At this time of year numerous athletes are committing to colleges all across the country. NCSA has had a flood of commits in recently tallying 93 just last week. However, as athletes exhale across the country they must realize that they have only reached the end of the beginning.
The NCAA Basketball Tournament always sets off a wave of articles across the country both defending and bemoaning the balance between athletics and school.
The Charlotte Observer http://www.charlotte.com/sports/story/550271.html
Editorialists say these young men are being exploited because they don’t graduate.
If that’s so, please, exploit me.
Many of those basketball players, maybe most, are living better than they ever have. They are in school on scholarships worth many thousands of dollars. They are offered a fine education, and tutors to help them along.
They are worshiped by their schools’ alumni. They fly around to games, sometimes to Hawaii, stay in nice hotels, and have their needs attended. Somebody picks up their sweat socks and sees that they are washed.
In a perfect world, those players would finish school and those who weren’t good enough to play professional basketball would use their education to help them pursue successful careers. But it’s not perfect.
It’s been that way for a long time and when someone else does a survey in 10 years or so, they’ll probably find that the numbers haven’t changed appreciably. That’s college basketball. Not all of the shots go in.
Newsday http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/ny-sphot0323,0,4080563.column
It is what it is," Lederman said. "College sports is a hugely important element of our society, a significant part of higher education, and there are plenty of good things that happen in the name of college sports. But, at the highest level, it is an entertainment business. It’s a dicey bargain, a little bit of a deal with the devil. Bottom line, I don’t think this is an enterprise that can be meaningfully turned around."
Bloomberg.com http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_soshnick&sid=aOLHNuzfTDoM
Sorry for damping the giddiness that surrounds Day One of brackets and basketball, but is it asking too much for a team’s graduation rate to exceed its 3- point shooting percentage?
Oh, the hypocrisy of hoops at these so-called institutions of higher learning.
Let’s begin our examination with some teams that have a realistic shot of reaching the Final Four. If Tennessee and Texas make it to San Antonio, then a more appropriate moniker might be the Flunking Four.
The Volunteers of Tennessee had a fine season. They won 29 games and lost four. The selection committee rewarded them with a No. 2 seed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s tournament, which begins in earnest today.
Tennessee tips off tomorrow against American University, which will get the whuppin’ stick in a minute.
The Volunteers shot 36.2 percent from behind the 3-point line this season. The program, meantime, graduates 33 percent of its players, according to rates compiled by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.
Texas fans have reason to smile, too. The Longhorns won 28 games and lost six, earning a No. 2 seed. Texas also graduates 33 percent of its players. They shot 38.5 percent.
Lost in almost all the expert commentary is the REAL story of the tournament. No, I’m not talking about Davidson’s miracle run to the Sweet 16. I’m talking about their ability to make the sweet 16 with a player graduation rate of 91 percent, according to the GSR statistics. This weekend I will be cheering for Davidson’s miracle run to continue, not only because it is a classic David vs. goliath scenario, but because they set an example to athletes across the country that you CAN be a STUDENT-Athlete.