PED 217 - Social Aspects of Sport

Chapter 10

Sport and Education

When college athletics began in the late 19th century, the students organized, administrated and controlled it. Today it is coaches, administrators, and presidents (Deans) that make the decisions. There has been much criticism that athletics reflects entertainment and public relations and not education.

Many college athletics are low profile programs: they do not have scholarships and are voluntary (Division III). Even though there are many of these, the focus is on the Division I programs.

Intercollegiate athletics is diversified into:

1. expenditures and revenues
2. sources of funding
3. media coverage
4. social organization
5. the role and status of sports and athletes

It is even more diversified in Division I because team travel is greater, media coverage is more extensive, and the consequences of winning and losing are greater.

Pros and cons of athletic programs in college.

1. Pros
   1. Schools compete for students, and good programs help generate applications for admissions.
   2. Because funding is variable, it is important to have the school recognized by state legislators, the business community, and the alumni. It is a publicity device.
   3. Sport is a source of spirit and tradition that helps make the entire school look good.
2. Cons
   1. Maintaining the program is expensive. Sports budgets in Division I average 13 million annually and many sports programs were in deficit spending (losing money). Expenditures since 1985 have increased 40%.

      MYTH: COLLEGE SPORT IS PROFITABLE THAT EARNS HUGE SUMS OF MONEY FOR THE UNIVERSITY.

      Most college programs lose money. Only 10-20 schools out of 2300 make a profit. Athletic departments are allowed to engage in creative accounting, covering many of the expenses from the schools general operating fund and other university sources.

      In the men’s program, two thirds of the revenue generated was from the football program, but it also spends 57% of the money, and there is a great deal of money needed to support non revenue programs (gymnastics).

   2. Sports are irrelevant to the academic mission of the school: commercial intercollegiate sport is inconsistent with the academic goals of the college (kids missing class from Wed until the end of the week to play football).
   3. The opportunities of the student body for sports and recreation are restricted. At Illinois State University they are paying a 95 dollar student fee to the athletic department. At UW-La Crosse, you will pay a fee, but you can’t always use the gym because of volleyball and basketball practices and games. Students are protesting fees, like at Florida State, after the fee was tripled. At Ferris State U, a 60 dollar fee saved the school from dropping a popular men’s hockey team.
   4. The destructive public relations that results from a losing team

      MYTH: THE ALUMNI SUPPORT AND DEMAND THAT THEIR ALMA MATERS HAVE SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE SPORT PROGRAMS.

      Many times they will not donate if the programs are too successful or are involved in scandals. The major donors to athletic programs are boosters: people who never attended the school.

   5. The destruction of the university’s purpose caused by commercialism. Athletes are employed at slave wages, so that the school may make a million dollar profit. Is it moral to use student athletes to hustle money for the university?

Academic considerations

A study of over 4000 student athletes showed that ACT and SAT scores were lower for football (18) and basketball players than any other group. There is a controversial issue here because of reported bias against minorities regarding the tests. Minority athletes are better judged on their high school GPA’s.

Graduation rates can be reported in different ways:

1. It can be based on the proportion of seniors who graduate.
2. It can be based on the number of graduates who use up all of their eligibility.
3. It can be based on those who graduate after 4, 5, or 6 years.
4. It can take into account transfer students: what happens to them after they leave.

To whom should these people be compared to? Regular students or students who work 20-30 hours per week.

The recent graduation rate shows athletes are slightly outperforming the entire student body by 1%. Males have lower rates than females, and African American athletes are lower than non African Americans.

GPA’s

Football and basketball players: 2.46

Other college athletes: 2.61

Students involved in other extracurriculars: 2.79.

Football players in successful programs compared to non successful: 2.29/2.55.

And: what does academic achievement mean?

1. What about the student who takes physics courses compared to those who take PE courses?
2. What if the student were attending UW-Waukesha compared to Harvard?
3. What if some student cluster (take courses that they can have an easy time with) just so they can play?
4. Does it take into account incompletes or repeating courses (the old grade gets taken away).
5. How are these rates reported? If a freshman leaves your school does it count as someone who does not graduate?

Exploitation of College Athletes:

It may seem puzzling those students who are receiving a free college education, room and board, and books, as well as receiving social and visible status.

However when commercialism gets in the way of education, the athlete’s role has parallel with people who work 9-5. They generate revenue for the school and perform public relations without receiving any extra compensation. Plus the demands on a major college athlete make it nearly impossible to be a serious student.

MYTH: THE ATHLETE GETS A FREE RIDE.

They may receive schooling, but their physical labor, mental energy, and skills are being used in exchange. While there is the glamour, there is the backstage, the full time commitment in and out of season. Plus there is no guarantee that a genuine educational experience is secured. The number one priority is sport.

Black college players are exploited more than whites. Many of these kids are sold on this time at college will lead to a happy ending, where many are not receiving degrees and have a great deal more pressure handling college work. A 1994 survey revealed that blacks make up 7.5% of full time students are division I schools but make up 30% of the athletes. They hold 49% of football scholarships and 64% of basketball scholarships. Yes this is an opportunity, but many are not recruited as students, but athletes. The activity they are there for are not enabling them to be good students, so their role identity becomes more broken down. (ESPN video)

Organizational deviance:

Over 100 years ago, there was concern with abuses in college athletics. Today there are many violations committed by athletic departments and sport associations.

In the early 20th century (1929), ringers were brought into football and basketball programs who were not even attending school. Iowa was expelled that year for providing financial assistance, and it was suggested the NCAA govern and not just advise. There was a point shaving scandal in 1951 at Manhattan College (ESPN gambling video). Even in 1996 Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God was found guilty of academic fraud, where 75 athletes took suspicious courses. During the past 2 decades, 50% of the largest football programs were penalized by the NCAA.

Why have scandals become so rampant? The hunger for the money and prestige of winning teams is emerging as the basic cause.

We have mentioned that many schools do not make money on their athletic programs. Football teams can make as much as 12 million dollars from a bowl game, but they usually have to split it with the conference they are in. In the basketball final four, each of the team receive about 1.5 million dollars, whereas the losers in the first round receive about 100,000 dollars.

A scandal may result from the severe economic pressure there is to win and fill seats. Top teams like Duke may not ever cheat because they have been winning and always bring in the quality kids, although UNLV was penalized after they won the championship.

A scandal may also come from social means. It is important that the public image, the relations with the alumni, and its ability to make money is linked to how well the team performs.

How much is a player worth to his college? At the University of North Texas a football player is worth (after it’s broken down) about 500,000 dollars. It was claimed that Patrick Ewing of Georgetown was worth about 12 million due to a rise in attendance, increased television revenues, and the school going deep in the tournament due to his talents as a basketball player. The cost for his education was 48,000 dollars.

The rule violation usually broken is recruiting. They will not be offered more than a scholarship in the form of books, tuition, board, and room. At any one time up to 20% of all colleges are in trouble due to illegal recruiting. There is also unethical recruiting, where a coach may:

1. tell someone that a coach from another school is gay
2. put out fake newspapers that say: Hervert wins NCAA championship for Duke
3. put a name on the back of a jersey and superimpose it on a film of a championship team’s player
4. tell a recruit about the negatives of another program

In recruiting, a rumor can lose a kid and ruin a program.

Recruiting deviance:

1. money
2. altered transcripts
3. parents provided with jobs or money
4. athletes are paid for invisible jobs
5. federal grant money are illegally used
6. payments are made through another source
7. people take exams for students
8. instructors pass through students
9. clothes, travel, apartments are at a very reduced cost
10. scholarships for girlfriends
11. free graduate school assistantships

Athletes also have to deal with agents, who will try to illegally sign a player before his eligibility is up.

Alumni and booster clubs are a mixed blessing. They are involved in raising money for scholarships, helping to pay for a new stadium. They are also involved in paying off coaches former employers, or giving things to players directly. Even high school coaches may take a payout and send his player to a certain school. Scouts may contact coaches and bring in students in exchange for money and tickets.

Concern about the academics of college athletes have led to a few rules:

1. Proposition 48: it requires a 2.0 GPA in 11 specific courses and a minimum of 18 on the ACT for college entry on a scholarship. If you only meet one of these criteria you can still accept a scholarship but be ineligible for one year in order to improve grades. The aim was to restore academic integrity by having athletes better prepared for college work and obtaining a degree.
2. Proposition 42: both criteria must be met before a scholarship can be received. Athletes failing to meet these requirements have to finance their own college expenses and will be ineligible for one year.
3. Proposition 56: athletes must take specific courses toward obtaining a degree.

Since the prime motivation of student athletes at major university programs may be to maintain eligibility: it can be explored that they are victims of exploitation. If they take a degree that involves basket weaving, working with hand tools, etc to be eligible, are we really helping them? Some coaches know this and some have been sued over it. The athletes allow this because most of them believe they are going to be millionaires anyway, and coaches do it because they want to win.

What can be done? Suggestions:

1. Create degree programs in football and basketball. Art and music people get credits for participation.
2. Extend the scholarship limit by 2 years to reduce the pressure of only having 4 years to get a degree (if you are not there to get a degree, what does 2 more years matter?).
3. Pay the athletes based on the marketplace (Duke would be high pay) and athletes wont take illegal money.

Today Division I schools operate under the 85 rule: where only 85 scholarships can be given to both men and women. What this has done is keep schools from stockpiling student athletes and has created parity in college football.

High school sports: an important component of high school education. In many school the football coach is the most powerful man in the building (is the English teacher ever asked how his classes are going to be this year?). In a survey conducted by Coleman: athletic participation in high school is more valued than scholarship. He asked students to name the best student and best athlete, and found the athlete was easier to remember. Students would also prefer to be a star athlete instead of a brilliant student. They were found to be the members of the leading crowd, and football/basketball guys are the leading clichés. Coleman says this happens because the community usually feels that.

A study by Miracle and Rees attacked some of the myths surrounding high school sports: that sports are preparation for life, athletes are superior, and sport deters deviant behavior (remember the question above?), sport has an educational payoff, sport improves morale and contributes to the school’s functioning as a social system.

Result: Sport has no substantial benefit in promoting economic or educational attainment. It does not reduce delinquency or racial prejudice, nor does it provide lasting social success or health benefits.