Comfortability In A College

In his article “The Shame of College Sports,” Taylor Branch (2011) describes how universities are focused on advancing and receiving money from major athletics and having star athletes, but how the universities are not caring for the “student athlete.” The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has made college sports into an unmerited business. However, as years progress more athletes are getting smart and are taking the NCAA to court. The more students that challenges the rules by the NCAA and take them to court, the secrets and undermining values of the NCAA come out and the closer the NCAA comes to an end.

In 1995, several years after he stepped down as the NCAA’s executive director of 36 years, Walter Byers published Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes. The title didn’t belie the book’s content. Among Byers’ confessions was the deception he sought in coining the well-worn phrase “student-athlete” to describe college athletes.

The chapter “ Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why are some fraternities more dangerous places for women?” by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade helps to shed light on why some fraternities are associated with high number of sexual assaults on women. I was surprised to learn that “frat brothers rape 300% more and 1 in 5 women are raped on campus” (Valenti, 2014) and despite these horrendous statistics fraternities are still around. So why aren’t there more stringent actions set into motion to stop sexual assaults on women on campus or better yet ban fraternities. A lot has to do with how society as a whole sets double standards with regard to gender sexuality. Men who sleep around are viewed as “studs” or a “player” and women who sleep

Cheating scandals in collegiate athletics have been happening since the beginning of the NCAA, ranging from paying players to play, recruiting violations and other cases of academic cheating. One of the greatest scandals of all time was when the Southern Methodist University football team was sentenced to the athletic program’s “death penalty” (termination of the program) for paying athletes to play football for their school (Ribock, 2012). Louisville’s case of recruiting violations has been the most recent. The Cardinals (Louisville) were found to have had athlete-held parties with drugs, alcohol and strippers that were paid over $10,000 in the time period of 2010 to 2014 by former Assistant Coach Andre McGee, who left after the case opened in 2014. These outrageous parties were held to persuade the new basketball recruits to attend their school. This case came to a close in

Although college football is the third-most-popular sport, the majority of schools lose revenue on athletics. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA, is promoting beneficial ideas to help players in need while increasing academic standards. As stated in the article, “On some LSU teams, Martin said, half of the players are “special admits””, which means multitudes of players do not achieve the same levels of academic success as “normal” students. As long as academic budgets are miniscule compared to athletic budgets, there will always be controversy. This tension increased when “legendary head coach” Joe Paterno, along with Jerry Sandusky, were fired for being involved in a sex-abuse scandal with a minor.

The NCAA makes it clear that the main purpose of the student-athletes is to get an education. This is true especially in the NCAA Division two philosophy where it states, “Promoting the academic success of its student-athletes, measured in part by an institution’s student-athletes graduating at least at the same rate as the institution’s student body” (Division II Philosophy Statement). It also states that coaches will be responsible for the actions of their student-athletes. I think this is something that the coaches and athletic staff at Binghamton forgot, because they were too wrapped up in becoming a Division 1 school that they their ethics and values in the

I selected the Louisville Cardinals’ to discus this week for my week two assignment. This was Louisville’s fourth conference change since 1996.Louisville join the Conference U.S.A that year and was not welcome by its other conference colleagues, because the men’s basketball team was on probation by the NCAA. The Louisville program was also apart of a 60 minutes investigation, their home football games were being played in a minor league baseball stadium and their school has some serious Title IX issues according to Murphy, B (2014, July 1). Despite all of the surrounding issues Louisville went on to become successful on the field and basketball courts, they join the Big East conference and made their brand very attractive.

As winter comes to an end and spring approaches, so does the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) March Madness frenzy. Since it's inception in 1939 this tournament has gained increased popularity among gamblers and fans alike to become the second most popular tournament in the US after American football's Super Bowl. Every year the madness begins the second week of March and ends the first week of April. Millions of fans across the states eagerly watch as 68 teams race to win college basketball’s biggest prize. This paper will look closely at two of NCAA Division I teams, the Oklahoma University (OU) Sooners men’s, and the Texas Longhorns (TL) women’s programs. It will first break down the tournament revenue brought in to the

On occasion, a scandal arises which is so large and immoral that it bring into question the entire foundation and integrity of the NCAA. However, more often than not, colleges, athletes, and fans are willing to look beyond the cracks in the already broken system. They ignore the problems for mainly two reasons. First, the system benefits the best performing colleges. The reward, as it always is, is money, benefiting the entire school, from the athletic fields and complexes, to the dorms and classrooms. Secondly, the colleges that are under the radar, and which do not receive abundant amounts of money from their athletic departments, hope to one day reach the success of the big name colleges. Although attainable, gaining the status of a large name sports school is often not a legitimate goal, hence these smaller colleges only aide the corruption. The few athletes, or schools who speak out against the injustice are seldom heard, and their voices get lost (Littlefield). However, the NCAA is well aware of those who stand against them. The NCAA is sly in covering up their scandals. When significant scandals arise, “NCAA officials have tried to assert their dominion—and distract attention from the larger issues—by chasing frantically after petty violations”

Joe Nocera is a world renowned business journalist and author. He currently writes for the “New York Times, previously writing about business, but over the years has changed his focus to sport. Just recently, Mr. Nocera has released his newest book “Indentured”, in which he discusses the not so glorious side of the NCAA and college sports. In his book, Nocera uses real life stories of former and current collegiate athletes, to further continue his strong feelings and opinions towards the operation and policies of the NCAA. With that being said, one of the first stories he tells in his book is about Ryan Boatright, a former UConn basketball star. Nocera continues in his discussion to share that it is stories like Boatright’s that have driven

It is important for the athletic directors and other authoritative figures in men’s basketball to strive for a common goal and establish a better sense balance among those in the basketball environment by changing the contradicting expectations and policies of the NCAA. Some say basketball players have been taken advantage of for far too long and ask “how much longer are universities willing to wait [the] before students see them as a threat and an aid to the issue rather than a source of education and athletic support”? Neglecting the issue has only postponed its significance to emerge as more relevant. By helping address this issue with urgency will allow the players to feel acknowledged and help create a solution for everyone’s benefit to the issue at

The Louisville Men’s Basketball program was expected to be one of the top teams in the nation this upcoming season. However, details have come out about players and recruits being allegedly involved in prostitution that was paid for by the coaching staff. These accusations were initially brought to light in a recently released book, authored by a woman named by a woman named, Katina Powell. National media outlets have picked up on the story and a thorough investigation by the NCAA and the University of Louisville are both currently underway.

The Shape of Dave Zirin’s Argument In the essay, “A Reality of Their Own: Jameis Winston, Rape and Seminole Fandom at Florida State,” Dave Zirin argues that people should view Florida State’s star quarterback Jameis Winston, who was wrongly accused of sexual assault, as a model citizen because the school’s code of conduct and the court cleared him of any wrong doing. According to zirin, although no one knows for sure if Winston is a rapist, many now know how Florida State University handled the situation. Dave Zirin’s argument can also lead to a question of issue regarding why American universities struggle to resolve sexual assaults properly.

The term “student-athlete,” coined by Walter Byers and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, has been frequently mentioned and used in intense arguments between the NCAA and former and current students (Nocera, 1). Today’s student-athletes are expected to be students first and athletes second, but when these athletes are forced to undergo countless hours of preparation for the big lights on Saturday in order to retain their scholarships, they often must ignore their studies. These athletes do not have the time to maintain jobs and make money because of their stressful schedules. The NCAA, an organization that the federal government qualifies as non-profit, makes nearly $1 billion a year and gives absolutely none of that money to the true makers of revenue, the athletes (primarily those in Division I football and men’s basketball). The only compensation that athletes receive for their work is scholarship money, which may be deemed priceless for one’s future but is really only worth $25,000 a year. Universities, television networks, and the NCAA are ignoring that college athletics is a real business (Jackson, 1). The educational benefits do not provide these athletes with food for their tables, money for their families, or even beds to sleep in. Student-athletes are commonly forced to take benefits from alumni, fans who have money, and their own coaches, despite it being an NCAA violation. Because college sports serve as one of America’s most profitable

Zirin goes into depth about how sport writers get pampered with expensive gifts from corporate sponsors and how the NCAA is making money off of uncompensated young athletes. While Ajmani goes into detail about how students are not getting fair treatment, "College students are pawns in a huge chess game" (Ajmani 209); students don't benefit from the games, as they are the ones getting played. Student athletes put themselves at risk just for the love of the game; if they get hurt on the field or court, they don’t have worker's comp for injuries, according to Dave Meggyesy. Both authors believe there is corruption in the NCAA system but focus on different