Sports scholarships

[OinkBoink]

In many institutes,sports scholarships i.e. scholarships based on performance in sports,are given for academically oriented courses like medicine and engineering.Don't you think this practice should be discouraged?Scholarships for such courses should be given on the basis of academic performance only.I mean,what's the use of a doctor who's better at playing tennis than in his own profession or an engineer who's better at playing baseball than at engineering?You may argue that one can't finish a course till they get the requisite marks,but doesn't this mean that someone more talented and more inclined towards that course has lost out on a scholarship?

 

[Patt]

Who do you think brings in more money to the institution? That's my answer. College basketball/football especially rake in huge dollars at the larger schools.

 

[OinkBoink]

Well what about the quality of the graduates then?

 

[Genx87]

What is your complaint? That people on athletic scholarships are majoring in engineering or medicine?

 

[KevinCU]

Originally posted by: Genx87
What is your complaint? That people on athletic scholarships are majoring in engineering or medicine?

Seriously, how many football players major in something that isn't related to sports management, sociology, business or psychology?

 

[DarrelSPowers]

Originally posted by: Genx87
What is your complaint? That people on athletic scholarships are majoring in engineering or medicine?

I'm an engineer, and was on the track/xc teams.

I'm an athlete I swear!!!

 

[steppinthrax]

Originally posted by: DarrelSPowers

Originally posted by: Genx87
What is your complaint? That people on athletic scholarships are majoring in engineering or medicine?

I'm an engineer, and was on the track/xc teams.

I'm an athlete I swear!!!

I think what he's talking about are the idiots who are accepted to universities they would not be able to get into if applied normally (like the rest of us). But got into on a sports scholarship because they play a really good game of basketball. They are required to maintain a min GPA (which some of them don't even). As many of you guys previouslly said, unfortunatley in this country if University of X beats University of Y on some sport on national TV that makes University of X look better.

 

[mugs]

Huh? Many schools have additional admission requirements to get into a department. If they want to make it more difficult to get into medicine, they can. At schools that don't have such admission requirements, how are athletes taking someone else's spot since spots apparently aren't limited?

 

[Chryso]

Athletes can't be smart?

 

[rudder]

I think the athletes (football, basketball) that are not really there for academics... usually stick to the elementary gym teacher degrees. Look at Patrick Ewing... how much money he brought in for the Georetown basketball program... all with being basically illiterate.

There are football and basketball players going for engineering degrees on athletic scholarships... but I doubt they are wasting any more space than any other student.

 

[sdifox]

There has got to be some (albeit rare) academically competent jocks that got to go to their dream school because of sports scholarship no?

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Originally posted by: DarrelSPowers

Originally posted by: Genx87
What is your complaint? That people on athletic scholarships are majoring in engineering or medicine?

I'm an engineer, and was on the track/xc teams.

I'm an athlete I swear!!!

I think what he's talking about are the idiots who are accepted to universities they would not be able to get into if applied normally (like the rest of us). But got into on a sports scholarship because they play a really good game of basketball. They are required to maintain a min GPA (which some of them don't even). As many of you guys previouslly said, unfortunatley in this country if University of X beats University of Y on some sport on national TV that makes University of X look better.

I dont know of many schools that bend the rules for admission, even for athletes. If rules were bent that much there wouldnt be a need for the junior colleges and prep schools the student athletes who fail to gain admission attend for 1-2 years to get ready to reapply.

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

Nerds talking about student athletes. You guys are idiots.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: nikhilesh
In many institutes,sports scholarships i.e. scholarships based on performance in sports,are given for academically oriented courses like medicine and engineering.Don't you think this practice should be discouraged?Scholarships for such courses should be given on the basis of academic performance only.I mean,what's the use of a doctor who's better at playing tennis than in his own profession or an engineer who's better at playing baseball than at engineering?You may argue that one can't finish a course till they get the requisite marks,but doesn't this mean that someone more talented and more inclined towards that course has lost out on a scholarship?

What is your opinion about Affirmative Action?

What is your opinion about schools using extracurricular activities as a factor in admissions?

MotionMan

 

[2Xtreme21]

At Pitt, all the football and basketball players were required to have personal "academic counselors" to help them with their classes. I was friends with a girl who was one for a football player-- she was paid to do the kid's homework for him. Also, she got personalized "study guides" from the professors for his exams... which were essentially all the answers to the tests.

It's pathetic and it pisses me off that I left the school with > $55k in debt and a 3.69 GPA from busting my ass. These people won't amount to anything in their lives, and they get to leave college with a 4 year degree handed to them.

 

[axelfox]

Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
At Pitt, all the football and basketball players were required to have personal "academic counselors" to help them with their classes. I was friends with a girl who was one for a football player-- she was paid to do the kid's homework for him. Also, she got personalized "study guides" from the professors for his exams... which were essentially all the answers to the tests.

It's pathetic and it pisses me off that I left the school with > $55k in debt and a 3.69 GPA from busting my ass. These people won't amount to anything in their lives, and they get to leave college with a 4 year degree handed to them.

I think some of them (though a few) would become pro athletes, which isn't an easy accomplishment.

 

[sash1]

Originally posted by: sdifox
There has got to be some (albeit rare) academically competent jocks that got to go to their dream school because of sports scholarship no?

Myron Rolle

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
At Pitt, all the football and basketball players were required to have personal "academic counselors" to help them with their classes. I was friends with a girl who was one for a football player-- she was paid to do the kid's homework for him. Also, she got personalized "study guides" from the professors for his exams... which were essentially all the answers to the tests.

It's pathetic and it pisses me off that I left the school with > $55k in debt and a 3.69 GPA from busting my ass. These people won't amount to anything in their lives, and they get to leave college with a 4 year degree handed to them.

They will become a lesson to future "student-athletes".

MotionMan

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
At Pitt, all the football and basketball players were required to have personal "academic counselors" to help them with their classes. I was friends with a girl who was one for a football player-- she was paid to do the kid's homework for him. Also, she got personalized "study guides" from the professors for his exams... which were essentially all the answers to the tests.

It's pathetic and it pisses me off that I left the school with > $55k in debt and a 3.69 GPA from busting my ass. These people won't amount to anything in their lives, and they get to leave college with a 4 year degree handed to them.

How much money are you making the school? Yeah I thought so, zero. It's a business man, star athletes pull in shit loads of money for the school. Shut up and deal with reality.

 

[Homerboy]

You people opposed to this realize that by a school having a good Basketball/Football team allows mountains of money to come into the school. This money lowers tuition for all those attending, not to mention helps provide the money for academic scholarships too? Take away the student athletes and you can kiss A LOT of other scholarships, and facilities etc at your school goodbye.

College sports are business for the school. Nobody is dumb enough not to see that. Its a revenue stream for the school, so the school can be better in all areas. Do you think its coincidence that some of the biggest college sports teams are attached to some of the best schools (minus Invy league... but even they have some sports history behind them ie: ND, Harvard, Yale etc)?

 

[NeoV]

"Seriously, how many football players major in something that isn't related to sports management, sociology, business or psychology?"

This thread may be full of more bad information than anything I've seen on here in a long, long time.

Most athletes on scholarships are majoring in things other than sports /management-sociology-business-psychology.

The problem here is that the 'few' who are truly academically inept get all of the publicity, while the majority of student/athletes you hear nothing about. Sure, Myron Rolle is the exception, but you get the point.

99% of scholarship athletes aren't going to be pro athletes, and yes, some percentage of them will go on to careers around the sport they played - but what's so wrong about that? Should a musician not get into teaching music even if they weren't good enough to get into a symphony?

As for the guy at Pitt - shens - Professors are the LAST people at a university that are going to be giving athletes pre-filled out tests. Should be shut down all the fraternities and sororities that have test-sharing processes too?

I say this having been a DI athlete and rooming with another DI athlete, who, as a three year starter, had a good chance at a pro career before breaking his leg.

What about the argument that revenue generating scholarship athletes should get a small stipend - given the fact that they are not allowed to work during school and their team is making money for the university?

Bottom line here is that athletic scholarships are not a problem. Yes, there are a handful of athletes that have no intention of graduating - the 'one and done' basketball players are a good example - but we are talking about 15, maybe 20 kids a year like that? It's like .0001% of scholarship athletes - in other words, it doesn't matter. At many schools, these sports bring in money that helps pay for other programs - academics included!