Academics First

Paper Summary:

Educators have long charged that the pressures of big-time college sports programs make a mockery of the scholar-athlete ideal. University presidents believe their real job is to preserve and create environments where new knowledge can be discovered, knowledge that makes life richer and more rewarding. But often, the public at large sees the university differently. The paper shows that, for these people, the most visible and vital role played by institutions is as a sponsor of athletic teams. In reality, sports are overemphasized on college campuses. The paper argues that all people would greatly benefit if concentration shifted from athletics to academics in the college atmosphere.

From the Paper:

"The separation between the cultures of athletics and academics on college campuses is increasing, with different standards for admission and academic performance applied to athletes and non-athletes at all program levels. This growing problem increasingly jeopardizes the essential mission of our universities. It threatens to undermine the integrity of a system of higher education that has been widely acknowledged to be the best in the world. Intercollegiate athletics and academics are at a crucial juncture. The value system of commercialization is distorting the role and purpose of intercollegiate athletics and negatively affecting universities. A reform movement must be established stressing "Academics First (Shulman and Bowen 2).""

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