Education Contingency on Athletic Ability

[widespreadsooie]

This is an impulsive thought while watching Last Chance U. You'll understand more of what I'm thinking if you're familiar with series. Anyways, in short, there is career type talent all over the team. A high % of their feature players are faced with an ultimatum of passing classes, they couldn't care less about, or not optimizing their talent. It had me thinking that is very unfair. Do you think there's an education contingency on optimizing a football players' talent and ultimately a path to high success? If so, what are your thoughts about it?

[Wildhog]

This is an impulsive thought while watching Last Chance U. You'll understand more of what I'm thinking if you're familiar with series. Anyways, in short, there is career type talent all over the team. A high % of their feature players are faced with an ultimatum of passing classes, they couldn't care less about, or not optimizing their talent. It had me thinking that is very unfair. Do you think there's an education contingency on optimizing a football players' talent and ultimately a path to high success? If so, what are your thoughts about it?

Technically there is no education contingent.   You just have to be three years removed from high school.

I don't think that's right, though.

[widespreadsooie]

Very true. You just don't come across many NFL players who don't associate with a college though.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

Very true. You just don't come across many NFL players who don't associate with a college though.

99.9% wouldn't play for an NFL team until year 3-4 anyway and still need to develop technique and refine their position.

[Wildhog]

99.9% wouldn't play for an NFL team until year 3-4 anyway and still need to develop technique and refine their position.

I agree.  Just don't think there should be a rule.

[Boss Hog in the Arkansas]

99.9% wouldn't play for an NFL team until year 3-4 anyway and still need to develop technique and refine their position.

Same with NBA and MLB. Difference is those leagues have development "sub leagues"

[bennyl08]

This is an impulsive thought while watching Last Chance U. You'll understand more of what I'm thinking if you're familiar with series. Anyways, in short, there is career type talent all over the team. A high % of their feature players are faced with an ultimatum of passing classes, they couldn't care less about, or not optimizing their talent. It had me thinking that is very unfair. Do you think there's an education contingency on optimizing a football players' talent and ultimately a path to high success? If so, what are your thoughts about it?

Not exactly sure what you are actually saying here.

Should a school who is giving loads of money to these players require them to actually, you know, school?

Yes, absolutely yes.

Even in JUCO, they are still attending a school with at least the pretense of trying to get an education and often with a scholarship to play there as well though perhaps less common with the scholarships than a 4 year institution.

If somebody wants to make a developmental league for these players so that academics aren't required, by all means. Plenty have tried and failed because fans enjoy the tradition that is linked with sports and college. So, you'll have to either convince those sports teams to separate from the universities, something that will have a lot of support of people wanting college players to get paid and college people not wanting to have the universities paying so much money for sports, but will face heavy opposition from fans of university sports and the university admin. Or, build your own league that is able to attract players that want to be making a paycheck now or can't/don't want to qualify academically.

[PorkSoda]

Technically there is no education contingent.   You just have to be three years removed from high school.

I don't think that's right, though.

I think it has to do with physical development.  they don't want 18 yo twigs in the NFL.  most people are at least approaching physical maturity by 22

I think the real issue here is that our culture is anti intellectual.

its not that kids can't pass classes, its that they grew up thinking its not cool or whatever.

learning the work ethic to pass college classes and actually learn something about the world that we live in is not harmful to the player.

Heck, if I was a potential NFL player, I would be all over the business/finance classes to learn how to make the money earned in the NFL into even more money.

[theFlyingHog]

There has been a change happening since football began. It started as just an athletic event, some excercise for those who sought it. They were going to college anyway. Now we have shifted to most athletes who would in no way be able to get into college otherwise. It's all about winning and money so you find the best athlete regardless of classroom ability. There are still window dressings to make people feel better about it, of course. I hope someone can find stats on the percentage of what fields athletes today are receiving degrees in. I do know it is becoming the exception for a D1 football player to receive a degree in something with any real world value. Actually this is more widespread than just athletes as colleges create more fields to increase the student body numbers. I'd wager if you go back 50 years and see what fields of study were offered many of them were of high value. Much more so than today

[Dumb ole famrboy]

College athletes in a sense are being required to obtained two bachelor degrees - one in their field of study and another in the actual sport in which they are participating.