Essay On UCLA Is The School For You

As Academic Performance Ratings and Graduation Success Rates climb, one begins to realize that “student-athletes” are not just “dumb jocks.” In actuality, compared to the general population of students, athletes have a higher overall graduation rate. The national graduation rate for athletes is 64 percent, while the graduation rate for all students is only 62 percent (Lawler). The NCAA has made great strides in making sure schools work to turn out “educated jocks.”

Coach Steve Rocker is one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Kentucky’s history. Coach Rocker was very successful in previous years. Strangely, this year was very different for him. For the first time in his professional life, he is falling short of his expectations, the community expectations, and the team’s expectations. His team lost a lot of games, but most importantly the boys had no motivation or desire to bring the team out of the rut they found themselves. His players have lost their will to win, their love for their teammates, and their passion to play. Coach Rocker’s motivational methods that have always worked before and resulted in success are now failing, and he doesn’t know why. He argues that his players have become selfish and bored with winning because they have been so successful in previous years. “And there’s no question that my guys have lost their drive to win because they’ve won so much in the past. Now all they want is individual ‘wins’…which just doesn’t cut it on a team” (Gongwer, 2010, p. 17).

In the collegiate world of sports, basketball has become an increasingly recognized sport among African Americans, predominantly males. The hope of any young basketball player is that one day a scout will come and recruit them into stardom The question that presents itself as a problem to the lucky few who are chosen to go professional, is whether or not an education is more important than a million dollar shoe deal, “The NCAA's (1998) annual six-year study reported that only 33% of Black male basketball players graduated, (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999). Individually, basketball reported the lowest graduation rate in all divisions,” (Robinson, 2004:1). Basketball players have become so idolized in the eyes of young

In the world of sports, men have traditionally tended to be the leaders on the court or on the field. This statement is particularly true in terms of coaches. However, at one college in East Tennessee, the coach’s name that is synonymous with greatness is that of a female. Pat Summitt, arguably one of the nation's most renowned and prestigious coaches in all of NCAA women's basketball, lived an interesting life that was cut short by the devastating illness of Alzheimer’s disease.

It all started with an email seeking freshman male in his coaching and administration program. The 2012 graduate of UConn’s Sport Administration and coaching program, William Aloia, says this future success as the Associate Athletic Director for The College of St. Rose started out by almost” falling into his lap”. The New Jersey native began his undergraduate experience with two Division-I parents, and like an abundance of people he knew that working in sport was something he wanted to do. Previously a part of the Kinesiology department under the late Joe Marrone, Will jumped on the opportunity posted through an email and started his freshman year as a basketball manager for the very successful UConn’s basketball program. He explains how this experience “opened his door up”. Will states; “once I started at UConn working with the women’s basketball program and being around collegiate athletics at such a high level it’s really something in itself, and unbelievable experience. I knew it was for me, I didn’t know which part for sure, but I knew this was something I wanted to do.” What Will realized very quickly realized about working in sport is that often times it is a thankless job. However, that did not stop him from finishing his undergraduate career as a four-year manager for the basketball team. The motivation for Will early in his career has been a two-dimensional illustration of success.

The NCAA believes “that a student-athlete is a student first and athlete second.” Student-athletes benefit more than from playing a sport that they love. The graduation rate is higher among the student athletes than the general student body. “NCAA studies show that student-athletes enjoy high levels of engagement in academics, athletics and community: have positive feeling about their overall athletics and academic experiences: attribute invaluable life skills to being a student-athlete: and are more likely to earn similar or higher wages after college than non-student athletes.”

Athletics are a big attraction to many students when looking at colleges. When college sports programs have success, research done by Pope and Pope show that there is a boost in applications that the colleges receive from students. “Applications [after] a Championship add 7-8 percent, with a big effect in the immediate year and little effect after one year.” It was found that when colleges have winning athletic teams get more applications sent in from all levels of student and not just athletes. This is found true for basketball and football. Not only increase in applications is found but also found after success in football there is a growth in enrollment, this is not found true for basketball (Getz and Siegfried “What Does Intercollegiate Athletics Do…”). “David Schmidly the president of the University of New Mexico said “One of the most effective ways to market your university nationally is to have a really quality athletic program. It helps recruit faculty, students, and donors. It helps with the image of the whole university.” (qtd. in Getz and Siegfried “College Sports: The Mystery of the Zero-Sum Game.”)

For many students, the college experience is measured by the success of their NCAA-sanctioned athletic programs. Without the experience and athletic performance the student athlete brings, most colleges would not reap the benefit of these significant revenue-generating activities. At best, current NCAA regulations need to be revisited to ensure all avenues are addressed to enable the success of athletic students both in the classroom and on the field or court of play. As stated previously, even though students receive full and partial scholarships determined by their athletic performance, in both instances

There is no knowing what my legacy at UC Irvine may be, but I will describe what my goal is for the next four years. Of course it includes doing well in all my classes, however I would like to accomplish more than that and at a deeper level. I would like to work with other students to make our community become more united than it already is. Fitting in is one thing, but making others feel welcomed is much more important. College is a place where connections and ties are established and everyone should be able to do so. It would be of great pleasure to join groups where as a collective we help not only each other, but also the community around us. The legacy I want to create is not for me but rather for the notion of an interconnected and involved

To be a college coach you have to be very dedicated and love the sport you are coaching. Being a college coach is very time consuming and a very hard job to land in the sports world. The competition that one faces when trying to get into the job field is fierce. This means that the job as a coach in the collegiate athletic career field is limited to a small percentage of the people that end up applying. These people need to be able to fulfill a variety of duties for their universities, and because of this it is important that anyone who is thinking of applying knows the difficulty that comes with the job (Greenwald, 2010).

The vision statement of the University of California, Davis Athletics department is to be a prestigious model program in athletics and academics.

For example, by competing in collegiate athletics, one better learns how to work with a team in order to achieve a common goal. This is a valuable skill that is necessary in the work force, as well as many other aspects of life. Also, college sports teach discipline, time management, and provide student athletes with great tools, such as tutors, in order to help achieve their academic potential.

We all can recall our freshmen year, the awkward uncertainty with which we walked the halls, feeling like a foreigner in a place much bigger than what we were used to before entering high school. Some freshmen struggle to keep their heads above water, while some find a sort of lifeboat that gets them through the year. The young ladies of the CHHS Girls Frosh/Soph Basketball Team have been lucky enough to find that lifeline in each other. Oftentimes, the "Frosh/Soph" level of a school sport is seen as a mere stepping stone to bigger and better things. Because of this assumption, we as a student body often fail to praise the successes of our frosh/soph and junior varsity teams. This year, the CHHS Girls Frosh/Soph Basketball Team won league.

Robert J. Sternberg, previously the dean of Tufts University and currently the provost at Oklahoma State University (OSU), has had an opportunity to see the benefits of college athletics, including lifetime fitness leadership, stress relief, and loyalty second-hand. It is important to analyze and understand the view of an outside perspective, specifically a faculty or staff member, because they can see the present, long term outcomes as opposed to a college athlete looking and recollecting memories from the past.

They are held to a higher academic standard, resulting in higher grades (Logos). In most cases, if a student does not meet the grade requirement, they are not allowed to participate. This motivates students do not care as much about academics to work harder and get better grades. Schools that have strong athletic programs also have higher test scores. Participating in sports can help students find a place where they fit in It has been proven that student athletes have higher self-esteem, which leads to higher academic achievement. Sports are a great way to burn off steam and relieve stress after a long day of school. Not to mention, involvement in sports is a great way to make long lasting friendships and it makes school more enjoyable. Athletes are more involved in school activities and in the community. This helps bring the community together. Sports enrich and contribute to education.