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Effect of college athletics on academics
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Being a college athlete is not given to anyone. It is a privilege and a chance to play at the collegiate level in sports at its highest peak. When athletes get to college, they fall into a state of becoming lazy when it comes to their work. The GPA standards for college athletes are to maintain a 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (O’Neil). This GPA gives college athletes the ability to slack off and makes less effort than what a regular college student does. I believe that the GPA standards for college athletes should be raised and enforced higher. Dana O’Neil of ESPN summed up a jump in the required minimum GPA from 2.0 to 2.3 is more challenging. If the athlete doesn’t abide by this then it should result in an automatic year of not participating in their respective season. Entering college as an athlete can be a challenge from the beginning. Before you enter college you must successfully have met all the requirements from high school to be eligible to play at the collegiate level. All of the core classes in high school must be completed. According to The College Board website the core classes consist of the basic subjects: Math, English, Science, and Social Studies. There are three years of math required, six semesters of science, two semesters or U.S. History, one semester of U.S. government, one semester in economics one semester in world history or geography as well. Two years of Foreign Language is a required art and a computer application class is required. Colleges usually look for the basic English, Math and Science areas. If a student-athlete coming out of high school has met these requirements, they are eligible to enroll into a college and play the collegiate sport they are pursuing in which they may or may not have received a ... ... middle of paper ... ...if college athletes don’t. I feel that if they change the GPA to a 2.5, the student athletes will not only have to work hard in their respective sports, but in the classroom as well. The NCAA requires that every university sports team have 8 hours of study hall time a week in efforts towards the student athletes’ grades and GPA. If the athlete doesn’t maintain the required GPA they should have to sit out until their GPA is up to par. This gives the college athlete the ability to slack off and not work as hard as they should be working in the classroom. Although athletes have struggles and strengths in their sports, they also have them in the classroom. I think that there is an ill-placed emphasis on athletics and an athlete beginning so early in education plays a role in the fact our educators are paid so poorly when compared to athletes when we grow into adults.
(Algebra I or higher),2 years Natural/physical science (1 year of lab if offered by high school), 2 years Social Science, 1 year Your choice of additional English OR Math OR Science, 4 years Any of above OR foreign language OR non-doctrinal religion/philosophy. Satisfy the GPA and test score requirements on the Division I sliding scale. Depending on your test scores, you will need a GPA somewhere between 2.0 and 3.55+ to qualify for any kind of sports. The players in college have to do alot more just to be able to even play but then they have to try even harder to keep their spot when they play so they are always focused and very dedicated during the sport
Over the past 20 years, there has been a major increase in the popularity of college athletes. From 1989 to 2004, there was a 27% increase in ticket revenue (Brown). Despite the rigorous schedules the athletes had, they are still considered just a student. The NCAA cannot continue to allow these schools to work the athletes as much as they do without giving the athletes what they deserve. This is a horrible oppressive system that must be fixed.
In my opinion, paying those student athletes in the highest revenue earning sports will encourage them to do better in the classroom. There is an uncertain future for college athletes, very few reach the professional level, and these student-athletes are sacrificing their time and bodies to reach this goal. Underclassmen are keen on making the leap to become professional athletes because the graduation rates of college athletes are not very encouraging. With no extra money for these student-athletes, they may also turn to fast (usually illegal) ways to earn money, such as selling drugs. So paying student-athletes might be a way to keep these athletes eligible and safe.
The only reason some athletes make it to college is due to scholarships for their performance on the field. If they don’t perform well on the field, that scholarship might get cut. This makes practicing the athletes a main priority. However, college athletes have to concentrate on their grades so they don’t drop out of college. These athletes know they may not make it to the pro’s, so they know they have to have a back-up plan.
Athletes everywhere complain and gripe about how little money they have. What they don’t realize is, it’s not just them. Most college students do not have a sufficient amount of money that they can buy whatever they want. It is outrageous that athletes believe they are entitled to accommodations because they play sports. To play a sport at the collegiate level is a privilege (Top 10 Reasons College Athletes Should Not Be Paid). Students that participate in athletics should not receive any payment because they are receiving tons of benefits, free tuition, and this would extend the talent gap.
“Big time athletes do get paid. They get free college tuition.”(Posnanski). College athletes not only get tuition, but they also get room, board, and meals. They also get to be coached by top coaches, train in the best training facilities, travel around the country for free, be treated by the best doctors and medicine, and have their chance in the spotlight (Posnanski). With universities constantly raising tuition prices, having free tuition is a big thing, but most, if not all, athletes waste that by focusing just on their sport. The athletes themselves probably aren’t the only ones to blame. Practices should be cut shorter to allow the students’ time to study more and actually get a college education. While you hear many athletes complaining that they don’t have personal spending money, other college students can say the same thing. While athletes are practicing, others are working to pay off tuition fees, which the athletes get free. In an interview at his trial against the NCAA Ed O’Bannon, a former basketball player from UCLA, said “I was an athlete masquerading as a student. I was there strictly to play basketball. I did basically the minimum to make sure I kept my eligibility academically so I could continue to play.” (Dahlberg). People should be going to college for what it is meant for—education, not sports. College sports are an extracurricular activity that should be
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 the professional leagues. The NCAA is exploiting the student- athlete. Big-time schools are running a national entertainment business that controls the compensation rate of the players like a monopoly (Byers 1).
Playing a sport in college is equivalent to working a full-time job (Thomas). There are rules that allow major-college football coaches to only demand twenty hours of the players time each week (Wieberg). However, studies show that those athletes are doubling those hours per week during the season (Wieberg). Other sports are putting in the equivalent of a full time work week (Wieberg). Some NCAA officials are concerned with the amount of time spent stating that beyond forty hours is inhumane (Wieberg). Most of the athletes compete and do whatever it takes to succeed, so they enjoy spending countless hours on sports (Wieberg). Many athletes even have struggles in the classroom because they do not have enough time to study. Student-athletes at top Division I schools think of themselves as athletes more than students (Wieberg). Less than one percent of college athletes actually make it professionally (Wieberg). That means these kids should focus more on their education than on athletics. In reality, these official...
The debate on whether college athletes should be paid to play is a sensitive controversy, with strong support on both sides. College athletics have been around for a long time and always been worth a good amount of money. This billion dollar industry continues to grow in popularity and net worth, while they continue to see more and more money come in. The student-athletes who they are making the money off of see absolutely none of this income. It is time that the student-athletes start to see some of this income he or she may by helping bring the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are many people who do not think this is in the best interest of the student-athletes or Universities, but that being said there are also many people who are in favor of the change.
There is currently a major issue in today’s college athletics. Universities and the NCAA make billions of dollars while some student-athletes go hungry. There is a huge debate over whether or not student-athletes should be paid as employees of their respective colleges. Personally, I don’t believe players should receive full-time salaries, but Universities and the NCAA should be required to increase the value of the scholarships that they award to student-athletes. By requiring that colleges provide athletes with an additional $2,000 per semester as part of their scholarship you can greatly increase the well-being (welfare) of the students.
College athletes receive scholarships based on the fact that they can play. What happens when they get injured and they are ultimately dropped from the team? They are left unable to pay for college, with hospital bills and the dream of becoming a professional athlete is flushed down the drain. Some might argue that they can get an academic scholarship, after all school should have been their priority. That sounds great, but in actuality a lot of them have been pushed through school and will not qualify. They spend so much time practicing that they do not have much time or energy to put into schoolwork. Then there are the off campus/out-of-state games that they attend. Those do not just take place on the weekends; they are during classes too, and they will almost always be considered an official excused absence. These coaches and other people in charge of athletes do not have the student’s best interest at heart. All they care about is that they can get out there and win. In my first year of college, I found out that a couple...
Many people believe that College athletes have it easy, and who wouldn’t think that? A free education, free living; getting to travel and play the sport that many people would love to still be able to. Student athletes also get to pick classes earlier than a regular student and have the ability to be excused from classes to go to games and special events. The life of a student athlete sounds like an enticing thing for many people; especially those who are not student athletes on scholarships or walk-ons to a college team. The rising cost of attending college has made the younger athletic population work just as hard to receive a scholarship to play a sport, because they may come from poverty where they can’t otherwise afford to attend school, which is beneficial to them. Understand, that college is a place where academics comes first, and everything else is second; this includes athletics. But are these athletes treated fairly and given all the right things they need to succeed in life, let alone college?
Many students who want to attend college but are not athletes, do not have enough money to afford it. In addition, the money that would be used to pay the athletes, could instead be used for scholarships for the students who cannot afford to get their well-deserved education. Parents all across the country would hate to see their straight A student not get into the college that they deserve just because the can not afford it. So, for an athlete to be paid extra money, while getting a free education, would not be fair to other students who do not have the equal opportunity to attend college due to financial
Around the country, college athletic programs are pushing their athletes more and more every day. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is an association set up to regulate the athletic programs of colleges in the United States and Canada such as eligibility, sportsmanship, and play. Due to NCAA rules, the “student” comes first in “student athlete.” This means that in order to be a full time student, 12 credit hours a semester are required, and in order to compete in athletics, students must maintain a core GPA of 2.3 or higher. It may seems easy right now but throw in lifting, games and practices, along with team meetings, and you’ve got yourself a full time job on the side.
The concept of college athletics has been around for more than approximately 150 years (Siegel). From the very beginning, college athletics were destined to become a full-fledged, vital part in higher education. Their importance and significance from the start until now is undeniable. College athletics play a valuable role and are beneficial to institutions in ways such as promoting positive character development among athletes, establishing unity from a surplus of people, and supporting college experiences and traditions. These are just a few of their contributions to higher education. Although there are various controversies surrounding these points, they are just some of the reasons that athletics will remain embedded in university life for decades to come.