Maybe this is a problem, and maybe it isn’t. Every non-athlete student is not majoring in mathematics and physics. So what if half the football team majors in criminology or communications?
But a school can have 85 football players on scholarship, and I guess 15 or so basketball players. Most schools with major programs have 15,000 - 50,000 students on campus. The 100 or so athletes on scholarship in the income producing sports do not taint the academic integrity of the entire institution. Lower SAT scores and the easier curricula and majors are to be expected from those who’ve spent more time on athletics than any other pursuit in their young lives.
And, there are still plenty of student-athletes who do meet or exceed the average SATs, and who do succeed in more difficult majors.
Oh, I don’t have a problem with it, and I don’t think it taints the institution. If you are from, say, University of Michigan (a good school) and you go for a job interview, it doesn’t taint you unless you were a football player.
I just hate the hypocrisy of it all, with the networks telling you what their major is, etc. This is simply the minor leagues for football and basketball, and I am fairly well convinced that the main beneficiary of this is not the “student athletes” but rather the colleges who are one of the few businesses that don’t have to pay their employees.
But a school can have 85 football players on scholarship, and I guess 15 or so basketball players. Most schools with major programs have 15,000 - 50,000 students on campus. The 100 or so athletes on scholarship in the income producing sports do not taint the academic integrity of the entire institution. Lower SAT scores and the easier curricula and majors are to be expected from those who’ve spent more time on athletics than any other pursuit in their young lives.
And, there are still plenty of student-athletes who do meet or exceed the average SATs, and who do succeed in more difficult majors.
Someone who has it right~
I'm a Florida Gator fan, a team mentioned predominately in this article and a few people posting here.
What I don't see any mention of though is how much money the Gators put back into the general college budget each year. It's in the millions.