A very controversial issue in college athletics today is whether student athlete's academic goals or athletic events should be placed in higher importance. In our society today, many people people tend to think of highly renowned college athletes as athletes that dedicate all their time to the sport that they play. What many people tend to forget is that these college athletes have as large a responsibility in the classroom as they do playing football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, track and field, or whatever sport it is that they play. These student athletes are required to practice for many hours each week in addition to having to complete hours of homework and research papers that they may have. Some people may think that being a collegiate athlete would be a fun and easy task but however, they are wrong. Regular college students receive enough homework and papers to do. Imagine having to complete all of the homework that all non- student athletes have to complete in addition to the time consuming dedication to a sports team. This is the stressful and challenging life of a collegiate student athlete.
It is very challenging for student athletes to be able to manage their time between academics and athletics. It can also be difficult for colleges to help their students balance their time between these two very time requiring activities. Colleges and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA, want their students athletes to succeed in the classroom, but they also need student athletes to practice and compete in athletic events because they profit off of their success on the field.
Due to the immense popularity of college athletics and the large profits that colleges receive from these sports, it...
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...es are poor should not be able to play their sport. The NCAA understands this and implemented a rule that states student athletes must maintain a 2.3 grade point average or they will not be eligible for athletics. This is a good start on the path to helping student athletes learn to prioritize academic over athletics. However, in the future the NCAA could raise the minimum required grade point average to a 2.5 or even higher. Some colleges in our country need to do a better job of enforcing these rules. There have been cases reported in which colleges kept their student athletes eligible even when they were struggling academically. This is not acceptable and colleges should not hold back from punishing student athletes who aren’t succeeding in their academics.
It is also very difficult for student athletes to manage their time between their athletics and academics.
Over the past 20 years, there has been a major increase in the popularity of college athletes. From 1989 to 2004, there was a 27% increase in ticket revenue (Brown). Despite the rigorous schedules the athletes had, they are still considered just a student. The NCAA cannot continue to allow these schools to work the athletes as much as they do without giving the athletes what they deserve. This is a horrible oppressive system that must be fixed.
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.
Millions of Americans stare at ESPN or absorb themselves in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated just to catch the latest news on their favorite teams' recruits, recent games, and statistics. Often just viewed as a past time to most, it is easy to lose sight of why these athletes are on the field, court, etc. to begin with. Believe it or not, it's for their education. These young adults ranging anywhere from seventeen to twenty-three years of age are all members of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). As such these students must initially meet the requirements to get accepted into their chosen university, participate in their sport, and ultimately graduate from their selected institution.
Potuto, Josephine (Jo) R., and James O'Hanlon. "National Study Of Student-Athletes Regarding Their Experiences As College Students." College Student Journal 41.4 (2007): 947-966. Humanities International Complete. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
Another restraint to college athletes working is a time restraint. College athletes have very busy schedules they follow and when finished with their schedules they are left with very little free time. Student athletes are required to take a minimum of twelve credit hours to start the semester and required to pass at least nine credit hours by the end of the semester. With this standard having to be met, the athletes are spending hours studying and attending class. Besides from studying and attending class the athletes then have to go to practice. Going to practice and participating takes up about four to seven hours of the athlete’s day. After all of this is completed, the athletes are left with only a couple of hours for them to enjoy time with their friends or even to just relax and watch a movie. But, because these athletes are college students and do not receive any money for their commitments they are supposed to squeeze time in for work in. If athletes apply for a job they are limited to only a couple of hours a day to work. Also a large number of jobs request their employees to be available on the weekends.
Playing a sport in college is equivalent to working a full-time job (Thomas). There are rules that allow major-college football coaches to only demand twenty hours of the players time each week (Wieberg). However, studies show that those athletes are doubling those hours per week during the season (Wieberg). Other sports are putting in the equivalent of a full time work week (Wieberg). Some NCAA officials are concerned with the amount of time spent stating that beyond forty hours is inhumane (Wieberg). Most of the athletes compete and do whatever it takes to succeed, so they enjoy spending countless hours on sports (Wieberg). Many athletes even have struggles in the classroom because they do not have enough time to study. Student-athletes at top Division I schools think of themselves as athletes more than students (Wieberg). Less than one percent of college athletes actually make it professionally (Wieberg). That means these kids should focus more on their education than on athletics. In reality, these official...
Howard-Hamilton, Mary F., and Julie Sina. "How College Affects College Athletes." New Directions for Student Services (2011): 35-43.
Everyone has experienced some type of stress in their life. Whether it has been from work, school, or troubles at home, stress is stress. If anyone had played sports in high school, you know the challenge of balancing school and sports. Imagine that stress, then multiply it exponentially. Everyone knows that college is a much more rigorous version of high school. The only reason some athletes made it to college is due to scholarships for their performance on the field. If they don’t perform well on the field, that scholarship might get cut. This makes practicing the athletes main priority. However, college athletes have to concentrate on their grades so they don’t drop out of college. These athletes know they may not make it to the pro’s, so they know they have to have a back up plan. This back up plan is called a college degree. So college athletes have to concentrate both on sports and classes. Sounds kind of challenging. This is why I believe student athletes should be allowed to miss classes occasionally due to their sport. Athletes are under much more stress, are required to attend practices and classes, and complete their homework. This is simply impossible to do, at least for a human. I believe that this is an important topic because it affects all college athletes.
The impact of college athletic programs on academics has always been a controversial and contentious topic. It seems that athletic programs have some contemplative effects on academics of colleges and universities. Different people have different ideas about how college athletic programs should be carried on. College presidents, administrations, student athletes, parents of students, and athletic trainers are along with these people who point out different facts about the fallouts of athletics on academics. A bunch of people suggest that athletic programs should be dropped from college system, while another group suggests that athletic programs should be taken care with more advertence. An analysis on the effects of college athletics on academics has two personal approaches: college athletics undermine academics, and athletics amplify academic experience.
College sports are a major part of colleges, and some colleges benefit greatly from these sports. Most, if not all, colleges gain a great amount of money from the sports that they incorporate in their programs. College athletics is a non-professional, competitive set of sports which is played at the tertiary level. These types of programs were developed to enhance several skills outside of the classroom, like health, discipline, as well as build several bonds between student-athletes. (Wikipedia). College athletics is major deal for the colleges but it is also a major deal for the wider public. Some of these people contribute money to specific college athletic programs, watch the sport religiously, and even
Around the country, college athletic programs are pushing their athletes more and more every day. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is an association set up to regulate the athletic programs of colleges in the United States and Canada such as eligibility, sportsmanship, and play. Due to NCAA rules, the “student” comes first in “student athlete.” This means that in order to be a full time student, 12 credit hours a semester are required, and in order to compete in athletics, students must maintain a core GPA of 2.3 or higher. It may seems easy right now but throw in lifting, games and practices, along with team meetings, and you’ve got yourself a full time job on the side.
Many people believe that College athletes have it easy, and who wouldn’t think that? A free education, free living; getting to travel and play the sport that many people would love to still be able to. Student athletes also get to pick classes earlier than a regular student and have the ability to be excused from classes to go to games and special events. The life of a student athlete sounds like an enticing thing for many people; especially those who are not student athletes on scholarships or walk-ons to a college team. The rising cost of attending college has made the younger athletic population work just as hard to receive a scholarship to play a sport, because they may come from poverty where they can’t otherwise afford to attend school, which is beneficial to them. Understand, that college is a place where academics comes first, and everything else is second; this includes athletics. But are these athletes treated fairly and given all the right things they need to succeed in life, let alone college?
For decades there has been a debate on student athletes and their drive to succeed in the classroom. From the very beginning of organized college level athletics, the goal to want to succeed in athletics has forced students to put academics to the back burner. In spite of the goal to want to succeed over a hundred years of attempts to check limits of intercollegiate athletic programs on colleges' academic standards still seems to struggle to this day. This brings to surface one of the most asked questions in sports, “What effect does college sports have on academics and economics?” Herbert D. Simons, Derek Van Rheenen, and Martin V. Covington, authors of “Academic Motivation and the Student Athlete” researched the topic on whether athletics and academics benefit each other. Bryan Flynn, the author of “College Sports vs. Academics” poses the question “Should institutions of higher learning continue to involve themselves in athletic programs that often turn out to be virtual arms races for recruiting talented players who bring big money and prestige, but put academics to the back burner?” Although both authors agree that sports have an impact on an athlete’s academics, the focus of their argument differs.
One effect of sports on education is time management. Studies have shown that students with packed schedules tend to get work done faster and procrastinate less because they know that they only have a certain amount of time to get their work done. Non-athlete students might spen...
The life of a college student is hard to begin with. The life of a college student athlete re-writes the definition of hard. The students are practically employees of the school. Their college life is planned out for them with little room for compromise. Offseason lifting, practice, film study, In season games, media is just a sample of their daily activities, and they still have time to study for the same exact tests that a normal