In his essay, "The Myth of the ‘Student-Athlete", Gary Gutting argues that schools turn out more athletes than intellectuals, and that the word “intellectual” has become a swear word. I believe that this statement is very true and relevant to how mass media and education is shifting today. Take a look at how the school system is setup today, schools give out more financial aid and scholarships to students that are athletically gifted than intellectually gifted. Isn’t that backwards, shouldn't you be awarded more based on your intellect and work ethic more than whether if you can dribble a basketball or not? If this is the case then colleges are validating Gutting’s argument, that athletics is more important that academics. There are, of course, many cases of athletes who are primarily students, particularly in minor sports, but what about Division I football and men’s basketball, the big-time programs with revenues in the tens of millions of dollars that are a major source of their schools’ national reputation? Are the members of these teams typically students first?
According to the N.C.A.A.’s own survey in 2011, it showed by a huge percentile that the members of these sport teams do not identify themselves as students first. For example, football and men’s basketball players identify themselves more strongly as athletes than as students, gave more weight in choosing their college to athletics than to academics, and spend more time on athletics than on their studies.
Football and men’s basketball players are admitted and given full scholarships almost entirely because of their athletic abilities. Academic criteria for their admission are far below those for other students. Their average SAT score are about 200 points lower...
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...and statistics, Gutting wasn’t far off with his statement that, “schools turn out more athletes than intellectuals”. If this continues, then the unemployment rate will continue to rise and also the amount of uneducated citizens in the United States.
Works Cited
Gutting, Gary. "The Myth of the ‘Student-Athlete", Gary Gutting
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/the-myth-of-the-student-athlete/?_r=0
Weissmann, Jordan. "53% of Recent College Grads Are Jobless or Underemployed—How?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 12
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Thamel, Pete. "Athletes Get New College Pitch: Check Out Our Tutoring Center." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2006. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
I agree with Ripley’s idea that schools across our country focus on athletics over academics; but, I do not see this as a negative effect. Those students that achieve academically and athletically will often times receive scholarships. These scholarships are used to pursue a higher education. For me, my athletic scholarship combined with my academic scholarship allowed me to attend the university I wanted to. Finances prohibit many students so the more scholarships awarded the better. Also, international students are often times recruited to play a sport. This opportunity gives them a chance to receive a concrete American education. With so many scholarships and eligibility in jeopardy, athletes must remain on their best behavior. This positive influence on behavior is a great effect from participation in athletics. Due to these factors, I do not agree with Ripley’s argument that the cost of athletics to schools outweigh the
It is no secret that college has absurd tuition prices. If colleges were to lower the prices of tuition, everyone would be universally happier. Brooks uses the following quote to address the obvious “it is the outrageous sticker price of a college education, and its steep upward climb in seeming defiance of the rest of the economy, that has fueled a demand to know why American families should sacrifice so much to a possibly dubious product.” (Brooks 59). Although I agree that college may be too inflated compared to off campus, I came to the realization that the price of college is mostly worth it. Umass Amherst has the best Sports Management program and is worth the money because they have the largest alumni in this field. They have alumni in all the major sports leagues in America and even in the other continents. They have a strong connection to Umass and tend to hire other Umass Amherst graduates from the McCormack Department of Sport Management. Brooks believes that instrumental learning, teaching students to pass the course, rather to understand the central questions of humanity hinders the value of college (Brooks 65). Yet this could not be further from the truth. The first time reading the essay I supported his arguments, but the more times I read the essay the more I began to disagree. At first, I questioned if a year’s tuition for
Major collegiate athletics programs are able to generate millions of dollars for their institutions, but are not able to show any evidence of successfully graduating their black male athletes that contribute to their success in generating those millions of dollars. These universities in turn, are failing these student athletes whom were promised that they would nurture them intellectually as well as athletically. A four year report published by the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education presents statistics that shows that the six major sports conferences in the NCAA (ACC, Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, SEC, Pac 12) have weak graduation rates for male African American Student athletes. Jessica Anderson of the associated press wrote an article titled, Black Athletes' Graduation Rates Weak where she used evidence from the University of Pennsylvania’s study as well as information from The Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education to present findings that showed that only about, “50.2 percent of African-American male student-athletes graduated within six years and that 96.1 percent of the schools graduated African-American male student-athletes at rates lower than student-athletes overall” (Anderson). Yet, the evidence that African American male student athletes are struggling to graduate as compared to their white counterparts does not simply stop there. In fact, Shaun Harper the executive director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania reports that, “50.2 percent of black male athletes graduate within six years from colleges compared with 67 percent of athletes over all, 73 percent of undergraduates, and 56 percent of black undergraduate men” (Harper)....
In reasoning with his readers, Hartenstine provides statistics that correct Marx’ argument on student-athlete graduation rate. He states, “82 percent of Division I freshmen scholarship student-athletes who entered college in 2004 earned a degree. In Division II, 73 percent of freshmen student-athletes who entered college in 2004 graduated” (Hartenstine, 476). He wants readers to feel that it isn’t the college that is failing the students. The students can do fine coping with school and sports with the aid of tutoring and assistance programs in place at colleges. I found it easier to accept that players don’t need to be paid because the school is investing more into their education than just
High schools are one of the many places that anti-intellectualism originates from. Most high schools cherish their football and basketball teams. Examples like Mountain view high school, shows that teens who play sports, will gain much more attention and recognition than they would if were better in school. ‘Intellectuals almost constantly see their efforts trivialized in the rush to lavish compliments elsewhere.” (Penrod 759) What he means by this, is that the student’s accomplishments would be played
Throughout the country young men and women are losing their priority for an education. To attend a university should be a highly cherished privilege, and it should be an even greater honor to play athletics for the university. Therefore, the writer supports the decision that the “student” comes before “athlete” in student-athlete. Playing for pay should be considered a job for “professionals”. In the rulebook, the NCAA views college athletes as armatures. This statement sums it up best. When athletes go to college, not all of them go in with the mindset that athletics is going to be their future job....
The role of college athletics in the American home is known to all. The traditional football games on Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. March Madness for NCAA men's basketball as well as the year's end Rose bowl for college football leaves fans glued to their televisions for hours. Millions of Americans stare at ESPN or absorb themselves in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated just to catch the latest news on their favorite teams' recruits, recent games, and statistics. Often just viewed as a past time to most it is easy to lose sight of why these athletes are on the field , court, etc. to begin with. Believe it or not, it's for their education. These young adults ranging anywhere from seventeen to twenty-three years of age are all members of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). As such these students must initially meet the requirements to get accepted into their chosen university, participate in their sport, and ultimately graduate from their selected institution. It is often forgotten that these members are students first and athletes second. Delving deeper into this very controversial matter are the race and gender issues that come into play. The most affected minority group affected by these stipulations and is the African American. While struggling through the ongoing prejudice and discrimination that still exists today, African American athletes are still expected to follow the same guidelines as every other student that participates in college athletics. By investigating the trends from the past years of African American athletes beginning with their entrance into college throughout their athletic and academic careers and then a...
"College Athletic Programs Undermine Academics." Student Life. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 27 July 2011.
Potuto, Josephine (Jo) R., and James O'Hanlon. "National Study Of Student-Athletes Regarding Their Experiences As College Students." College Student Journal 41.4 (2007): 947-966. Humanities International Complete. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
There is a reason that they are called student-athletes and not athlete-students, because being a student should come first. In many cases, however, it appears that it is the other way around. Colleges are focusing more on athletics than academics today, but colleges must start concerning themselves more with students' futures in the real world because very few will use their athletic experiences as much as they will use their education after they graduate.
Siegel, D. "The Union of Athletics with Educational Institutions.” Athletics and Education. Science Smith Education, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
Howard-Hamilton, Mary F., and Julie Sina. "How College Affects College Athletes." New Directions for Student Services (2011): 35-43.
Mitchell, Horrace. "Students Are Not Professional Athletes." News Opinion, 06 Jan 2014. Web. 8 Apr 2014
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).
For decades there has been a debate on student athletes and their drive to succeed in the classroom. From the very beginning of organized college level athletics, the goal to want to succeed in athletics has forced students to put academics to the back burner. In spite of the goal to want to succeed over a hundred years of attempts to check limits of intercollegiate athletic programs on colleges' academic standards still seems to struggle to this day. This brings to surface one of the most asked questions in sports, “What effect does college sports have on academics and economics?” Herbert D. Simons, Derek Van Rheenen, and Martin V. Covington, authors of “Academic Motivation and the Student Athlete” researched the topic on whether athletics and academics benefit each other. Bryan Flynn, the author of “College Sports vs. Academics” poses the question “Should institutions of higher learning continue to involve themselves in athletic programs that often turn out to be virtual arms races for recruiting talented players who bring big money and prestige, but put academics to the back burner?” Although both authors agree that sports have an impact on an athlete’s academics, the focus of their argument differs.