutes, NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation, and PBS-TV's Lehrer Newshour. He also frequently contributes op-ed pieces to The Chronicle of Higher Education and other periodicals, including The New York Times.
Sperber was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on 30 November 1940. He is
married to Aneta Wharry and they had two children, Giselle Everett Sperber,
and Oliver Joseph Sperber (deceased). He received his B.A. from Purdue University
in 1961, and both his M.A. (1963), and Ph.D (1974) from the University of California, Berkeley
. Sperber currently lives in Concord, CA; he continues to write and lecture about college life and college sports. Since 2008, he has been a Visiting Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley.
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, Bloomington, from 1971-2004 and
is now a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Emeritus of English and American studies of the school.
At Indiana, he published seven books, most recently, Beer & Circus: How Big-Time College Sports is Crippling Undergraduate Education. His previous books on college sports include: College Sports Inc.: The Athletic Department vs. the University; Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football; and Onward to Victory: The Crises That Shaped College Sports. His books have won many awards - Sports Illustrated placed Beer & Circus on its list of "100 Best Sports Books of All-time" and named Shake Down the Thunder as the second best sports history book.
Sperber is also a former chair of the Drake Group
Drake Group
The Drake Group is a network of American academics who believe that college athletics has become too dominant a force on university campuses. It was established in 1999 at a meeting at Drake University in Iowa by Allen L...
, a national faculty committee advocating reform of college sports. In conjunction with his work on college sports he has appeared on many national TV and radio programs, including ABC-TV's Nightline and Good Morning America CBS-TV's 60 Minutes, NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation, and PBS-TV's Lehrer Newshour. He also frequently contributes op-ed pieces to The Chronicle of Higher Education and other periodicals, including The New York Times.
Sperber was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on 30 November 1940. He is
married to Aneta Wharry and they had two children, Giselle Everett Sperber,
and Oliver Joseph Sperber (deceased). He received his B.A. from Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
in 1961, and both his M.A. (1963), and Ph.D (1974) from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Sperber currently lives in Concord, CA; he continues to write and lecture about college life and college sports. Since 2008, he has been a Visiting Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley.
Works
- Beer & Circus: How Big-Time College Sports is Crippling Undergraduate Education
- College Sports Inc.: The Athletic Department vs. the University
- Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football
- Onward to Victory: The Crises That Shaped College Sports