Posted on 05/04/2012 4:02:16 PM PDT by Theoria
In more than 20 years I've spent studying the issue, I have yet to hear a convincing argument that college football has anything do with what is presumably the primary purpose of higher education: academics.
That's because college football has no academic purpose. Which is why it needs to be banned. A radical solution, yes. But necessary in today's times.
Football only provides the thickest layer of distraction in an atmosphere in which colleges and universities these days are all about distraction, nursing an obsession with the social well-being of students as opposed to the obsession that they are there for the vital and single purpose of learning as much as they can to compete in the brutal realities of the global economy.
Who truly benefits from college football? Alumni who absurdly judge the quality of their alma mater based on the quality of the football team. Coaches such as Nick Saban of the University of Alabama and Bob Stoops of Oklahoma University who make obscene millions. The players themselves don't benefit, exploited by a system in which they don't receive a dime of compensation. The average student doesn't benefit, particularly when football programs remain sacrosanct while tuition costs show no signs of abating as many governors are slashing budgets to the bone.
If the vast majority of major college football programs made money, the argument to ban football might be a more precarious one. But too many of them don't—to the detriment of academic budgets at all too many schools. According to the NCAA, 43% of the 120 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision lost money on their programs. This is the tier of schools that includes such examples as that great titan of football excellence, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers, who went 3-and-9 last season.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
College football brings money into the University. Plain and simple. Ever been to a University football game? Lots of fans, alumni and students... all cheering for their team and paying ticket prices/food/soda etc... Now, let’s be fair. If you want to eliminate college football, then eliminate basketball, lacrosse, golf, volleyball, softball, baseball, and every other sport that offers full or partial scholarships. It won’t happen because football and basketball pays for the other sports. Ever been to a college softball game? Plenty of seats available...
Couldn’t make the team, huh Buzzie old boy?
FUBUZZ!!
I think college football should be banned because the only school my alma mater can beat is Iowa.
And exactly who is it that the author thinks should assume the authority to ban football?
And exactly who is it that the author thinks should assume the authority to ban football?
Ban college football?
The man must be clinically insane....
College football is uniquely American...
From your name, I think that you would probably support a ban on UF football. ;-)
Eliminating college football won’t do anything to increase attendance at women’s sporting events.
Laughable. Eliminate college football and see how much revenue is lost by each college/university. It would be staggering.
I am also going to call you on the opinion that college football doesn’t have to do with academics. Division 1 (i.e. the super schools like Alabama, LSU etc...) may have lower GPA requirements but do some research on Division 2 and 3 before jumping to conclusions. Check out just how amazingly high a GPA and SAT score has to be before the boy’s tapes are even reviewed. I have personally known several kids who got Division 1A, and Division 2 scholarships (full and partial). Intelligent, hard working kids with great GPA’s... that were given the opportunity to go to college. Believe me, they work for their paid tuition... everyday.
“Football only provides the thickest layer of distraction in an atmosphere in which colleges and universities these days are all about distraction, nursing an obsession with the social well-being of students as opposed to the obsession that they are there for the vital and single purpose of learning as much as they can to compete in the brutal realities of the global economy.”
Interesting. If the author really believed this, then we’d ban all student activities that did not contribute to being competitive in the global economy. I wonder how many majors would survive that standard?
College football is nothing but an excuse to increase black enrollment in the schools. It’s affirmative action cloaked in sports. That’s all it is.
Get rid of the liberal indoctrination first.
No. I like the the last game of the year in November. I love college football. Pros? Not so much. I like the heart of college play. They have pride in their schools while earning an education. Our last qb had a masters before he got drafted. Pro football is $$$ and marketing.
I saw a news report where an NFL or NBA player admitted they never cracked a book in college.
“Coaches such as Nick Saban of the University of Alabama ......make obscene millions.”
Must be an Allbarn fan.
Hey Buzzie, banning college basketball would benefit all mankind. No Niki Riots!
If he gets his way, he will next call for a ban on baseball, then county fairs, hot dogs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, and so on.
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