Many college athletes miss classes because of practice, competition and from exhaustion.
For those reasons, supporters argue for exemption of athletes from class attendance policies.
Others argue that college athletes are given scholarships to attend college to play sports. On the contrary, the focus of colleges is educating students. The question is, should colleges athletes be exempt from the class attendance requirements? The answer is no and here is why. First, the education of athletes takes priority over recreational activities. Second, it is unfair for athletes to receive preferential treatment. Third, exempting athletes from the policies does not allow them to develop time management skills. For these reasons the college athletes must attend classes and not be exempt from regular class attendance policies.
In the first place, educating the college athletes is a crucial part of the college experience.
Nevertheless, college athletes receive scholarships and believe they are in college to play and win games. As a result, some people have lost sight of the value of education. After all, student athletes are students first and athletes second. In spite of their extraordinary athletic abilities, these skills cannot overshadow the focus of college that is providing an education for the students. Placing emphasis on the athlete’s academic achievement shall prepare them for tomorrow’s future. In addition, education expands knowledge, promotes critical thinking, increases potential and teaches discipline. The common misconception that athletes are to focus on winning games and not their academic achievement is a distraction to the process.
Theoretically, athletes must keep up a GPA (Grade Point Average) required ...
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...top the drift away from academics, and our universities are the standard-bearers for maintaining academic standards. Dr. Tublitz said. Athletes who keep up their grades do not get cut from teams. Many former athletes cannot find employment because each did not attend classes and are not academically ready. To summarize, student athletes must attend regular classes to perform well academically.
Works Cited
Emma, Thomas. "A College Perspective on Academics and the Student Athlete." Coach &
Athletic Director Mar. 2008: 29. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Matthews, Frank J. "The Mind In The Middle." Diverse: Issues In Higher Education 23.4
(2006): 36. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Yost, Mark. Varsity Green: A Behind The Scenes Look At Culture And Corruption In College
Athletics. Stanford, California: Stanford University, 2010. Print.
They do not face problems of debt and tuition to the extent that the normal college student faces. Student-athletes are fairly compensated through publicity and financial benefits, and the NCAA should continue to refrain from paying them. The varying size and interest levels of universities makes it almost impossible to fairly pay all athletes. In order to avoid problems like those exhibited by Northwestern’s football team, who recently tried to unionize, all athletes would need to be paid equally. The excitement brought on by college sports is immense, and problems created due to paying athletes would only hurt the tradition and charisma that college athletics offer. In conclusion, College athletes are students and amateurs, not employees. “Remember student comes first in student-athlete”
Van Rheenen, Derek. "Exploitation in College Sports: Race, Revenue, and Educational Reward." International Review for the Sociology of Sport 48.5 (2013): 550-71. Print.
College athletes attend post-secondary schools in order to receive an education and to participate in sports. “Student athletes participate in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled. Student athletes must typically balance the roles of being a full-time student and a full-time athlete” (“Student athlete” 1). Additionally, some people believe athletes should receive a salary. However, paying college athletes hurts the school, the sports, and the athletes.
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....
Athletes everywhere complain and gripe about how little money they have. What they don’t realize is, it’s not just them. Most college students do not have a sufficient amount of money that they can buy whatever they want. It is outrageous that athletes believe they are entitled to accommodations because they play sports. To play a sport at the collegiate level is a privilege (Top 10 Reasons College Athletes Should Not Be Paid). Students that participate in athletics should not receive any payment because they are receiving tons of benefits, free tuition, and this would extend the talent gap.
Student-athletes should not be paid to play and the amateur status should remain as it has for generations. Student-athletes have not matured enough at this stage of life to be able to handle all of the additional responsibilities that would be forced upon them with the professional status. Put the almighty dollar aside and let students-athletes be student’s first, amateur athletes second, allowing them to grow and mature into tomorrow’s effective leaders.
Another reason that college athletes should not be paid is because they are, under NCAA rules, to be considered amateurs. In the National Collegiate Athletic Association Rules it states, “College athletes are not to be paid, not to cash in on their prominence, never to cross any kind of line of professionalism.” Steve Wieberg, of the USA Today, studied the rules that the NCAA has placed on paying college athletes. He concludes that, “Athletic programs are meant to be an integral part of the educational program” (Weinberg). The reoccurring theme here should be obvious now —education is the most important part of the student’s time in college and being an athlete should come second.
College sports are a major revenue producing industry. Athletic programs and their student-athletes can achieve national recognition and generate millions of dollars in revenue for their university. Colleges use this revenue to invest in players, pay for their education, and provide state of the art training facilities, which are used to improve their athletic performance. As revenue driven colleges begin to prioritize athletics, the emphasis on the quality and standards of an undergraduate education are diminishing. Compromising their academic acceptance requirements, universities have now found that the educational ability of their newly accepted student athletes are inadequate, to say the least (Gurney). The same universities must then spend millions of dollars to provide these athletes with “learning specialists”, who in turn helps them to meet academic requirements and maintain their eligibility (...
College athletes generate millions of dollars for their schools each year, yet they are not allowed to be compensated beyond a scholarship due to being considered amateurs. College athletes are some of the hardest working people in the nation, having to focus on both school courses and sports. Because athletics take so much time, these student-athletes are always busy. College football and basketball are multi-billion dollar businesses. The NCAA does not want to pay the athletes beyond scholarships, and it would be tough to work a new compensation program into the NCAA and university budgets. College athletes should be compensated in some form because they put in so much time and effort, generating huge amounts of revenue.
College athletes receive scholarships based on the fact that they can play. What happens when they get injured and they are ultimately dropped from the team? They are left unable to pay for college, with hospital bills and the dream of becoming a professional athlete is flushed down the drain. Some might argue that they can get an academic scholarship, after all school should have been their priority. That sounds great, but in actuality a lot of them have been pushed through school and will not qualify. They spend so much time practicing that they do not have much time or energy to put into schoolwork. Then there are the off campus/out-of-state games that they attend. Those do not just take place on the weekends; they are during classes too, and they will almost always be considered an official excused absence. These coaches and other people in charge of athletes do not have the student’s best interest at heart. All they care about is that they can get out there and win. In my first year of college, I found out that a couple...
Howard-Hamilton, Mary F., and Julie Sina. "How College Affects College Athletes." New Directions for Student Services (2011): 35-43.
As I said in my last paragraph, many athletes who receive full ride scholarships have been given thousands of dollars for tuition, a meal plan, free books, and school fees, just to play sports. These athletes are also entitl...
College athletes should be paid! College athletes are often considered to be some of the luckiest students in the world. Most of them receiving all inclusive scholarships that cover all the costs of their education. They are also in a position to make a reputation for themselves in the sporting world preparing them for the next step. The ongoing debate whether student athletes should be paid has been going on for years. These athletes bring in millions of dollars for their respective schools and receive zero in return. Many will argue that they do receive payment, but in reality it is just not true. Costs associated with getting a college education will be discussed, information pertaining to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and benefits student athletes receive. First, I’ll start with costs associated with college and most of all why student athletes should be paid!
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).
Yost, Mark. Varsity Green: A behind the Scenes Look at Culture and Corruption in College Athletics. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2010. Print