Dwight Jaynes has some interesting thoughts about athletes and academic progress.
Most college athletes are really there for the education. The ones who aren’t think they’re in the minor leagues for football, baseball, and basketball.
I know a guy who wanted to go to college in Idaho so he’d be playing hockey closer to his parents in Alaska. They told him to go to the best school he could, because he may not have a future in hockey, but a degree from a good school would give him a future outside of it. I always respected their attitude. He’s still chasing his hockey dream (now in the AHL playoffs) but knows that when hockey is over for him, he has a degree from Notre Dame to fall back on.
It’s really too bad U.S. colleges and universities have co-opted their educational purpose for the promotion of the cash cow sports. And it would be nice if the NCAA’s response to questions about this didn’t involve resorting to circling the wagons and planting heads firmly in the sand.
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