NCAA Football 2024 (2 Viewers)

[theBaron]

Yeah, my observation about player-athletes is not a comment on any individual's intelligence. Just an observation about their true relationship to the school.
A running back at Texas, or Penn State, or Georgia, is not as accurately called a student athlete, as one at say, Alvernia, or Dickinson, or Ursinus.
It's OK for the star athlete, too, because his odds are decent to become a pro. But the guys I went to college with, who played football, or basketball, etc, were there for the degree. Their skills helped them take advantage of scholarships, in various cases. But they all went on to complete their BS or BA, then go on to universities, and masters degrees or doctorates. Their experience as athletes is more as something they look back on fondly, generally, something that taught them lessons that apply to other areas of life. I don't think that's the case for the majority of the kids who go through the athletic programs at the top level.

Prost!
Brad

 

[tdubel]

Yeah, my observation about player-athletes is not a comment on any individual's intelligence. Just an observation about their true relationship to the school.
A running back at Texas, or Penn State, or Georgia, is not as accurately called a student athlete, as one at say, Alvernia, or Dickinson, or Ursinus.
It's OK for the star athlete, too, because his odds are decent to become a pro. But the guys I went to college with, who played football, or basketball, etc, were there for the degree. Their skills helped them take advantage of scholarships, in various cases. But they all went on to complete their BS or BA, then go on to universities, and masters degrees or doctorates. Their experience as athletes is more as something they look back on fondly, generally, something that taught them lessons that apply to other areas of life. I don't think that's the case for the majority of the kids who go through the athletic programs at the top level.

Prost!
Brad

Don't disagree, I was actually shocked at how high the Texas FB GPA was. Hopefully it means that a good deal of them are getting a great education for free. That is a benefit. Even there, you are still looking at 10-15% to the pros max to make a living!
Tom

 

[Combat]

The student-athlete designation was always a fraud. They tried to dress it up in recent decades with a lot of meaningless rules, but the reality is that many athletes who are recruited to major sports programs are not academically qualified to be there. They also don't care. Even if they were interested in getting an education and qualified, it is unrealistic given the time commitments of practice and travel. There are undoubtedly exceptions, but the vast majority are in this for money and small opportunity to promote themselves to professional sports. GPA is often a misleading indicator. Some college programs add academic ringers to the roster who will never play, have professors on the take, and/or provide classes just for the athletes like ping pong to satisfy the minimal requirements and bolster GPA.