IV. Recommended Policy
It seems widely agreed upon that the quandary posed by the current state of collegiate athletics cannot be addressed with one solution. Rather, an extensive list of possible solutions has been proposed, as we have previously discussed. In researching these proposed solutions, we have come across many viable options and have been inspired to devise our own policies. Keeping in mind that our ultimate goal is to return the focus to academics and maintain the validity of the “student” aspect of the student-athlete, we have compiled a series of solutions into one policy that we believe provides the most feasible and plausible resolution to the current “problem” of collegiate athletics.
Raising Academic Standards
“College presidents have put in jeopardy the academic credibility of their universities just so we can have this entertainment industry. … The NCAA continually wants to ignore this fact, but they are admitting students who cannot read.”
-Gerald Gurney, speaking to CNN[1]
The current academic standards required by the NCAA for a prospective student-athlete to be eligible to play collegiate sports at the Division I level are a 2.0 GPA and a corresponding ACT/SAT math and reading composite score based on the sliding scale shown in Figure 1. Admirably, the NCAA has already established that in 2016 the academic standards will be raised to a minimum core GPA of 2.3 and a corresponding
Figure 1: Current Composite Test Score NCAA Requirements[2]
1080 SAT composite math and reading score or a 93 ACT sum according to the new sliding scale. Furthermore, the NCAA has attempted to encourage academic achievement by defining three levels of qualification for incoming freshman student athletes after 2016. The full qualifier can receive a scholarship and participate in competition as well as practice. The academic redshirt cannot engage in competition. Finally, the nonqualifier cannot receive any of these benefits during his/her first year.[3]
While we appreciate that the NCAA recognizes the need to require greater academic accomplishment and capability for aspiring collegiate student-athletes, we do not think that the alterations it has promoted are sufficient. We believe that the NCAA is in fact doing student-athletes a disservice by setting the national academic standard at this level. Our reasoning behind this statement is based upon the demand placed upon student-athletes by their athletic schedules and obligations. Universities often admit student-athletes with lower grade point averages and testing scores than their regular admissions standards due to the commercial appeal of increasing athletics revenue or popularity by gaining athletic talent. Therefore, student-athletes commonly enter into an academic environment for which they are inadequately prepared and incapable of prospering in. Furthermore, they are required to commit large amounts of time to their respective sports, which only decreases their ability to cope with the demanding rigors of their institutions‘ academics. This phenomenon has led to scandals and shocking discoveries throughout the arena of collegiate athletics.
One of the widely publicized scandals that shined light on the academic integrity in collegiate sports was the 2012 incident at UNC involving student athletes receiving grades they didn’t deserve.1 In close proximity, Mary Willingham, a learning specialist at UNC-Chapel Hill who was designated to help student-athletes acclimate to the academic atmosphere of the university, admitted that she took part in cheating by performing acts such as “pulling a paper”1 out of student-athletes who couldn’t even read or write. We are extremely alarmed that student-athletes are accepted into universities but are not qualified to undertake a collegiate education. While specialists and tutors such as Willingham are provided, they cannot replace the academic background that is necessary to thrive in collegiate athletics. Following this logic, universities such as UNC and UNC-Chapel Hill are not honoring the contracts they signed with student-athletes offering them an education in return for their athletic talent because the student-athletes are not capable of taking advantage of that education. Therefore, we propose that academic standards are raised for student-athletes throughout the country.
It is our belief that the NCAA should commit to a policy that includes requiring student-athletes to meet the regular admissions standards of the respective university or college that they wish to play for. This is not a policy intended to lessen the opportunities for student-athletes; instead it is intended to ensure that the institutions they attend are capable of upholding their end of the contract exchanging education for athletic ability. We believe that this policy would encourage universities to once again focus on the student half of the student-athletes and lessen the sacrifice of academic success for commercial gain. It would also ensure that student-athletes were more capable of managing the load of academics as well as athletics. Finally, we hope this would have a trickle down effect to academics at the secondary education level…
To be continued.
1 http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/us/ncaa-athletes-reading-scores/
[2] http://studentathleteconnect.com/resources/Picture1.png
[3] http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Eligibility_Rules/High_School_IE_Standards.pdf