Academia vs. Athleticism

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Children’s hopes and dreams are embedded in their hearts and minds from when they are in elementary school. Some may mention they want to be doctors, nurses, and artists while others answer “I want to be famous.” There is no bigger dream among childhood sports than making it into a professional league. Those children feel a little bit of exposure will be enough to open the door and answer their prayers of stardom. The instructions are well known even among some of the youngest of players. They just need to play well in high school, then accept an athletic scholarship to a university, and excel in that sport while getting airtime on television. More often than not, the kids do not value their education, and they do just enough in order to qualify to play on their team. The NCAA is failing student athletes because it prioritizes athleticism over academics by changing the rules, which now allow subpar academic students onto college teams. All too often, the students see the dream of stardom more so than the reality of needed education.
The love of the game usually resonates in student athletes from an early age. If in the right settings, the students will be taught that excelling in academics is far better than athletics because of the benefits over time. The goal of student athletes should be to nurture academics first, then nurture their athletic gifts. The NCAA website states, “We support learning through sports by integrating athletics and higher education to enrich the college experience of student-athletes. NCAA members – mostly colleges and universities, but also conferences and affiliated groups – work together to create the framework of rules for fair and safe competition.” (“Who We Are”) This show...

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...NN Analysis: Some College Athletes Play like Adults, Read like 5th-graders." CNN.com. Cable News Network, 08 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 May 2014.
Longman, Jere. "Despite His Critics, Carter was Correct." New York Times, Late Edition (East
Coast) ed.: D3. May 21 2001. ProQuest. Web. 12 May 2014 .
Palaima, Thomas G. "The NCAA and the Athletes It Fails." The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 17 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 Jan. 2012.
"REAL Sports Episode on Academics in Sports (UNC, Memphis, OU)." YouTube. YouTube, 25
Mar. 2014. Web. 12 May 2014.
"Scholastic Assessment Test Score Averages, by State: 1987 to 1997." Scholastic Assessment
Test Score Averages, by State: 1987 to 1997. National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.
Web. 13 May 2014.
"Who We Are." NCAA Public Home Page. NCAA.org, n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.

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