2017LHPscrewball posted:Lionbaseball, true. I wonder if they actually attend classes but have easy graders and work done for them or they have phantom classes like at UNC a couple of years ago. I remember even STANFORD, of all places, had an "easy class list" one of the classes were "North American dances part 2"
Yea - but North American Dances Part 1 is a pre-requisite and that one's really tough. I think instead of approaching this from a blanket statement, perhaps some folks might consider an individual "student=athlete" who possesses exceptional athletic ability, but has a deficiencies in his educational background. Assume this kid is either a football or basketball player (i.e. helps foot the bills) - do you think many Power 5 teams are really going to suggest true remedial work - throughout the process - such that eligibility might be delayed a year? I think some kids who are wholly unprepared and are not provided appropriate resources (things like remedial reading skills to improve reading level) may still benefit from the overall process. But, consider the mid-level player (good enough to start Power 5 but maybe not quite good enough to go pro) who get injured their junior/senior year. While many universities have programs to assist motivated kids when this happens, is the institution really going to go out of its way to convince some unmotivated kid - who still has a long uphill road as it relates to acedemics - that they ought to stick it out? Might anyone believe that some poorly equipped kid becomes dispensable once they are no longer able to contribute athletically? The "easy" classes/majors are just one way for an institution to manage the academically unmotivated kid (and I am not throwing stones at these kids - my kid is current not academically motivated but hoping that changes soon).
Besides, didn't I hear that Johnny Manziel completed his final semester's required 12 hours via online courses? Would love to see that schedule. Can you take dance classes online?
First, I want you to know you're agreeing with the board bigot. Second it's never hard to tell who hasn't been there and done it or never came across the information.
College athletes are not allowed to just take the easiest courses without any regard towards a degree. Yes, they can take easier majors and easy elective courses. But they have to be working towards a degree. Teams have academic advisors to make sure this is happening.
The NCAA has an annual APR (Academic Profress Rate) calculation for every team. Someone mentioned UConn. They didn't meet APR one year. They lost scholarships and the right to participate in the NCAA tournament.
Yes, there are early draft applicants who skip courses in the spring. Some of them never wanted to be students. But for a majority blame the NFL and NBA. As soon as the football and basketball player's season is over there is a lot of pressure to be at peak physical and athletic performance for their combines. Not being so could cost a players hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions.
The problem with one and done is these basketball players don't want to be at college. They take an intro course towards their major and three of the easiest courses they can find. In the spring they don't go to classes. As soon as the season is over they go into training for NBA combines. Blame the college and the NBA, not the athlete.
These are the athletes you hear about in the paper. For every one of them that make the news there are many more athletes who go back to school and graduate. Do you think an NBA player I referenced making 6 mil a year needs to go back to college? He's also the son of a wealthy former NBA player and currently successful businessman. His mother stuck her finger in his face and ordered him to graduate. I'm sure he would have done it anyway. His father also went back and graduated. Had you heard of John Urschel before I mentioned him?
College football and basketball players make news by breaking the law. It sells newspapers. It reinforces white people to say, "See, I told you so about those people."
In the case of Manziel he needs some serious help. He's in the denial stage of addition. He thinks he can handle alcohol and drugs in moderation. He's wrong. The problem is he's always been catered to. I wonder how often his tracks have been covered in his life. He needs to wake up. Teams and agents consider him toxic. If Drew Rosenhaus drops you it's hard to go lower in the barrel for an agent.