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Balancing Academics
and Athletics in American Higher Education
Introduction
Ask anyone on practically any University campus. The academic standards
for college football and basketball players aren't at the same level
as the students they go to class with. It's the butt of countless jokes
as well as a source for resentful views on college athletics in general.
But how much fact is there to this generalization? My study aims to
discover the depths of the academic divide between students and student
athletes while examining the controversy of major athletics at institutions
of higher learning.
Fundamental to this study is defining the role of athletics in higher
education. It is a definition that varies from college presidents to
faculty members to coaches to student athletes, and I hope to get the
perspectives of each. The 2nd part of the study will be evaluating the
degree to which this role(s) is being fulfilled, and once again there
will a wide range of views on this topic. Finally, I hope to identify
a divide within higher education itself, looking at graduation rates
to determine whether certain schools are outperforming others in educating
their student athletes.
With college athletics enjoyed by millions of Americans nationwide,
and millions more attending the universities who support those athletic
programs, I intend for my study to appeal to a mass audience. The majority
of Americans have a firm understanding of both the nature of major college
athletics and the academic standards imposed on university students.
Therefore, a wide audience of sports fans and members of university
communities are targeted for this report.
Print Sources
Thelin, John R. The Old College Try: Balancing Academics and Athletics
in Higher Education. Washington D.C.: School of Education and Human
Development, the George Washington University, 1989. Davis Library,
GV351 .T53 1989
Jacobs, Kathryn Jean. A Comparison of the Graduation Rates of Student
Athletes with the Overall Student Body who Enrolled at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1966 to 1976. M.A. Thesis, University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 1982. Davis Thesis, Thesis Phys. Educ.
1982 J17
Academics and Athletics: An Uneasy Alliance: A production of Columbia
University Seminars on Media and Society. 88 min. PBS video: 1989. Videocassette.
UL Media Resources Center, 65-V3699
Database resources
Jones, Dianne C. "Bridging the Gap Between Academics and Athletics."
Strategies. v. 11 (Mar./Apr. '98) p. 9-12. Database on-line. Available
from Education Index via OCLC First Search. {12, Sept. 2002}
Suggs, Welch. "Putting the 'College' in College Basketball"
The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 12, 2002, p.41. Also Available
{Online}: Lexis Nexis Academic. {Accessed 14, September 2002}
Hollis, Leah, P. "Service ace? Which academic services and resources
truly benefit student athletes." Journal of College Student Retention.
V.3 no3 (2001/2002) p. 265-84 Also Available {Online}: Education Index
via OCLC First Search. {Accessed: 12, September 2002}
Padilla, Arthur. Baumer, David. "Big Time College Sports: Management
and Economic Issues." Journal of Sport and Social Issues. May94,
Vol. 18 Issue 2, p123, 21 p. 7. Also Available {Online}: Academic Search
Elite via EBSCO Host.{Accessed 15, September 2002}
Nathan, Daniel A., "Of Grades and Glory: Rethinking Intercollegiate
Athletics"
American Quarterly. V. 54, Issue 1 2002. Also Available {Online}: ProjectMuse.{Accessed
15, September 2002}
Spannier, Graham B. "Standards for Initial Eligibility Must be
Set. The Question is, Where?" The New York Times. Sep 27, 1999;
Late Edition (East Coast); pg. D.2. Also Available {Online}: The New
York Times via NCLive - Proquest. {Accessed: 16, September 2002}
Web Resources
Title of Web Page: 2000 NCAA Review of Principles Identified by the Knight
Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
Web address: http://www.ncaa.org/databases/knight_commission/
Brief description: The Knight Foundation Commission was established over
a decade ago to investigate the abuses of athletic programs at colleges
and universities. All the components of their comprehensive 2000 report
can be found on this site. The site also has a link back to the NCAA home
page, which has a good deal of information on graduation rates and eligibility
standards. This site is a good starting point on understanding the issues
regarding balancing college athletics with academics.
Source of Web site: The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Title of Web Page: Academics vs. Athletics: The Fine Balance Between
Brain and Brawn
Web address: http://zephyr.unr.edu/specials/athletes/
Brief description: This site takes a look at the issue using The University
of Nevada at Reno as a case study. Although using one school makes for
a somewhat narrow focus, all the components of the issue are covered.
The site looks at the topic from the perspective of students-athletes,
coaches, administrators and faculty so it offers a good understanding
on the many viewpoints surrounding the issue.
Source of Web site: The Reynolds School of Journalism.
Title of Web Page: Tennessee: Athletics vs. Academics
Web address: http://sports.espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show6transcript.html
Brief description: Here is the full transcript, along with video and
audio clips, from an episode of ESPN's "Outside the Lines"
which dealt with tensions between academics and athletics at the University
of Tennessee. Being both a neutral and qualified source, ESPN provides
good analysis of the issue, looking at it first at UT and then nationwide.
The entire ESPN site is also a good place to search for additional information
on athletic and academic scandals and investigations, as it is one of
the most comprehensive sports sites on the web.
Source of Web site: ESPN
Title of Web Page: The NCAA's Best Athletic Departments
Web address: http://www.sportingnews.com/features/ad/overall.html
Brief description: While far from an in-depth report on the controversial
issues of college athletics, this site does provide a great overview
on which schools are successful in graduating their student athletes.
Division one colleges and universities are ranked both by their graduation
rates and their success on the playing field, and those rankings are
combined with a couple other factors into an entire report card. Since
most universities have a website for their athletic department that
addresses the question of academic standards, it's helpful to check
out this site first to see which schools are performing exceptionally
well or exceptionally poor, and then searching for more information
on those schools themselves
Source of Web site: The Sporting News
Title of Web Page: Faculty Athletics Representatives Association.
Web address: http://www.elon.edu/ncaafara/fara.html
Brief description: This is the website for an organization that is attempting
to set standards for university faculty members in balancing academics
and athletics. Although the site is maintained by Elon University in
North Carolina, the organization is a national one that encompasses
numerous individual campuses. This site is useful in that it focuses
on the faculty aspect of educating student athletes and provides a forum
for faculty views on the topic. In addition, the site includes helpful
research information such as the results of surveys on the issue and
background information on NCAA regulations.
Source of Web site: The Faculty Athletics Representatives Association.
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