I am in favor of abolishing scholarships for athletes at institutions of higher learner. I don't want to come across as an elitist, but I don't think athletes belong in college. Why should millions of dollars fund athletic scholarships, sports teams, and massive sports facilities at a college? Colleges are for learning, not playing. They are supposed to celebrate brain over brawn.
At my college, there is a significant group of students who clearly don't belong there. No, I don't want to call them stupid, but I go to an academically competitive college, and so many of the varsity athletes are clearly painfully out of place. They're not stupid, just not smart enough. Actually, I won't even accuse them of not being smart enough. So many of them just don't even care enough. They know they're at college to win football and basketball games, not to get good grades or learn a skill valuable to society. I even have a friend at a university that gives its athletes their own cafeteria. Athletes don't deserve the special attention they get at colleges.
The worse part about athletic scholarships is that they take away much needed aid from smart kids who deserve to go to college but can't afford it. You either have to be extremely smart, or extremely athletic to be able to qualify for good scholarships. I believe that the only requirement for college scholarships should be a record of hard work and academic success.
So, why do schools continue to shell out millions of dollars to academically undeserving athletes? It's all about the fame and money. Schools which have good sports teams get recognition, and more importantly to them, lots of money. Alumni, usually former athletes themselves, donate massive sums of money to their alma maters when their old sports teams are successful. In a word, our colleges have sold out academic achievement for monetary gain.
I think there is also an undercurrent of primitive, testosterone-ridden brutality in our society, and therefore colleges. We admire people who can score a buzzer-beater from half-court or hurl baseballs faster than any legal speed limit. It's a remnant of our caveman days- the person who could carry the heaviest club and whack the hardest was the one who was looked up to. That's not true anymore in this day and age, and yet we still idolize athletes and their physical prowess.
There are potential societal repercussions of athletic scholarships, too. Athletes go to college to play sports, but in the meantime, get a college degree. The vast majority of college athletes do not become professional players. Rather, they enter the workforce after graduation with a degree that says they are knowledgeable in their field, when in fact they are not. They got that degree as a reward for their sports victories, not their actual, unique skills. Society then absorbs these subpar graduates, and suffers as a whole from athletes' incompetence.
I probably sound like some envious nerd looking for revenge against "stupid" college jocks. Not true. I think physical ability and fitness is actually an important aspect of a well-balanced education. Harvard professor Dr. Howard Gardner even recognizes "bodily-kinesthetic intelligence" as one of the core components of his theory of multiple intelligences.
To that end, I too am a college athlete. But, what separates me from the athletes I'm criticizing here is that I got into my college and got my scholarships based on my own academic merit, and then joined a club sport. Varsity athletes are recruited by colleges, without much regard to their academic potential.
The point of college is to explore and expand one's intellect, while preparing to make a positive contribution to society. As a result, college students need to be smart. The system of recruiting varsity athletes with athletic scholarships to colleges is contrary to the very purpose of a higher education. The money and energy that is spent on acquiring great athletes and building massive sports arenas would be far better spent on those who academically deserve it.
i completely agree with what you said. America is the only country i know of that actually affliates themselve with sports. colleges should be strictly institutions for education which should include P.E., but not for competitive sports.
there should be a separation.
While its is not always the case, or should I say it is rarely the case, I have always believed these athletes were meant to be great at both, not sacrificing academics for athletics.
I would personally hate to be on a campus where they were gotten rid of completely, they provide so much entertainment both in class and on the field! However I find it very sad that they are cut so much slack because as you say they end up incompetent workers, to the detriment of society!
I believe a better solution is to hold them to more stringent academic standards.
I'd rather not have athletes on campus- they're entertaining for all the wrong reasons. For $45,000 a year I'd much rather skip the in-class "entertainment" (read: distractions) they provide. Perhaps I take school too seriously. But again, $45,000 is also a pretty serious amount of money. And your future is pretty serious too.
I agree that we should hold athletes to very high academic standards. That way, colleges would weed out those athletes who don't deserve to be there. In my opinion, that would get rid of the vast majority (but certainly not all) of college varsity athletes.
I would say that college/universities, with big sports programs generate an enormous amount of revenue from the sporting events. The better your team does, the more money your school makes.
I think that makes some sense.
I would agree that athletes that do not care about their marks should not go, or be accepted into an academically acclaimed college. I think it's very unfair for that athlete to take the place of another who actually wants to be at a school learning from the best teachers.
I don't think the system will change though.
You're right, the system won't change- because of the money. Like I said, academia is being sold out.