The Politics of Physical Education

This paper, which was given as the Dudley Allen Sargent lecture at the 2012 conference of the National Association for Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education, discusses the politics of physical education. It examines how both national politics and local/campus politics affect the discipline. Drawing from the history of national leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties and from the autobiography of Dudley Sargent, it demonstrates the important role that politics plays in the lives of Kinesiology and Physical Education professionals. The article discusses political perception, public relations, conflicting political interests, the political importance of program success, and provides recommendations for political survival in the university culture.