From: turnerbl@ucbeh.san.uc.edu
Newsgroups: soc.college
Subject: Re: Athletics over Academics at CU, surely not.
Date: 18 Dec 92 14:20:12 EST
Distribution: world
Organization: Univ. of Cincinnati


> In article <1992Dec16.143400.12505@sernews.raleigh.ibm.com> murray@rocky.raleigh.ibm.com (Charlie Murray) writes:
> 
>    Just wanted to throw a few more observations onto the heap.
> 
>    (1) Athletics (specifically athletic scholarships) may give some students
>        their ONLY opportunity to attend college, and a lot of them work very
>        hard at their courses and the added work of practice, etc.
> 
> And a lot of us worked very hard on our jobs to stay in school.
> Athletic scholarships are wonderful, but if all the money that was
> spent on high-profile athletics was spent on more scholarship,
> athletic and otherwise, hundreds of more students would be able to
> attend college.

>>>>>sorry to have to ask this thorny question, but may I ask just what your
graduation rate is, of those students who are on these grand and gloriuos
scholarship opportunities?  And too, if indeed the students are persuing , say
a degree in criminal justice, what's the difference between attending community
college on a pell grant (which they could no doubt get if indeed they come from
reduced means) and going to a mucl larger/more expensive school?  Ummm, could
it be GLORY?  GREED?  MANIPULATION?  And I'm talking about the athletic
department, not to mention the students!

Athletics are indeed a game, but the only winners are the athletic departments,
and no one, no one else, least of all, the student
> 
>    (2) All college athletes are NOT dumb jocks.  A good balance of scholastic
>        and physical pursuits is good for all students.
> 
>>>>>>sez who?  dare i need point you in the direction of the pile of
athletic/physical ed requirements that have been dropped as non-essential by
tons of colleges and universities?  Schools who, however misguided they may be,
think that 3 credits more of english is going to get you alittle further than 3
credits of tennis.

>>>>>and who would not go to college on scholarship, hell i'd go just for the
better food! not to mention all the attention they get, special residence hall,
and press coverage, partic for those little brushes with the law.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 

>    (3) College athletics (granted it is primarily football and basketball)
>        generate revenue that is used by the schools to hopefully improve
>        facilities for all students.  And finally
> 
> This is simply not true, according to the December 4-6 issue of the
> Colorado Daily in the Editorial titled "Football team doesn't bring
> gifts to CU; The record shows no correlation between Buffs' success
> and donations." There's a box on the next page titled "Don't take our
> word for it: Look it up youself", and it gives references to 8 studies
> that indicate that there is no correlation between winning football
> teams and University fund-raising. Now the whole rationale of spending
> millions on the football team and other high-profile athletics is that
> it brings in money to help all the students; that's why we need a 300
> grand a year football coach, because that's just an investment, as a
> winning football team will induce the alumni to donate money. However
> this little chart on page 10 tells a different story.
> 
>    (4) Whether you have the same view or not, college sports are VERY important
>        to the people involved, and deserves the same respect due all activities
>        we choose to pursue.


>>>>>>>sorry pal, I differ with you.  When our students here at the College
Conservatory of Music travel to Paris to attend the Mahaler festivel (the only
college orchestra in the world invited <grin>) and performed well, they brought
glory not only yo the CCM, but the university and the City.  The difference
between them and the average football player is that the footballplayer is
waited on hand and foot, while the performer just has to make do within the
system.  Our only consolation is, of course, that the musician know that there
are a heck of a lot more orchestras then pro football teams.  See, those SAT
scores reall do matter in the end! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<


> 
> There is a difference between respecting people's choice of
> activities, and giving them $4.2 mil (according to the Daily). In the
> case of the French exam, a practice for a recreational activity of 20
> or so students cannot be compared in importance to the final exams of
> 500 students. And believe me, if 20 dorm residents had scheduled that
> place for a basketball game, you can be assured that their activities
> would not have been allowed to stop the final.
> 
>>>AMEN!  and no doubt would have not made as big a stink about it, but then,
it depends on if it was the athletic dorm or not.

>>>We had a similar problem when our stududent government  discovered that the
priority for registering for classes went to 1) handicapped (for obvious
physical needs, parking at certain accessible buildings) then 2) Athelets and
3) Seniors!  How amazed we were to discover the least and most ablebodied 
students right next to each other!  Students were not happy.  Partic when at
that point, neither of the revenue sports was winning ( can we stop talking
about football and basketball as college sports now?  college "sports" are, to
me, things like women's diving and mes's golf, students who play for the love
of the "sport" and niot for the shoe contracts!)


Newsgroups: soc.college