High school student-athletes are in for another challenge as they soon become college student-athletes. As they make the transition to college life, they will have to balance the rigorous courses they plan to take and athletics. Some are able to manage the two, while others struggle. The common problem of Student-Athletes struggling in college is because of their academics. Because of this problem many of these student-athletes will end up not eligible to play any games that season. In order for the Student-Athletes to avoid this problem of not playing, a lot of them will seek help and request for tutors to help them manage their school work and sports. But this can also pose a problem, too.
In college, coaches will provide their players with personal tutors or have them visit their academic counselors. These coaches realize that if their players do not do well in their academics, then there is a possibility that they will not be eligible to play college sports. The University of Southern California and other division I-A universities have student class checkers that will go around campus to monitor athletes and make sure they are where they need to be (Thamel). Most division I-A universities that are top football programs have spent millions and millions of dollars in building athletic academic centers just for athletes so they can get all the help they need (Thamel). According to the New York Times, USC spent $1.5 million annually on tutors and academic support to help the athletes that attend their school (Thamel).
The graduation rate of student-athletes in college becomes another factor why it is important for student-athletes to have tutors. In January of 2005, the NCAA Division I board of Directors established the Academi...
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...orah. "Academic Performance or Lose Athletic Scholarships." Strategic Enrollment Services. American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, n.d. Web. 5 Dec 2013. .
Kim, Dae. "Student Athlete’s get additional tutoring help."neojourno. WordPress, 19 Sep 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. .
"Time Management." True Life: Student Athletes. WordPress, 10 Nov 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. .
Thamel, Pete. "Athletes Get New College Pitch: Check Out Our Tutoring Center." The New York Times College Football. The New York Times Company, 04 Nov 2006. Web. 18 Nov 2013. .
When I was accepted into the University of Oklahoma, I was not aware of the tradition or prestige that the football team carried. Moreover, I had no idea about the honor it was to don the crimson and cream in the arena of athletics. And, I never envisioned rooming with them. I enjoyed sports, but I loved reading and writing more. Initially, I was focused on building a collegiate career that one day would propel me to my goal of studying law. Yet, the more time I spent interacting with the athletes, the more parallels I noticed between their personalities and mine. Their diligence, perseverance and compassion were all traits that I could identify with since they were reflective of me. For the most part, the majority of the athletes were hungry to achieve and they desired knowledge at all costs; a combination that still resonates with me today.
Not all colleges’ focus on ensuring that their athletes succeed both their respective sport and in their education. The University of Oklahoma (referred to as “OU”) demonstrates its commitment to success in the classroom and on the field, by providing students with the Sooner Housing Center. The Sooner Housing Center provides a family-like environment, which ensures OU athletes maintain a strong balance between academics and athletics by emphasizing the athlete’s educational achievements in addition to their sports accomplishments. Living in a focused community guides athletes in the right direction since performativity plays a large role in their lives.
Almost all colleges have friendly classes or teachers that understand the stresses of the student athlete that has to practice and study. But they do not understand the young man or woman who works full time and is trying to make a better life for themselves. These teachers are selected by the coaches and ADs as the teaches to have. These friends of the program will make sure that a student is eligible to play. These teachers will also sometimes waive assignments and even allow slacked attendance. Were as when the average Joe misses he will loose credit and not be allowed to make up missed work.
Pappano, Laura. “How Big-Time Sports Ate College Life” Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition, 8th ed. Pages 591-600. 2013.
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.
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 (...
Pennington, Bill. "Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships." nytimes.com. New York Times, 10 Mar. 2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
Howard-Hamilton, Mary F., and Julie Sina. "How College Affects College Athletes." New Directions for Student Services (2011): 35-43.
Mitchell, Horace. "Students Are Not Professional Athletes." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .
College athletes comprise the unique part of the college community but their problems often remain underestimated since their success in their sports overshadows difficulties, which they may and do confront in terms of their integration into the college community. In this regard, the social background of college athletes is one of the major challenges for their successful integration because they are from low-income families mainly and a large part of college athletes represents minorities, such as African Americans. As a result, the social background of college athletes is substantially different from that of the majority of college students, who are predominantly white and middle-class. At this point, it is possible to refer to the book Backboard and Blackboards by Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler, where the author explore issues that college students confront at college. The authors reveal numerous difficulties and challenges college athletes may confront at college and suggest their explanation of those difficulties. However, the book makes obvious the gap that persists between college athletes and the rest of the college community because of the different social background of college athletes, their different interests and priorities, which make them not only different from other students but also contribute to certain marginalization of college students within their college communities.
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.
"College Athletic Programs Undermine Academics." Student Life. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 27 July 2011.
Herbet D. Simans, Derek Van Rheenen, and Martin V. Covington focuses their argument on academic motivation of student athletes and what drives them to want to succeed in the classroom as well as on the court or field. Although Flynn also focuses on academic motivation of student athletes, he also discusses how colleges tend to spend more money on sports related necessities for the students instead of towards their education. Flynn’s argument displays how colleges are basically a business...
Thompson, Christie. "Life of an athlete: balancing sports and academics." Stetson Reporter. N.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
The students that were accepted solely on athletic abilities additionally counteract the university purpose by occupying valuable student spaces of enrollment. At Penn State University i...