As great as college athletics are, there's no denying that there are more than just a few problems that dog its two major spectator sports: football and men's basketball.
The hardwood and the gridiron sometimes more resemble meat markets, with players simply a means to the next win -- in the view of both coaches and fans.
And ultra-competitiveness by alumni and fans has led to excesses -- by programs who recruit, sometimes illegally, players with questionable values; by fans who want so much information about their favorite programs that they put players under a microscope, unable to enjoy a typical college life; and by the media [yes, even us], which occasionally puts too much pressure on 18-21 year old kids.
And that's just scratching the surface -- not to mention the issues with how a national champion is chosen in Division I college football.
So, in this week's Fan Face-Off, I dropped the fun stuff and asked our school representatives what they thought was wrong with college athletics.
Their answers ran the gamut -- now if we can only figure how to fix them, though from their answers, the solutions may not be as difficult as you'd think.
Read what our fans had to say and then have your say. Simply scroll down to the bottom and add a comment to the story, or shoot us an email at: [email protected]. Oh, and thanks for the comments from last week's issue: "Who's the greatest of all time?"
-- SCOTT BECK, 36, Suwanee (Auburn University): I would like to see young athletes get enough freedom to be young kids. Being given financial assistance for a college education, be it full or partial, because of athletic ability is a privilege. I believe that anyone who is paying less than the average student because he can compete at a high level should be held to a high standard of behavior and academic achievement. However, fans, media, law enforcement and universities have gone a little too far. Fraternity boys are held to a high standard, but why is it lower than a star running back? Additionally, some of the behavior issues that I see are a direct product of the current recruitment system. No fan should know a player's name until he hits the field to contribute to the team's success. How can there be enough money in recruit-rating and tracking to support the plethora of crap that fans are bombarded with during January and February? How come Willie Williams gets a newspaper column during his recruitment? (And he turned out great didn't he?) Why does the No. 1-rated QB in the country get a press conference, covered by ESPN, so he can tell the world where he's going to play college football -- after he has a red-shirt year. It's no wonder these kids are full of themselves
Friday
October 25th, 2024
2:29AM
