05-23-2012, 12:25 PM
No thanks!
I would love for graduation rates to increase, but this type of incentive is certain to create problems.
Every SEC team would create very specific sports management fields that are destined to become the domain of the athletes unlikely to graduate in traditional departments. Throughout the region people would know that those majors are just for athletes, so that the schools could get their money.
That might be acceptable to some, but then players would be told they MUST major in those special majors. Before you know it almost every D-1 athlete would be forced to sports majors. I would guess some schools could get creative and even design majors around "Weightlifting" or "Sports Nutrition" and then develop graduation requirements into the majors as a way to get the athletes more time with local experts in the disclipline, conveniently the coaches and trainers on staff.
Student-athletes interested in pre-med or law or engineering would be told to forget it. The pressure to comply to the wishes of the AD would be enormous, and any student that failed would serve as a catalyst to drive that AD to crazier schemes for future athletes.
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I can laugh at the idea of UCB losing their share of BCS TV money, but I suspect the real victims would be kids that actually wanted to play D-1 sports to enable them to get access to a quality education in a challenging field.
I would love for graduation rates to increase, but this type of incentive is certain to create problems.
Every SEC team would create very specific sports management fields that are destined to become the domain of the athletes unlikely to graduate in traditional departments. Throughout the region people would know that those majors are just for athletes, so that the schools could get their money.
That might be acceptable to some, but then players would be told they MUST major in those special majors. Before you know it almost every D-1 athlete would be forced to sports majors. I would guess some schools could get creative and even design majors around "Weightlifting" or "Sports Nutrition" and then develop graduation requirements into the majors as a way to get the athletes more time with local experts in the disclipline, conveniently the coaches and trainers on staff.
Student-athletes interested in pre-med or law or engineering would be told to forget it. The pressure to comply to the wishes of the AD would be enormous, and any student that failed would serve as a catalyst to drive that AD to crazier schemes for future athletes.
Â
I can laugh at the idea of UCB losing their share of BCS TV money, but I suspect the real victims would be kids that actually wanted to play D-1 sports to enable them to get access to a quality education in a challenging field.