College Football and Higher Education

Wasn't sure this belonged in Tilted Entertainment or Politics. But since this involves both my Alma Mater and Higher Ed, I thought I'd post this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/s...io-state-its-first-down-and-4-million.html?hp

So what do you all think? Is entertainment encroaching over pursuit of higher education? I remember back when I went to the University of Florida, I would be miffed that I couldn't study on Saturdays because everyone else was focused on Football and the campus (including libraries and other facilities were closed to permit tailgating).

Is this a broader symptom of a national culture of entertainment versus the pedantic pursuit of less glamorous knowledge? There is a distinct emphasis and greater priority placed on education in Asian countries as opposed to the USA. Nonetheless, we're still (more or less) considered the World Leader, although that may change.

Thoughts?

That aside, You dirty Traitor, Meyer.

-Disappointed UF Alumnus

 

Doesn't bother me in the slightest. At most major schools, the football program pays for the entire athletic department, which provides scholarships to hundreds of students every year

 

"College Football and Higher Education" is an Oxymoron.

 

gonna find out if meyer was a good coach at florida or he just had decent players.

just seems different that ohio state hasnt been any good this year. i know the michigan fans like it

 

It's not really news that college football is nearly as big of a business as professional football. It's not at all surprising that the salaries for head coaches would fall into a similar range.

 

you ahve to pay good money to get the best

 

The football and basketball programs pay for many schools' entire athletic program through the game receipts and especially the tv contracts (HUGE!!!). A successful program is a great asset in attracting both athletes and non-athlete students, as well as huge amounts of alumni donations. Alumni identify with the school's sports teams even when they never played. For those who think that the concentration on sports is not worthwhile since most athletes will never play professionally - it's often a door to later life success in many other fields. The alumni associations make sure of that.

So is a successful coach worth $4 million? If he brings in $10 million dollars, then sure. If he doesn't, then you turf him. It's a hard fact of life in the sports world, professional or college. Is it fair? It's the ultimate expression of democracy. People vote with their $$$ every time they do or don't go to a game. I'm not against it at all in general.

My issue with all this is the professionalization of college sports has, as John Wooden lamented, ended the era of the student-athlete, and ushered in the era of the big-time athlete-student. I sort of like my universities for education first, and sports as an extracurricular activity. When the education is secondary to the sports, then so is the university.

 

You make a good point.

In addition, a point made by Walter Williams in a column he recently wrote, the 99% who pay $100's even $1,000 of dollars to watch the people in the 1% (or in this case college sports programs) play their games bidding up the salaries can't really blame the 1%. In big time college sports the people really getting screwed are the "student athletes" and the schools putting academics first.

 

BULLSHIT. I went to a university here in Ohio not too long ago (4 years ago) and carried a 3.67 GPA. i thought I would be eligible for an academic scholarship of some form, BUT the school claimed they didn't have them. Yet, they could pay their losing coaches more than any other professor and give full rides (including room and board) to their athletes.

Then they continue to raise tuition and room and board.

I'm a Buckeye fan but this deal sucks sewer water. College should be about EDUCATING and those that excel in LEARNING and MAINTAINING GRADES, should have FAR MORE respect and scholarships available than the 2.0 "student athlete".

 

It's a money thing, not a grades thing. IF whatever department you graduated from was generating income for the school, they'd probably have more scholarships. it's the harsh reality of education these days.

 

But that is not what education is. And allowing a society to think that way sets it up for failure. Which is what we are seeing our country do right now. You can trace the decline of this nation to how education declined. It walks hand in hand. We are getting dumber instead of advancing we are stagnant and in decline and people bitch but no one does anything and when people do say, "it's bullshit." the responses are much like yours, "that's just the way it is." Instead of, it does need changed, let's work on changing it and making it better.

WTF good is it to send your kid to a "good school" and expect them to get good grades thinking that will get them a better job and live a better life than what you did (which IS the American dream, oh by the way), when we teach them that the schools base everything on how far they can kick a ball or how fast they can score a touchdown or get a slam dunk. We show our kids that education is worthless and they are worthless because the person who can "win games" is more valuable to society.

And if the sports programs "fund" themselves, then why does tuition go up and there are no scholarships for those who do value education and work their asses off? Is not someone who works their ass off to better their life worth as much to society as someone who's life's work is sports and then they don't get drafted and since they were always handed things for free, they don't know how to keep a job or are grossly undereducated.

So you're right, let's give that kid a full scholarship and when he blows out his knee and can't win any more games, kick him out for not being able to keep his GPA up. Sounds like a great great society that values the future of it's kids to me.
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It's just not colleges any longer, high schools are starting to do it also. They can't afford books but fuck the books, let's put a good team on our new multi-million dollar rubber turf football field. The coach will win and draw in people paying $10 a home game and if we don't make the playoffs, aw well.

But what about the books and teachers and preparing ALL students by giving them a better education than their parents had? Fuck that, we want teams that will win. Fuck the student. They can learn in Junior High. Ok, 10 years from now you are doing the same thing with the JR High kids, because the high schools are recruiting them to play there. Fuck them the 5th and 6th graders will be taught to value education...... OK, 20 yrs from now those are the kids/athletes that we value and pay big bucks for coaches....where does it end?

It truly is a sad state of affairs. While the above may not happen, there have been stories that junior high kids have been recruited to play at a different districts senior high and that the schools will "arrange" things so the parents don't have to move.

I can understand private schools/universities doing this bullshit, but tax funded public schools should be required to have education be their prime objective and fuck the sports. You need to cut programs because levies don't go through, fuck the sports make the students PAY TO PLAY. After all, originally the sports teams even in the colleges were funded by the players and NOT the schools. The teams were "clubs" and the travel expenses and coaches were paid for by the dues from the members. That's the way my first college attended ran their rugby team, and it worked. Of course it was a private school and offered NO sports scholarships in any way, so the teams sucked. BUT the education was rated very high, 95% of law school applicants graduating from that college were accepted to law school, Med school applicant rate was similar. Not many schools can claim that. But that's a school that sets education first sports second and they did have massive merit and as needed scholarships available. They turned very few away because they couldn't pay for the school. That is an example of what society truly needs more of.

 

While I agree there is too much emphasis on college athletics (football, basketball), college is not just about the classroom experience.

A school like Ohio State has about 50,000 students and maybe a couple hundred with athletic scholarship each year. Thats less than one percent. I would guess that OSU also has numerous other scholarship, probably an equal number combined, from merit based to diversity based to ROTC to other specialized categories.

And I dont you think you can make generalizations about the grades of student athletes or "blowing out their knees" based on the experiences of the football team. Football and basketball generate the revenue to provide other athletes (track, swimming, lacrosse, tennis, golf, etc) with the opportunity for cost-free college education. I could probably find studies that these athletes have a graduation rate equal to, or higher than, the general student population.

It has been particularly beneficial to high school girl athletes since the passage of Title IX (btw, an affirmative action program) that requires an equal number of scholarships (and facilities) for girls. As others have noted, it is primarily football and men's basketball that provides the funds for all student athletics.

The NCAA needs to take a serious look at its rules regarding student athletes and coaches, but I share the opinion of others on the positive value of intercollegiate athletics at both the personal level and the institutional level.

 

For what it's worth, I went to Ohio State and received a merit scholarship of full tuition + $4500/year for my four years of undergrad. I also received two other merit scholarships (from the Ohio Board of Education) that paid any remaining expenses. My parents didn't pay a dime for my college experience until I wanted to join the equestrian team.

I am back at Ohio State now and I'm receiving a university fellowship (full tuition + $1400/month stipend) for my first year of my graduate program. If it was a PhD program, it would last all 4-5 years, but since I'm in a clinical program, it's just the first year.

Scholarships are there if you are truly a hard worker and know where to look and how to apply. I believe Ohio State and its various colleges give out far more money in scholarships based on merit or financial need than those that are given to athletes, and those given to athletes are funded entirely by the athletic department.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bryQ9xt5gwk

As much as I like to watch a college football game here and there (and if I lived in Phoenix, I would go to a few games each year). I think they have taken it too far.

If I would have to go back to college, it would be to a school that didn't have a football team. The problem is, as a 17 year old long ago, I had never heard of any college without a football program. I didn't know they existed. And quite frankly, I'm not sure why some small schools even have them. In my hometown there is an MBA/business school. Most people that go there are older, yet somehow that small school has a football team. I just think the school could be more focused, and compete against other schools in engineering type projects (as an engineer), than on the football field.

 

University of Florida Eliminates Computer Science Department, Increases Athletic Budgets. Hmm. - Forbes

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Really? Computer science is the area they want to cut to save $1.4 million? While they add $2million to the athletics budget?

 

Never understood the hype about these things. Got no respect nor case for it.

Same reason I'm not into soccer.

*waits for Germany to withdraw his citizenship*

 

Tragic indeed... but the comparison to the athletic budget is probably inappropriate. In the US, at NCAA Division I schools, the money brought in by the football and basketball programs generally exceeds the entire athletic budget, sending money into the general school accounts.

I agree the loss of the Computer Science department is bad in general, and particularly bad in light of the governor's comments. On the other hand, the entire athletic program can be seen as needing repair as, as legendary UCLA coach John Wooden lamented, we see the end of the student-athlete, and the rise of the athlete-student. The emphasis on athletics first at an institution of learning is inherently wrong, and the NCAA recognises this as evidenced by their ad campaign during March Madness about how many of the the college athletes "go pro" in something other than sports. They obviously recognise the inappropriateness of the intense focus on sports and the athletes, but they won't really do much to change it