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College: Educaton or Sports
The typical college student pays for books, labs, fees, food, room, etc.. to the tune of about $ 10 to 15,000 a year for their four years that usually takes 5 to 6.
The full ride jock gets al of this for free and then some. He also gets a tutor, a full time sham job, gets cash for, and other fringe benefits.
Has the university shown a preference for height or weight over academic excellance. Stastics show that few football and basketball players graduate. They are simply used and discarded by the universty when their playing days are done.
This practice drives up the costs for all other students.
Is this an acceptable practice.
Robert Winner 50+
My real problem is that Universities state their goals and mission statements in glowing terms about saving the world through prioviding a quality education and then find a cash cow that has no chance of ever obtainiing that education they speak of and using him and discarding him.
The "dumb jock" is getting all he can ... but the school is making a decision based on money and knowingly "using" a human for finanical gain. Where is the ethics in that.
Thanks for the reply. Bob.
John Smith 30+
Yes.
"This practice drives up the costs for all other students."
That depends on whether or not the sports program brings in more money than it costs the university to run.
"Is this an acceptable practice."
Again, this depends on the profits made off the sports program: if the profit made/per athlete is less than the cost of a scholarship for a non-athletic, but smart kid then the athletes are effectively hurting non-athletic kids' chances of getting a scholarship.
Robert Winner 50+
Joseph Donaher
Robert Galway 20+
Athletics has opened the doors for many students, but your right, athletes for the big sports at some schools are often more semi-pro athlete than student. These sports make a ton of money for the schools, and the proceeds are often used to fund less popular sports, thus benefiting the athletes that are true scholars. Still, in many colleges (such as service academies, ivy league schools, etc.) there are true requirements to be both student first and then athlete. There are lessons to be learned on the playing field as well, such as work ethic, time management, competition, team work, exercise, over-coming adversity, etc. These experiences are often overshadowed by the stereo-typical 'dumb jock' types.
I think it is a balance and we must count on the NCAA and individual academic institutions to see that the education of EACH student takes priority over the "semi-pro athlete" mentality.
Lars Mews
If philosophy students generate that much money, you can ask again.
James Zhang 30+
Jocks create massive entertainment value and entertainment value generates crap ton of mulah.
Robert Winner 50+
Coaches are paid in the millions and Nobel Prize winners are paid in the thousands at the same school. Football has the lowest rate of graduates. Players are used and discarded. Is there no concern for the academic integraty.
So by admitting this we have conceded that universities are money generators and providing a quality education is a by product that sometimes occurs. If it does not occur then hit the road Jack we got ours ... sucks to be you.
You are right. Its all about the money.
James Zhang 30+
But I don't think we should underestimate the value of sports and athletes either. One thing that sports does well is unify people together for a singular cause. It gives people that sense of unity that they are part of a bigger whole. It gives people a sense of identity, purpose, and it makes people feel relevant and important to that community. And Sports is just really fun overall, and a great medium for socializing with friends, analyzing the game for technical people, and a great subject of study in itself.
Maybe education should try to use sports as a way to teach students physics, psychology, tactics and strategy, game studies and simulations, chemistry, social relations and anthropology, business and economics, marketing, art, law, medical school, human anatomy, communication, government, aerodynamics, product design on stuff like equipments and gear, etc.
Robert Winner 50+
It all comes back to the question what is the purpose of the University.
James Zhang 30+
Anyways, I think the purpose of the University is to create a place for alike/diverse people to learn and obtain knowledge in order to get a better job at their respective fields.
A university is different from a college in that it holds many colleges and many different fields. So a university should capitalize on that diversity in technical fields and focus more on teamwork and collaborative projects, rather than individual projects.
Robert Winner 50+
James Zhang 30+
Definitely says a lot about the state lol
David Hamilton 50+
In all honesty I think we need a bit more respect for blue collar work, and it would be better if we started crafting things again... but still, sports don't have a place in educational institutions anymore, in my opinion.