Although Monday may have marked the end of this year’s March Madness, the debate surrounding the toxic relationship between universities and student athletes has likely just begun. In the past few months, several controversies have come to light, including declining academic standards, potential unionization and the compensation of student athletes. The business of college sports is extremely lucrative, earning $11 billion in annual revenues, while 50 colleges report annual revenues that surpass $50 million. Student athletes, however, rarely reap substantive financial or educational benefits. Universities must prioritize the academic standards that players are held to rather than perpetuating a system that leaves many student athletes unprepared for post-collegiate life.
With the exception of baseball, only 2 percent of NCAA players become professional athletes in the United States. When looking specifically at basketball, only 1.3 percent of men and 1 percent of women will actually make it to the NBA or WNBA. For the large percentage of student athletes who do not make the cut, it can be difficult to adapt to life without sports, especially when college players lack the skillset to be competitive off the court. Many student athletes are not prepared to compete for a job in the real world. When universities permit players to graduate without a solid mastery of academics, they run the risk of limiting student athletes’ skills to sports alone. This limitation can seriously affect players’ ability to function in the job market once their athletic career ends.
While most colleges with competitive athletic programs offer some sort of tutoring service to compensate for the class time student athletes miss, these programs often perpetuate a system that fails to prepare athletes for life after college. Instead of teaching college players to complete work independently, these tutors often overcompensate for the writing, critical thinking and logic skills that some student athletes lack. Rather than teaching the students to function self-sufficiently, the tutors at many schools complete the work for the athletes. As a result, the athletes obtain passing grades while doing less work than students not involved in collegiate sports. Such habits amount to the prioritization of athletic programs more than education and fail to aid the development of skills that will help students after college.
Universities should not be regarded as a stepping stone between high school and a professional career by athletes. Students with an interest in athletics should be held to the same standards as their classmates. The conclusion of this year’s March Madness should prompt athletic universities to take responsibility for all of their students.
A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, April 9 print edition. Email the WSN Editorial Board at [email protected].
