What Does It Mean For A College Athlete?

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).

Collegiate sports have turned into a billion dollar industry and are probably just as popular, if not more popular than professional sports. College athletes put their bodies on the line to play a sport they love, many with hopes and dreams to one day make it to the professional leagues. Athletic facilities are the major money makers for all universities. Colleges bring in billions of dollars in revenue annually, yet athletes do not get paid. Some fans believe athletes should not get paid due to their sports level being “amateurish.”; however, this is far from the truth. There is much more to being a college athlete than just practicing and playing games. These student-athletes must practice, weight lift, go to meetings, travel, go to tutoring and study groups, all the while maintaining sufficient grades. This is very tedious work and is very time consuming. College athletes have a high standard to live up to (Frederick Web; Huma Web; Patterson Web ).

(1)Most people think college football players just party all year long. Most people think being college football players is easy and all fun and games but it is not. Playing college football is very challenging and it takes a lot of hard work. You need to be committed and dedicated 100% that is why some college football players today give up they were not cut to do all the work. Playing college football requires training 24/7. You have practice every day long and hard.

I believe that college sports should be considered a profession. Athletes deserve to be paid for their work. College athletics are a critical part of America’s culture and economy. At the present time, student-athletes are considered amateurs. College is a stepping-stone to

After graduation, high school athletes have the ability to pursue their sport in the college of their choice. In some instances athletes may even receive a full ride to their college. However,

that student athletes are students who gain access to a college education through their participation in sports, for which they earn scholarships to pay tuition, fees, room and board and other allowable

A college athlete is also known as a student athlete. As a student athlete, the student

Secondly, there is a major difference between professional sports and college sports. “Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a career in sports. They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports...student athletes are amateurs who choose to participate in intercollegiate athletics as part of their educational experience, thus maintaining a distinction between student athletes who participate in the collegiate model and professional athletes who are also students” (Mitchell). The collegiate athletes’ incentive is the access to an outstanding education. College athletes playing a college sport is not a career or a profession. “The NCAA plays a critical role in the maintenance of a revered tradition of amateurism in college sports”(Ross). This quote is laudable because

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.”

To fully understand why this is such a hot topic, one must understand college student athletes as amateurs and why it is important to understand the basis for NCAA in college competition. In order for college students to be granted eligibility as an athlete, they must certify as amateurs and sign a consent form. All student athletes are required to adhere to NCAA amateurism requirements in order to remain eligible for college competition. A student athlete will lose

The competitive athletics programs of member institutions are designed to be a vital part of the educational system. A basic purpose of this Association is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body and, by so doing, retain a clear line of demarcation between intercollegiate athletics and professional sports (NCAA, 2011).

Many problems going around about college sports and colleges athletes. Most colleges all over the nation allow the college to have sports but then there are some that don't. Being in a sport in college is just like basically having a job. You would need to be dedicated to this and not have much time for anything else. Practices can last anywhere from 4 to 6 hours a day just for one thing. Kind of crazy to think about something like this. Many people just simply don't have the time to do sports in college because they have a real job outside of school. This is different compared to high school because you would have time then and now you don't have much time for anything else at all. There are college athletes basically everywhere you go. Whether they play for universities or juts community colleges, it's all the same thing. The only big difference about this is the price differences. Universities are much more expensive then when playing for a community college so that's why people get scholarships.

Athletics is more than just getting into shape, playing sports and winning. It's about building your relationships with other students around you, and building your character and sportsmanship and displaying it for all to see on the football field or basketball court.

go to college for whatever sport they participate in. Reaching out to colleges can be a big deal to

Being a college student can be one of the most pivotal and stressful moments of a young adult’s life. You must figure out how to live on your own, manage your time for academics, and decide on what you want to do for the duration of your life. College life can be brutal, and by being a student athlete these pressures are only amplified. A college athlete has practices, games, and school to think about on top of everything else. They must know how to manage their schedule: when to eat, when to study, when to be at practice, how they are going to stay caught up in school when they have away games. The treatment of college athletes is ridiculous. Many schools treat them like they are money machines whose only job is to perform on the field. Once