Merchandising and Contracts
With millions of dollars in merchandising and television contracts at stake, colleges have a lot of money riding on the recruitment, education, and performance-both on and off the field-- of college athletes. Colleges lure the athletes to their school, and make sure they meet the eligibility requirements when there. In order for athletes to be eligible to play in college they must attain a minimum of a 2.0 GPA in 11 designated courses, and earn a combined 700 on the SAT's. Athletes must also meet the schools requirements, normally a 2.0 GPA. With so much at stake, some colleges often go too far, by providing players with personal tutors, who often do work for the players, and pressuring teachers and administrators to look the other way when athletes fail. The NCAA also bars players from receiving any compensation, except scholarships for their play. However, there are many incidences of players receiving other sorts of compensation. There are many violations of athletic department officials and trustees giving players money, or gifts, ranging from clothing to cars. Colleges have also been known to give gifts to players just to get them to attend their institution, a practice that is much harder to trace because the student
Athletes that attend these big universities expect the universities to do everything for them, and they are more than often correct. According to Steve Wulf, a staff writer for Sports' Illustrated, "Darville is alleged to have siphoned money from the minority affairs office from 1983 to '88 and to have doled some of it out to 17 students, including nine athletes, in need of cash"(13). What about the athletes that do meet them, what are they given? The top athletes in the country know they can get scholarships from many schools, so what else are these top schools willing to give them? At the least, these athletes receive preferential treatment. Axthelm also insists that coaches who get caught cheating and leave schools should have their penalties follow them, stating that, "Fear of not getting hired again can be a good deterrent"(74). In an article written for The New Republic in May 1986, Malcolm Gladwell criticizes Proposition 48 and the effects it will have on college sports. Athletic departments are primarily self funded, so if they don't have winning teams, they don't make any money. He identifies the main problem with proposition 48, citing Berkeley sociologist Harry Edwards, "The big universities will simply keep a separate roster of first year ineligible athletes along with their regular players"(16). The athletes therefore, believe that they can get away with anything. Baylor's account leads me to believe that Darville's activities were much more widespread than 17 students. Benedict goes on to note that, "an extremely small percentage of student athletes are accused of criminal acts, but it also appears that many of those who are accused have had previous trouble with the law"(B7). This is a person who is not even in the athletics' department. The athletes at these large universities receive so much, and are so looked up to in the community they feel untouchable. So what can be done to end the insanity that college athletics has become? There are many proposals, from a number of institutions and organizations, for further rule changes by the NCAA.
Common topics in this essay:
SAT's Athletes,
Harry Edwards,
Afoul Law,
Jan Ganglehoffa,
Pete Axhelm's,
University Minnesota,
College Athletics,
Digger Phelps,
,
Illustrated Darville,
athletes meet,
university minnesota,
proposition 42,
college athletics,
earn minimum,
proposition 48,
athletic departments,
preferential treatment,
clean college athletics,
700 sat's,
coaches boosters,
|
Acceptance Essays
