This paper is intended to contribute to the reexamination of the proper role of sport and its actual relationship to the educational enterprise of which it is a part. Two polar views of the proper purpose of schooling are discussed first: education for maturity and education for enculturation. The opinion is then set forth that American public schools approach more closely the enculturation rather than the maturity ideal. Interscholastic sports are held to be an important mechanism for fostering enculturation; they contribute only in a limited way to the maturity of the participant or spectator. Several implications of this analysis for educational policy toward sport are drawn. It is felt that sociologists of sport can and should actively contribute to a more humane system of school athletics by addressing themselves to policy-related questions and by helping to plan, implement, and evaluate new models of sport and physical education. (Author/DDO)