Colleges and the National Collegiate Athletic Association

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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.

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