How does sport “reflect and influence” North Carolina society from the late 19th century to the 1970s? During this era, college athletics, basketball in particular, demonstrated that many Native citizens became Americans through participation in sports in which their achievements merited praise. Sports enabled learned life lessons and cultural values, including teamwork and sportsmanship. Race and gender have played a huge role in the history of sports. In a historical moment from the book Learning to Win: Sports, Education, and Social Change in Twentieth-Century North Carolina, Pamela Grundy writes about men's college athletics between 1880 and 1901. Grundy states that "metaphors of competition took on new importance, particularly among members of the state's expanding middle class, which was coming to dominate public affairs" (Grundy, 12). Male college students living in North Carolina began to excel in organized athletics during this time period. “Field competitions seemed to mirror the competitive conditions prevailing in society at large, and the discipline, self-assertion, and thoughtful strategy that sports were credited with teaching fit neatly with the qualifications required for economic and political success” (Grungy, 13). People who supported athletics wholeheartedly believed that it taught good values ​​such as discipline and good character, while there were some who opposed it saying that sports were a distraction for students and therefore a hindrance to their educational goals . White college men perceived athletics as a way to demonstrate their superiority and justify their presence in business and politics. They believed that athletic sports were essential in their “vision of… middle of paper… of using college athletic teams to promote racial respect” (Grundy, 189). In Grundy's epilogue of Sports and Social Change, he reiterated the fact that sports clearly reflect and have had a great influence on North Carolina society since the late 19th century. Grundy concluded that athletics influenced individuals and society through the development of values ​​of "discipline and determination" as well as "energy and creativity". Coaches, as well as educators, had a mission to “combine the teaching of strategy and technique with lessons in honesty, dignity, and mutual respect” (Grundy, 301). Throughout history, it is easy to recognize how African Americans have triumphed in sports. It is also enlightening and encouraging to see and recognize the challenges women have faced in the past in gaining recognition in sport compared to that of men..