Academic Benefits of College Athletics

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Education and athletics, two of the most prized activities within our society. It's therefore no surprise that the two so closely link in one of our society’s favorite pastimes: college sports. Some believe that these two things benefit each other and some don’t. In the Forbes article titled “Rethinking the Benefits of College Athletics,” the author Jonathan Robe, a research fellow at the Center for College Affordability, explains, “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 add to institutions of higher learning.“ He argues that college athletics do not benefit colleges and in some ways can even harm them. A majority of the supports are strong and, despite a few ineffective supports and language, Robe's argument is effective for its intended audience.
Robe’s first appeals to logic. Logic impresses a business audience like readers of Forbes magazine. He examines the notion that college athletics help create exposure for colleges and that itself being a benefit. Robe makes the concession this does create exposure based on his own personal experience, himself unaware of some smaller universities until he saw them competing. He questions, however, the real world value this exposure provides, asking “to what end is all this exposure?” This appeal, however, could offend readers that agree with him but also value college sports, affecting the credibility of Robe’s argument for his intended audience. While the title of Robe’s article will attract both readers who agree and disagree with his thesis, the article itself targets those that agree with his thesis. This appeal to logic and potential humor appeals to rea...

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...cle uses many rhetorical tools to support his argument. He includes an adequate amount of statistics, authorities, and appeals for credibility. Robe strengthens his argument further by making concessions to commonly held beliefs about the benefits of college sports, while putting forth convincing counter arguments. His argument are well rounded, examining the effects of college athletics on both academic institutions, as well as individual athletes. Some logical fallacies and ineffective language do have a negative effect on the argument, however, on balance the effective supports outweigh the ineffective, further convincing Robe’s intended audience.

Works Cited
Robe, Johnathan. "Rethinking the Benefits of College Athletics." Forbes 15 Mar. 2012: n. pag. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. .

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