Management of Colleges Athletic Programs in Relation to Their Academic Goals - Case Study Example

First and of Management of Colleges' Athletic Programs in Relation to Their Academic Goals Colleges find themselves performing a juggling act when it comes to balancing their athletic goals with their academic goals. Athletic programs require that their student-athletes attend every practice, or as many practices as possible, and to perform athletically. However, academically, the college requires that the student-athlete attend classes as required and to meet certain academic levels (such as making good grades). "Student-athletes essentially work two jobs. In addition to meeting their academic responsibilities, student-athletes spend at least twenty hours a week in practice or in competition. They must quickly develop time-management skills and often have little down time. Student-athletes also have 'a lifestyle that often involves living in a fishbowl-like atmosphere,'" reports Porter (2008) as the author refers to Ender & Wilkie (2000, p. 125). A problem that many colleges and student-athletes face is one where the athletic program leaders, such as a coach or athletic director, demands that the student skip a class in order to attend practice. However, the class that is in conflict with practice is also required. In other words, the student-athlete finds himself/herself torn between missing a Last Name 2 class or missing practice. It is a case of athletics versus academics and it is not one to be taken lightly as the college sports become more popular, more entertaining, more in demand, and more commercialized. There is a negative impact of college sports on higher education. However, this is not new. Splitt (2007) cites the Chicago Tribune: [College football] is not a student's game as it once was. It is a highly organized commercial enterprise. The athletes who take part in it have come up through years of training; they are commanded by professional coaches; little if any initiative of ordinary play is left to the player. The great matches are highly profitable enterprises. Sometimes the profits go to finance college sports, sometimes to pay the cost of the sports amphitheater; in some cases the college authorities take a slice for college buildings. The American culture places sports at its core, especially intercollegiate sports. Splitt (2007) refers to her essay, "Sports America 2005" when she reports that, "It seems that only in sports-obsessed and seemingly complacent America can we find a general public that views sports as super cool while the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEMs) are considered to be nerdy, and where athletes have a definite edge when it comes to college admission and retention--often in "diploma-mill-like" alternative education programs with questionable accreditation." The author compares the culture of the United States to that of China. The country focuses on education, particularly engineering education. Large investments are made in order to Last Name 3 build schools and to improve university systems. Learning English is another top priority as the Chinese want to learn the language that is used in global business. American colleges and educational institutions are being sacrificed for the constantly-growing and all-consuming beast called commercialism. "Excessive commercialization has brought academic corruption, financial shenanigans, increasing expenditures on athletics, and money-focused presidents who often view sports programs as an economic necessity and undergraduate education as an expensive nuisance and who have little patience with reform efforts by their faculty," states Splitt (2007). College sports, for many decades now, have been a target for scandals and commercials. Sack (1998, p.B7) in his article, "Big-Time Athletics vs. Academic Values: It's a Rout" refers to his years playing for the University of Notre Dame in the 1960's. Although sports were already being highly commercialized, universities still saw the importance of student-athletes getting the same opportunities for academics and personal development. Education was still the central focus of the university. The author also states that after the school's national championship win in 1966, the president of Notre Dame would not allow them to play in the postseason bowl game as he believed that they would not be able to study for the final exams. This is almost unheard of nowadays. That was the thing of the past as in 1973, the N.C.C.A. replaced four-year scholarships with grants that had to be renewed annually. This made athletic performance a factor in the renewal of financial aid so even athletes who were focused Last Name 4 on academics had no choice but to make sports their top priority. Coaches became more powerful and athletes were admitted easily as admission standards were lowered. Although there have been many books, writings, and studies that reveal the incompatibility of big-time college athletics and traditional academic values, college sports commercialism continues to grow exponentially. (Sack,1998, p.B7.) The author refers to Watterson's "College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy" as it "provides convincing evidence that the N.C.A.A., when forced to take sides, has put the commercial interests of its members above the ideals of amateurism and educational reform." Sack also states that regardless of all the attempts, financial funding, and push for sports to be considered as commercial entertainment, this would not be possible had presidents and trustees were not so willing. Desperate to gain more students and financial support, intercollegiate sports as it attracts more public attention and as Sack writes, "Nothing could better attract the attention of the public, and nothing had a greater appeal to the practical business leaders who were beginning to influence educational policy through their roles as alumni, trustees, and donors." There have been many proposals on how to deal with this problem and to minimize anti-intellectualism. But as the author reports, "it may be that no one really cares if big-time-college athletes receive a meaningful education. In fact, anti-intellectualism may have progressed so far at institutions with big-time-athletics programs that providing a meaningful education to undergraduate students in general -- not just athletes -- is no longer a priority." He also refers to Sperber, a professor of English and American Last Name 5 studies at Indiana University at Bloomington and the author of several books on collegiate sports, "universities now sell a lifestyle that is centered primarily on big-time sports." The country's biggest athletic departments have found ways to raise money for multimillion-dollar building expansions, salaries, and other costs/expenses. "Between 2002 and 2007, colleges in the nation's six premier athletics conferences raised more than $3.9-billion for capital expenditures alone," states Wolverton (2007). Big-time athletics programs plan on raising $2.5 billion more for the addition of new buildings. The expansion of programs is also being implemented in order to gain more big contributions. All of these successful contributions in sports bring detrimental consequences. Wolverton (2007): But the sports fund-raising success has come at a cost: While donations to the country's 119 largest athletics departments have risen significantly in recent years, overall giving to those colleges has stayed relatively flat, according to an article in the April issue of the Journal of Sport Management, which analyzed fund-raising figures reported by colleges to the Council for Aid to Education. Among the surveyed institutions, athletics departments brought in an increasing share of the colleges' overall Last Name 6 donations. In 1998 athletics gifts accounted for 14.7 percent of all contributions. By 2003 sports donations had reached 26 percent. The shift has frayed relations among fund raisers soliciting the same donors and has led to broader concerns about the growing importance of sports as overall funding for colleges has stagnated. Athletic fundraising has become an increasingly sophisticated business. Some programs involve multi-million dollar licensing deals, offer credit cards, and benefits such as preferred seating and game-day parking privileges. People pay big money to support their sports and to gain special privileges. It is a huge business. Wolverton (2007) writes, "programs often entice donors with behind-the scenes access, such as sideline passes and private dinners in coaches' homes. Three years ago, Wake Forest established the Moricle Society, for donors who contribute at least $55,000 a year. The program has brought in an extra $1-million a year for the athletics department. Society members fly free on teams' charter flights, are wined and dined, and get private "chalk talks" from coaches before games." Colleges are criticized by some for having athletic departments that are so powerful and big money producers that they do their own thing instead of working within in the general program. The author quotes Mr. Stinson, a professor at North Dakota State, "Fund raisers in one big-time sports program recently i Last Name 8 installed their own software to help cultivate donors, shutting out the university's development staff." Regardless of the amount of money that coaches say individuals and groups must pay in order to make a difference between winning or losing, professional sports will set the amount and the rules. Gerdy (2006) explains further," The professional model is also about paying whatever you must for coaches, staff members, facilities, scouting, travel, and anything else that coaches believe might make the difference between winning and losing, regardless of how outrageous or remote the actual impact. Professional sports is also about playing anywhere at any time to reap television revenues. And professional athletics is about the expectation that athletes train year-round and sacrifice their bodies for "the program.'" As the title of his article stats, "For true reform, athletic scholarships must go." In order to gain control of this situation and to bring balance and cooperation to the field of academics and sports, academic advisers need to learn, understand, and support the roles and concerns of the student-athlete. (Porter, 2000.) Porter refers to N.C.A.A.'s (n.d., p. 1) statement that "(the) bottom line is that the athletic and academic departments need to collaborate in order to ensure that the highest priority is placed on the "overall quality of the educational experience and on the successful completion of all students' academic programs". It is more realistic and easier to focus on the roles of advisors and athletic coaches and director than it is to change an entire several billion dollar business of sports commercialism. Last Name 9 Those who are in leadership positions are responsible. Academic advisers can collaborate with those in the athletic department to develop support groups and systems for student-athletes. Academic advisers can work as liaisons, a go-between, to learn and work through the concerns of the student-athletes. They can develop strategies that will allow them to better communicate, to collaborate the different departments' goals, and to provide a support system for those who struggle with the academic-athletic conflict. Other programs, departments, and staff members should be involved as student-athletes are involved in the many areas of college and life. Porter, once again, turns to N.C.A.A. (2005a) when reporting: Academic advisers can then consider working with athletic-department staff to establish specific support programs for student-athletes. Excellent models for such programs are already in place at many Division I and II programs. For example, schools might institute individualized study plans and progress reports to continually assess the performance of athletes in their academic courses. The individualized plan should also incorporate other campus and community activities, because most student-athletes are also campus leaders (NCAA, 2005a). These plans and reports help both the faculty and athletic staffs evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and Last Name 10 help ensure that student-athletes are having successful, well-rounded collegiate experiences. In conclusion, colleges and student-athletes face an enormous giant and many challenges. However, if their academic advisers will work to educated themselves on the concerns and roles of the student athlete, work with athletic staff members, and develop a communication system and support system, the challenges can be less difficult. It is the academic advisers who seem to be in the best position in helping student-athletes make the most of their academic goals and their athletic goals. A balance between those goals, good communication and collaboration with the athletic department, and being liaisons can, as Porter reports, students "are supposed to be able to excel in the classroom, outside the classroom, and in the athletic arena. Advisers can help student-athletes make the most of their educational, athletic, and, ultimately, collegiate Bibliography Gerdy, John. "For True Reform, Athletics Scholarships Must Go." The Chronicle Review 12 May 2006. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (2005b). History. Retrieved 12 April, 2008, from http://www.ncaa.org/about/history.html The National Collegiate Athletic Association (2006b). Division III philosophy statement. Retrieved October 29, 2007, from http://www1.ncaa.org/membership/governance/division_III/d3_philosophy_stmt Porter, Heather. "Finding the Right Balance in Advising the NCAA Division III Student Athlete." The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal 8 March 2008. Ender & Wilkie (2000, p. 125). Sack, Allen. "Big-Time Athletics vs. Academic Values: It's a Rout." The Chronicle Review 26 January 2001, p. B7. Watterson. John S. "College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy." Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. Berber, Murray. "Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports Is Crippling Undergraduate Education." Henry Holt and Company: 2000. Splitt, Frank. "The U.S. Congress: New Hope for Constructive Engagement with the NCAA and Intercollegiate Athletics." The Montana Professor 17.2 Spring 2007. "Carnegie Report Hits Big Ten Athletics: Three Year Probe Indicts American College System," Chicago Daily Tribune, 24 October 1929. Frank G. Splitt, "Sports in America 2005: Facing Up to Global Realities" at http://thedrakegroup.org/Splitt_Sports_in_America.pdf Wolverton, Brad. "Growth in Sports Gifts May Mean Fewer Academic Donations." Chronicle of Higher Education, 00095982, 10/5/2007, Vol. 54, Issue 6. Stinson. South Dakota. Read More