Dr. Brian Ingrassia

As the college football bowl season arrives, an MTSU scholar is stepping forward with a new perspective on the relationship between college and football.

Dr. Brian Ingrassia, author of The Rise of Gridiron University: Higher Education’s Uneasy Alliance with Big-Time Football, was the guest on a recent “MTSU On the Record” with host Gina Logue, airing on WMOT-FM (89.5 and www.wmot.org. You can listen to the interview here.

Ingrassia, an assistant professor of history, says the university presidents of what would later become known as the Ivy League welcomed football onto their campuses as a way of involving the “common man” in higher education. What they did not anticipate was the future high-stakes, big-money era of college football that would pit academics against athletics.

To listen to previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to the “Audio Clips” archives here and here.

For more information about “MTSU On the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.