Education and Athletics, two of the most prized activities within our society. So is it any surprise that the two are so closely linked in one of our societies favorite pastimes College Sports? Some believe that these two things benefit each other and some don’t. In this Rhetorical Analysis I will be analyzing the argument presented by the article titled Rethinking the Benefits of College Athletics, which questions the academic benefit that college athletics provide. The article which appeared in Forbes magazine is written by Johnathan Robe a research fellow at the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. The author describes his thesis in the first sentence of the article stating “In my short life, I’ve long been perplexed with the way many higher ed administrators–particularly college presidents–tend to laud college sports for the benefits they accrue to institutions of higher learning.“ (Robe 1) arguing that college athletics are not beneficial to colleges and in some ways can even be harmful. Robe's argument does provide supporting evidence, however it is unlikely to convince those readers that come into it with an opposing view. Robe argument starts with a statement given by the Chancellor of Louisiana State University that college athletics do provide benefits to their institutions and dissects a few of the statements arguing that is not the case. Robe then argues that there can be a negative impact on the athletes participating in college athletics, and that these athletics may not even be cost effective to their institutions. While the title of Robes article will attract both readers who agree and disagree with his thesis the article itself seems to be written more for those that agree with his thesis. There ... ... middle of paper ... ...e. The absence of counter claims to many of his arguments while being supported makes the argument suspect. Adding with that some logical fallacy errors and phrases indicating guesswork without evidence and his thesis loses further ground. Looking at the article overall the argument is semi convincing depending on whether the reader agreed with him or did not before they read the article. If coming from the same viewpoint the argument is likely effective in further convincing them, however if coming from a different viewpoint the ineffective aspects of the argument coupled with a few potentially insulting phrases are unlikely to convince the reader. Works Cited Robe, Johnathon. "Rethinking the Benefits of College Athletics." Forbes 15 Mar. 2012: n. pag. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. .
...hletes based solely on athletic merit. Many defenders of this privilege argue that because athletes choose to accept extra responsibility, they deserve extra amenities. However, the primary purpose of a college is to provide higher education for its students, and to provide them with a job they have been specially trained for. Critics who argue against the privilege agree that this kind of reward system hurts the academic basis of college youth. In reality, the chances of finding a professional career after college are very slim, and colleges that endorse the sole focus of athletics do little to prepare their athletic students for life without a professional athletic career. Whatever side one may be on, defending athletic privilege, or arguing against it, the difference in the two is not only noticeable, but also staggering in the different qualities of treatment.
Sports provide a nice source of money for the college but some of the money is given to the coaches where coaches are given much more money than professors that do make an effort to teach students. The money can be potentially be used to promote more departments and of the like, but to see that coaches get paid more than professors, it makes a statement of how sports are more important than education. Colleges are made to educate students and ensure that education are the highest quality valued, but to have professors who are the basis of education being paid less than coaches. Colleges are made to enhance student’s education and should not focus too much on its sports
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.
Pappano, Laura. “How Big-Time Sports Ate College Life” Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition, 8th ed. Pages 591-600. 2013.
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....
Pennington, Bill. "Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships." nytimes.com. New York Times, 10 Mar. 2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
Luzer, Daniel. "College Guide: The Profit in College Sports." The Washington Monthly. N.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Student athletes should not be paid more than any other student at State University, because it implies that the focus of this university is that an extracurricular activity as a means of profit. Intercollegiate athletics is becoming the central focus of colleges and universities, the strife and the substantial sum of money are the most important factors of most university administration’s interest. Student athletes should be just as their title states, students. The normal college student is struggling to make ends meet just for attending college, so why should student athletes be exempt from that? College athletes should indeed have their scholarships cover what their talents not only athletically but also academically depict. Unfortunately, the disapproval resides when students who are making leaps academically are not being offered monetary congratulations in comparison to student athletes. If the hefty amount of revenue that colleges as a conglomerate are making is the main argument for why athletes should be paid, then what is to stop the National Clearinghouse from devising unjust standards? Eventually if these payments are to continue, coaches, organizations, and the NCAA Clearinghouse will begin to feel that “c...
It is no secret that college has absurd tuition prices. If colleges were to lower the prices of tuition, everyone would be universally happier. Brooks uses the following quote to address the obvious “it is the outrageous sticker price of a college education, and its steep upward climb in seeming defiance of the rest of the economy, that has fueled a demand to know why American families should sacrifice so much to a possibly dubious product.” (Brooks 59). Although I agree that college may be too inflated compared to off campus, I came to the realization that the price of college is mostly worth it. Umass Amherst has the best Sports Management program and is worth the money because they have the largest alumni in this field. They have alumni in all the major sports leagues in America and even in the other continents. They have a strong connection to Umass and tend to hire other Umass Amherst graduates from the McCormack Department of Sport Management. Brooks believes that instrumental learning, teaching students to pass the course, rather to understand the central questions of humanity hinders the value of college (Brooks 65). Yet this could not be further from the truth. The first time reading the essay I supported his arguments, but the more times I read the essay the more I began to disagree. At first, I questioned if a year’s tuition for
College athletes are undoubtedly some of the hardest working people in the world. Not only are they living the life of an average student, they also have a strenuous schedule with their specific sport. One of the most discussed topics in the world of college athletics is whether or not student-athletes should be paid money for playing sports. The people who disagree with the idea have some good arguments to make. Primarily that the athletes get to go to school for free for playing sports. Another argument is that if student-athletes were to get paid then it would ruin the amateurism of college sports. People who are against paying the athletes do not want to see the young people become focused on money. “Paying student-athletes would dramatically shift their focus away from where it should be - gaining knowledge and skills for life after college” (Lewis and Williams). This is very understandable because one of the biggest reasons college sports are so popular is because the athletes play for school pride and for bragging rights. They play because they enjoy the game, not because it is their job. Most people that disagree with the idea of paying the athletes fail to realize what really goes on behind the scenes. At most Universities around the country the bulk of the income the school receives is brought in through the athletic programs. In fact the football and basketball teams usually bring in enough money to completely pay for the rest of the athletic programs all together. To get a better understanding of how much has changed in the world of college sports a little history must be learned.
The payment of NCAA student-athletes will deteriorate the value of an education to the athletes. The value of an education for a young man or woman cannot be measured. It is our gate way to success as...
Forbes, 30 January 2014. Web. 29 April 2014. Gutting, Gary. “The Myth of the ‘Student-Athlete’.”
Power, Clark. "Athletics vs. Academics." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Sports programs have been an integral part of all schools. They support the academics of the school and therefore foster success in life. These programs are educational and help produce productive citizenship. They help students experience and build skills that may help them in their future, like interpersonal and time management skills. Education may kindle the light of knowledge, but sports help to maintain the proper physique. Sports are also an important means of entertainment and a use for energy after long hours of study. Sports increase a student’s performance not only in the classroom but also in their life.
But, even Syracuse has had its run-ins with making athletics too much of a priority. In 2015, the NCAA completed an eight-year investigation of the school’s men’s basketball program leading them to punish Syracuse University for “a lack of institutional control” (O’Donnell, 2016). Syracuse is school that overall has good qualities. Their punishment by the NCAA can be considered a positive thing as it served as a wake-up call and allows them to re-evaluate their institutional values. The over-fixation on sports is not only detrimental to an institution as a whole, but also for student-athletes themselves. Rebecca Buchanan (2016) an assistant professor at Emory & Henry College and a former Division-I (DI) athlete writes about the advantages and