The college sports scene, today, has become a sight of outlandish exploitation and excessive greed. College student-athletes have become objects used to finance universities and greedy business men. The problem is that most universities don’t acknowledge this fact or they are so caught up in this exploitation they can’t get out of the game. Since most universities’ developments are being financed by the revenue brought in by college sporting events, eliminating this resource would severely alter this expansion process. With the number of college-goers vastly increasing, most universities are forced to expand. In addition to raising tuition, universities are also developing and expanding their own sports programs so they can bring in even more money. For example, a university may give a full scholarship to a student athlete but all that money is returned off the money that that athlete generates in sporting event revenue. And depending on how good this student athlete is or what sport he or she is playing, the university could make double or triple the amount it’s paying for that student’s tuition. In a pure business sense this plan seems very knowledgeable and well-intended. Universities are in fact a business. So they must assert a price for the service they are providing which is education. But this is precisely where universities have lost focus. Their service is education not entertainment which is what they seem to promote with their sporting events. And as the focus becomes more and more on entertainment, this exploitation and greed will continue to increase. Unfortunately, universities have realized that entertainment sells better than education. So they’ve done what every other business would do and focused on that which brings in the most money.

Entertainment demands the best performers and that’s exactly what college athletic recruiters seek.

     Today’s college athletics are the most competitive they’ve ever been. And with that comes great competition; but, not the competition found on the basketball court or football field. This great competition lies within the recruitment game. Entertainment demands the best performers and that’s exactly what college athletic recruiters seek. They don’t worry about what type of grades these students put up in the classroom; they’re only concerned with how many points they’ll put up on the court. Even if a high school student is failing, recruiters will still go after him or her because they know that the university can always cook up some good grades to make the athlete slip by. Let’s say, for example, that an extraordinary college football prospect receives a 900 on the SAT, a score well below the requirement to enter his college of choice. But instead of being denied entrance, he is rewarded a full ride because of his projected good performance on the playing field. Now let’s say an above average student trying to attend the same university scores an 1860 on the SAT but only receives a small scholarship. Now with an example like this it becomes quite clear that universities care more about entertainment than education. Obviously, universities gain more financially from that student-athlete than the typical student which is how they’ll justify such a discrepancy in scholarship amounts. But universities should not be concerned with how much money they can generate but instead be concerned with what kind of education they are providing for these athletes. And it is quite clear that these student-athletes aren’t getting the education that universities promise.

     Graduation rates among student-athletes are horrendous. Those who don’t make it pro in their respective sport don’t have anything to fall back on. They were lured into the college athletic system because they were told they were “good”, which translates into “I can make it pro.” But suddenly as their college tenure comes to an end, so does their dreams of the big leagues. They might have been “good” freshman year but some may have gotten injured or lost their scholarships due to “performance issues” on or off the court. Let’s look again at that student-athlete that was granted a full ride scholarship but should have been denied entrance due to his low academic scores. He slips by in school with a 1.5 GPA. However, midway through his college career he breaks his leg. He recovers but will never be as fast as he used to be. His scholarship is revoked and now he’s stuck paying full tuition without any future career in mind or any possibility of achieving a career. Most likely, he’s going to immediately drop out and move back home with a disappointed family. Unfortunately, he is just another exploited college athlete, used, abused and left to fend for himself without a proper education.

Athletics have become looked at as a means for succeeding in life.

     But universities necessarily aren’t always to blame. And when local newspapers publish current student-athletes’ GPAs, the student usually receives most of the blame for such poor performance in the classroom. However, if students are being allowed to enter college unprepared then the university is at fault. But, most of these athletes only have one thing in mind when they decide to attend college; and that is becoming a professional in their respective sport. Athletics have become looked at as a means for succeeding in life. But with such a small possibility at the chance of making money for being an athlete, why do kids and parents see this as a means? The most basic answer would be that they see people “just like them” succeeding at it so they figure why can’t I? Or they become so arrogant in believing they are so good, they become oblivious to the impossibility and will do anything to become rich and famous. It’s only until the carpet has become completely pulled from underneath them that they realize how wrong they were in trying to achieve such greatness. So part of the problem lies within the very thinking framework of these individuals; the other part rests on the shoulders of the universities who project an image of athletic promise but more importantly don’t reject the lavish dreams of these individuals.

     Colleges are required to provide the highest form of education to its students. The problem with some of these student-athletes is that they aren’t even prepared for a college education. But instead of denying them entrance like they would to any typical unprepared college applicant, they not only accept them but also compensate them through scholarships. So the uneducated athlete who has had dreams of becoming a professional athlete since the age of 9 is given even more encouragement when a university ignores his intelligence and provides him a scholarship for athletics. Some may argue that this scholarship provides incentive for student-athletes to work hard on and off the court since it can be revoked because of poor academic performance. But anyone can see that a university can easily just say the student-athlete is doing well in school when he’s really not. So really by giving that scholarship it only provides him with incentive to work harder as an athlete in the attempt to become a professional.

     All universities must live up to the standards that they require for everyone. Lowering the standards to receive its service of education doesn’t enhance the quality of the service. By maintaining strict entrance standards, everyone will be forced to become prepared for college. Instead of the current philosophy that athletics are a means to success for everyone, kids and parents will focus on getting prepared for college both academically and athletically. Professional sports are an avenue for success but not everyone will succeed. So by becoming both academically and athletically prepared for college, if a student-athlete doesn’t get to the next level, he or she has something to fall back on.

An academic bar must be set for all student-athletes.

     It is worth noting, however, that there are a few prestigious universities that maintain strict entrance rules. Notre Dame, Duke, and Stanford are the first that come to mind. This issue is a direct result of why Notre Dame’s football program has begun to falter this decade. The university has maintained its strict entrance standards; therefore, they can’t bring in the top players in the nation. Hopefully, the university will continue its demanding standards to set an example for the other universities. Now, having Notre Dame’s standards for all universities is not the goal. But universities need to stop recruiting unprepared college students who have no reason being at a high-level education institution other than for sports. This is not to say that universities must deny entrance to all student-athletes. But an academic bar must be set for all student-athletes. Saying that “I’m here for sports” is not an excuse. Colleges provide an education, which should be all student-athletes’ concerns no matter how good they are. If student-athletes come to college prepared and educated, they’ll realize that they should have a back-up plan just in case.

     Unfortunately, most college sports advocates aren’t aware of the exploitation that occurs to most college athletes. Instead, they are fed college success stories that glamorize universities as being glorious institutions. Today, society acknowledges the need for a college education and demands a more civilized humanity. Unfortunately, universities tarnish both of these necessities with their current involvement in the entertainment industry. Colleges are the most concrete example of trying to create this more civilized society; so, by admitting uneducated students only foreshadows failure and no progress. College exploitation is just one issue that brings up so many idealistic problems within society as a whole. Fortunately, universities do have the ability to change their ways and hopefully they realize their importance to a progressive society and see that college exploitation inhibits this progress.