Your Sport Should be A Degree In the article “Why Not a College Degree in Sports? ” written by Roger Pielke Jr. he discusses whether college athletes should receive a degree in their sport. He suggested that college sports should be a degree. He claims athletes will be more accountable for their grades while avoiding athletic scandals. For example, the University of North Carolina committed academic fraud because athletes on scholarship were receiving good grades for classes that didn’t actually exist in order to help them keep their scholarships (Why Not a College Degree in Sports).
Pielke Jr mentions with NCAA getting more popular means it brings more money to the corporation, which means that there is more pressure to perform well. For example, the NCAA “signed a deal with CBS and Turner Broadcasting for an eight-year, $8. 8 billion extension of their March Madness basketball TV contract to 2032, while the college football bowl series brings in more than $500 million annually”. That would mean that athletic departments could be more interested in making allowances for athletes who do not necessarily deserve to play.
Using a college sports degree, however, would make players have more accountability when it applies their sport. Also, because of sports, the athletic budgets have skyrocketed. In fact, in 40 states the highest paid public employees are college coaches. William F. Shughart II asked a simple question in an op-ed essay in The Wall Street Journal: “Why should academic credit be given for practicing the violin, but not for practicing a three-point shot? “, (Why Not a College Degree in Sports). In my opinion, I believe that college should not allow degrees in sports because it can limit job opportunities.
Scholarships should only be use to recruit players. Then they should search for a backup plan, and those classes could be used to boost an athletes GPA to keep their eligibility for playing their sport. The article states that leader in sports are often develop through academic program and help athletes become closer to obtaining their degree (Why Not a College Degree in Sports). But, this keeps them one dimensional in the business world which could limit them to certain jobs instead of having different opportunities.
Even though Nick Saban, Head Coach at the University of Alabama, average salary is nearly 100 assistant professor at the University of Alabama, (Why Not a College Degree in Sports) does not mean this happens to everybody or every coach. College coaching jobs are never safe, and a backup plan is needed. I believe there are plenty of job opportunities for student athletes with college degrees. But, trying to use a college degree in sports limits job opportunities and separates the student athlete and the regular student.
The degrees colleges have today have been able to provide a dream job that a person would want while giving him or her a backup plan as well. I understand using a college degree in sports could avoid scandal as they’re playing ball, but I could be used to easily pass a class to keep their eligibility. Although I do agree that college sports bigger than ever, making it a degree could possibly make classes easier and try to force the player to pass to keep their eligibility. I believe that player will have classes like the one in North Carolina where player had non existing classes to maintain eligibility.
Why Not a College Degree in Sports). I believe the old system should improve rather than be removed because it allows athletes to expand their mind to more subject than just sports. As a college athlete, a person is paid (in scholarship money) to play ball for his or her team and a free education off the field. The degrees today can help an athlete in the sports world as much as it can in other areas. For example, a P. E. degree could be used for coaching, but if someone were to get fired, his or her backup plan outside of sports could be a P. E. teacher.
It is very helpful to have a backup plan. Although schools get a lot of money from the athletic department, it should be used for team uniforms, turf, and so much more. The article states that “Beyond our cultural biases, what really is the difference between a Shakespeare play, an orchestra concert and a basketball game? Each performance requires some highlevel combination of physical ability and mental acuity, developed through years of training and study, and for which only a select few reach elite levels”, (Why Not a College Degree in Sports).
I agree with this statement and do believe sports should have classes like that, but a degree for sports would not be as helpful because it limits some job searches. In conclusion, this article is about college making athletic degrees, and I believe they should not change the old system, but should help shape it up. In this country, people who pursue athletics will need a backup plan in case things do not work out. A sports degrees limit individuals to very few jobs.