Academic Success

As Academic Performance Ratings and Graduation Success Rates climb, one begins to realize that “student-athletes” are not just “dumb jocks.” In actuality, compared to the general population of students, athletes have a higher overall graduation rate. The national graduation rate for athletes is 64 percent, while the graduation rate for all students is only 62 percent (Lawler). The NCAA has made great strides in making sure schools work to turn out “educated jocks.”

In the article, Class and Cleats: Community College Student Athletes and Academic Success, Horton first examines the statistics of evidence showing college athletes and their underachievement. There are many instances of concern about college athletes and their poor grades having an affect of their athletic responsibilities, though this belief is usually denied due to a student always being a student before anything else. This study researches the idea of the way that college students and college athletes view success. Many college athletes tend to state that success is passing all courses and being more successful in their sport, rather than academics coming first (Horton, 2009).

Multiple studies have shown that college athletes do not perform as well in the classroom as their nonathletic peers. For example, according to Michael Maloney in the article An Examination of the Role that Intercollegiate Athletic Participation Plays in Academic Achievement, he states that “SAT scores of athletes are, on average, 150 points below non- athletes. Similarly, athletes come to college with inferior high school preparation in academics. Their high school rank is 20 percentage points below nonathletes.”

Academic success is important for both high school and college athletes. To be eligible to participate, athletes must maintain a certain GPA. Student athletes that don’t make school a priority, not only miss out on playing time, but also fail to prepare themselves for the next step in their life. For high school athletes, that means prepare for college while for college athlete, it means preparing to enter the workforce. Although, both high school and

The NCAA believes “that a student-athlete is a student first and athlete second.” Student-athletes benefit more than from playing a sport that they love. The graduation rate is higher among the student athletes than the general student body. “NCAA studies show that student-athletes enjoy high levels of engagement in academics, athletics and community: have positive feeling about their overall athletics and academic experiences: attribute invaluable life skills to being a student-athlete: and are more likely to earn similar or higher wages after college than non-student athletes.”

Moreover, college athletes have shown a poor academic success rate in past few years, in brief. Their academic performances were significantly low due to the distraction caused by athletic programs. Athletics are not only a distraction for athletes, but also for institutions which are holding these athletic programs. “The low graduation rates among athletics, particularly in sports like football and basketball, are alarming, although there is strong evidence that this problem is endemic to the entire academic enterprise” (“College”). Average outcome GPA of an athlete is way lower than that of a normal student in general. Missing classes regularly, missing assignments, and missing exams have been the reasons for these poor academic performance rates. Daily practices and tournaments are the reason for them to miss their academics. Another side of this argument is that athletes are given unfair advantages in academics unlike other students. They were given excessive grade changes and extra points to maintain their athletic eligibility. This situation degrades the quality of academic programs and it debases

Jolley, D. (2009). Academic Achievement Is Improving for College Athletes. In C. Watkins, Sports and Athletes (pp. 71-78). Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

College athletics have become popular over time over the past few decades. Student athletes need to be determined, committed, and focused. The biggest trait needed by the athlete is dedication. The amount of dedication needed to be a student athlete could be overwhelming. Between classes and workouts could exhaust even the best athlete mentally and physically. Students athletes should be proud to get free education and play sports, but education should be valued more than sports . As an athlete, time management is the key to surviving. Athletes need a balance, maintaining at least 40 hours of practice a week, 30 hours a week of class time, and getting some sleep into their schedule too. Maintaining all of these aspects deserves some more credit, more than just a free education. The NCAA can afford to pay athletes, the NCAA makes about 12 billion every year. The NCAA money comes mostly from TV and marketing and makes up less than 10% of all college athletics money. The rest comes from school ticket sales and student fees from the school itself. The NCAA since 2006 profit have doubled since time has gone by and is still increasing from tournaments and school funding. Athletes play an active role in the promotions of these activities,

Athletic programs in college have grown tremendously since they first began years ago, and now some believe that collegiate athletics have no place in higher education. Contrary to this, if one takes a closer look they see that college athletics do play a valuable role in higher education and should continue to play a part in the college experience. Students who participate in college athletics help carry out their school’s traditions, and by competing at such a high level they have the chance to put their school on the map. While competing, these people handle the load of a full-time college student and learn to be responsible and reliable. Some see college athletics as just a business, but truly they provide an opportunity for young adults to compete in the sport that they love, while getting an education and learning lessons that will last a lifetime.

Every year, millions of people sit down and watch college athletes play the sport they love. These players are some of the best in the nation, and even the world. They do their jobs on the court or field, while their schools rack up the money. These players practice almost two times every day, go to class, and at the end of the day still have homework. An average student athlete spends about forty hours a week on athletics (Jacobs).

Most people forget that student-athletes in fact are students and receive no mercy towards their school work. The success of the athlete is becoming more of a trend in today’s time. Enhanced eligibility standards make it nearly impossible for the athlete to fail if he or she has met the year to year academic requirements. The athlete must meet the school’s academic mission in order to remain eligible. Each team is graded on its academic success. The Academic Performance Program is designed to ensure Division I student-athletes receive exemplary educational and intercollegiate-athletics experiences. The Academic Progress Rate (APR) hold institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic

Sports in conjunction with academics are capable of creating a balance that makes for a well rounded citizen and healthy, happy employee. Issues in the mix often come from the balance itself. Many students find themselves overcommitted to sport while others find they are not able to compete. I will examine issues in interscholastic and collegiate sport.

College athletic programs should be kept as an important part of the athlete’s academic schedule, and student athletes are considered an important part the student body. Every university or community college’s admissions and scholastic excellence for student-athletes should be planned to encourage educational success and

From the outside looking in, collegiate athletes live a life of luxury. They have the opportunity to perform the sport they love in front of massive crowds, and some are provided an opportunity for free schooling. Although this is undoubtedly true, outsiders are not capable of comprehending the true hardships associated with college athletics. Although they are granted acceptance and often a scholarship to their school of choice, they are not truly granted the opportunity to utilize their school’s academic resources to their fullest potential due to the immense amount of time that they are expected and required to devote to their sport. These activities include film review and playbook studies, team meals, traveling to and from games or

Despite the many stereotypes that are connected with being a student athlete, student athletes in general are held to much higher standards by their institutions. Before a prospective student athlete even enters college, they are made fully aware of the academic standings and requirements of the college they choose. Although the academic requirements vary from college to college, the standards are still held high for all student athletes. The transition into college can be exceptionally difficult especially for the