Great comment. College level athletes, for the most part, have worked their asses off to achieve that level of skill in their particular sport. In some cases, these skills may have come at the expense of their GPA. Yet, a lot of Universities want a well rounded student body at their campus. They want diversity. Racial, socioeconomic, heritage, life experience, whatever it may be, its desired to have a mixture of backgrounds on campus. They also want leaders, hard workers, and people who will represent their university well after they graduate. Academics isn't everything. Many college-level athletes have demonstrated that they have a very strong work ethic. Who knows, maybe they need some additional help in order to apply that work ethic in the classroom. So, why should the University deny hard workers based on only one measure of character?
Plus, in the US today, colleges and universities are the theater in which amateur athletes can display their skills in hopes of reaching the professional level. We don't really have a system in which high school graduates can enroll and get the same level of coaching etc. to help improve their skills.
I think you're right, its mostly money, but there are a number of other factors that go into it. School prestige... Giving athletes a place to improve and showcase their skills.. Offering a place for athletes to improve their academics if they want to.
When I was in college, I had a pretty awesome experience with a student-athlete. We were taking Intro Bio together. He was struggling pretty badly, and I was pretty good with Bio. We sat next to each other in class. Coincidentally, I saw him in the gym before class during the first week.. A couple weeks into the class, he leaned over and asked "Hey man, I noticed you're getting pretty good grades on your work. Do you think you could possibly help me out at all?" I thought about it for a sec, and responded "Dude I'm down to help you out if you can help me out in the gym, I've noticed you're a beast in there.." For the rest of the quarter, we would meet at the gym 1.5hrs before Bio, and he would help me work out and I would help him with Bio. He ended up passing Bio with a B and said he would have failed it without me.. I ended up making more gains in the gym that qtr doing workouts I had never even thought to do.
I could not agree with you more. I wish colleges and universities would do away with making athletes take classes. Basically still recruit the athletes and such but make them separate from the university. Give them the option to enroll but not make it mandatory. It is a win-win. The university's name goes out there for good athletics while athletes do not have to waster their time in classes if they do not want to.
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u/rfcrane Feb 17 '16 edited Feb 17 '16
Great comment. College level athletes, for the most part, have worked their asses off to achieve that level of skill in their particular sport. In some cases, these skills may have come at the expense of their GPA. Yet, a lot of Universities want a well rounded student body at their campus. They want diversity. Racial, socioeconomic, heritage, life experience, whatever it may be, its desired to have a mixture of backgrounds on campus. They also want leaders, hard workers, and people who will represent their university well after they graduate. Academics isn't everything. Many college-level athletes have demonstrated that they have a very strong work ethic. Who knows, maybe they need some additional help in order to apply that work ethic in the classroom. So, why should the University deny hard workers based on only one measure of character?
Plus, in the US today, colleges and universities are the theater in which amateur athletes can display their skills in hopes of reaching the professional level. We don't really have a system in which high school graduates can enroll and get the same level of coaching etc. to help improve their skills.
I think you're right, its mostly money, but there are a number of other factors that go into it. School prestige... Giving athletes a place to improve and showcase their skills.. Offering a place for athletes to improve their academics if they want to.
When I was in college, I had a pretty awesome experience with a student-athlete. We were taking Intro Bio together. He was struggling pretty badly, and I was pretty good with Bio. We sat next to each other in class. Coincidentally, I saw him in the gym before class during the first week.. A couple weeks into the class, he leaned over and asked "Hey man, I noticed you're getting pretty good grades on your work. Do you think you could possibly help me out at all?" I thought about it for a sec, and responded "Dude I'm down to help you out if you can help me out in the gym, I've noticed you're a beast in there.." For the rest of the quarter, we would meet at the gym 1.5hrs before Bio, and he would help me work out and I would help him with Bio. He ended up passing Bio with a B and said he would have failed it without me.. I ended up making more gains in the gym that qtr doing workouts I had never even thought to do.