Do student athletes make the most of their opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education? Do they have the same academic success as those students that are not athletes? Are student athletes just “dumb jocks?” The answers to these questions might surprise you. Much research has been done to dispel the myth that athletes going to college are only there to play sports with little regard to their education. Programs have been created to assure that colleges and universities hold athletes to the same standards as the everyday student. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has decided that the “magic number” to put the “student” back into “student-athlete” is 925 (Hamilton).
Athletes at school might get carried away just focusing on their sport. Playing a sport might not be a distraction and the student could just be stressing academically. They might be using their hobby to relieve stress, but this can lead throwing away their education as well. Education should be the number one priority. Honor roll, or just average grades in general, will increase the chances of students getting accepted to the college of their choice. If an individual wants to do the things he or she loves, college will play an important factor. Setting this rule for athletes will motivate them to do well in school if they really love the sport they
According to Horace Mitchell “collegiate athletes are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports.” Yes, but it’s not like they are VIP's. Most athletes still have to pay for some of their tuition and all athletes have to go to class. They do everything a non-athlete would do but, they have more stress upon them because they have to maintain a B average in order to play their sport. Athletes are under a tremendous amount of pressure not only from their sport but from keeping up with their studies also. All of that hard work deserves a
In today’s society, there are many issues, dilemmas, and scandals that we have to face. After reading Kenneth Jost’s article about college football there is, respectively, many issues in this field. I firmly agree that the Committee of the Coalition of Intercollegiate Athletics, which is an organization that represent roughly half the FBS schools, should search for ways to force college athletes to be admitted into the school before being provided with scholarships to play. Even though everyone loves watching college athletics, the purpose of going to school isn’t to be entertained, it’s an opportunity to better your education. Although many colleges feel like this will decrease their schools win efficiency there are examples that diminish
The multibillion-dollar industry that college sports has become has richly rewarded the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), university athletic programs and top football and basketball coaches. Athletes, however, continue to play under a decades-old system in which scholarships pay for tuition and room and board but fall short of covering the full cost of attending school. In return, players are expected to maintain a rigorous training and playing schedule while keeping up their studies. This falls very short to being fair for the student athletes, who are the ones putting their sweat, hearts, bodies and health on the line, day in and day out.
In my past two years at CSU, I have heard student athletes argue both for and against receiving special treatment. As Lombardi et al. mentions, the NCAA places academic criteria that student athletes must meet in order to stay on their team, play games, and receive scholarships. Rules from the NCAA and CSU are in place to keep athletes held accountable to academic standards in order to play. According to the Charleston Southern University Student Handbook, if an athlete is found to have participated in academic dishonesty, on the first offence he or she must sit out of 20% of games played (10). The problem arises when alleged stories are spread around campus that athletes are handed good grades by teachers in order to stay on their team. On the opposing side, if grades start to slip, athletes will be put on academic probation and are not allowed to play until grades improve. This is an example that the NCAA rules do apply and athletes do get punished for not holding up their end of the bargain.
Rebecca Lobo once said“Athletes who take to the classroom naturally or are encouraged to focus on grades should be able to do well in the classroom. I believe the reason you go to college is to get your degree. It's not a minor league or an audition for the pros.” many athletes should read these and apply it to their life because college isn't about trying to play in the pros if you're an athlete sure you can have a dream, but you need to also get a degree that should be the main focus not getting a tryout or an audition for the pros. Every year around one hundred seventy-seven thousand athletic scholarships is given out to those that stood out in their sport, whether it was basketball, football, or even baseball. The kids receiving these scholarships are given a free
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”- Nelson Mandela. I believe that college student-athletes should receive special education privileges such as more time on projects or special tutoring. There is only a small percentage of student-athletes that will be graduating college. In addition to the graduating dilemma, only a small amount of athletes will be going to a professional level. A student-athlete barely have the most stressed life due to athletic and academic reasons. If these athletes were properly educated then these student-athletes would not lead their lives to crime and drugs. I am writing this essay because being a student-athlete myself, it is difficult to balance my school life and my athletic life. I know how college student-athletes feel and I want to help give them a better future.
Cardale Jones, former Ohio State University football quarterback tweets; “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS” . This tweet continues the stereotype that athletes are stupid and do not care about getting good grades. On average athletes have a higher grade point average than non athletes. In a recent study, it presents that college athletes had a high grade point average, averaging a 3.25, than college students, averaging a 3.01. Not all athletes fall under the dumb jock stereotype.
It is an age old debate on whether a college athlete should be paid. It is a high school student 's dream to play sports at the collegiate level. Many people question why the NCAA, coaches, and administrators are allowed to earn large amounts of money while the student athlete’s hard work and efforts are limited to a scholarship. Others feel that is should be considered a privilege that a college athlete can earn a college degree while enjoying what they love, by playing collegiate sports. Student athletes should not receive payment because they are already receiving payment in the form of an expensive athletic scholarship and are also able to receive the new cost of attendance stipend to assist with further financial burdens.
Dr. Brené Brown, a writer, researcher, and educator was quoted as saying, “what separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.” By focusing in on today’s society, ethics has taken a backseat to making an extra buck. While Division One Universities are making upward from seven to nine figures in revenue each year off of their athletics department, athletes on athletic scholarships are starting to get intolerant to not receiving any incentives for playing the game they love. These athletes are becoming so disheartened by the system that they are now speaking out to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) about how they deserve to receive cash incentives for the performance and time they devote to their athletics for the University. However, why should these athletes be entitled to additional money? They should be grateful for the privileges and opportunities they receive at the University and reap the benefits that are intangible to them. Division One athletes should not be able to receive payment in order to participate in their Universities Athletic programs.
Students should not be able to play sports with a low GPA. Students should have good grades to play sports, because it is not fair to other students who play sports and keep their grades up. You can not get into college just for sports. You need to have a high GPA too. Other people need sports to help them get good grades. Student athletes should have to maintain a certain grade point average to participate in sports because it helps them develop life skills, gives them a future, and helps them with their confidence.
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
The NCAA states, “Nearly eight million students currently participate in high school athletics in the United States. More than 460,000 compete as NCAA athletes, and just a select few within each sport move on to compete at the professional or Olympic level” (“Estimated Probability”). Everyone agrees that Americans have to improve academic achievement in schools today; however, it is hard to do so with a barrage of athletic activities. Students are focusing more on sports then academics, and this diversion seems to be costly. In order to fix this, high school athletes should be required to maintain a 2.3 grade point average in order to participate in sports because the primary mission of any serious academic institution must be to develop the young person’s intellectual and cognitive skills and help one get recruited; also, there is a very low chance of athletes continuing their careers at the college or professional level.