College sports have a problem. No, I am not talking about rampant recruiting violations or the farce that is the BCS.
I'm not even talking about how the WAC is not considered a "major" conference, despite the fact that they are clearly better than the Big East, ACC and the Pac-10 minus USC.
The NCAA's biggest problem is the growing joke of the student-athlete.
Don't get me wrong -- the student-athlete is far from dead. Most athletes take school very seriously, major in something that really interests them and eventually "go pro in something other than sports," as the ACC commercial goes.
No, the problem arises when you get players such as Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart or Kevin Durant, who could care less about school and are only there because the rules tell them they have to before they can go make millions.
While this problem is far more pronounced in basketball, where the great players only need to stay academically eligible for one semester to play before going pro, the situation in football is not much better.
Look at the current top 5, according to Rivals.com: Alabama graduates 49 percent of its players, Texas Tech 79 percent, Texas 42 percent, Florida 72 percent and Oklahoma 44 percent (Virginia Tech football is 72 percent).
These low numbers can be partially attributed to the fact that since they send so many players to the pros, many of them do not graduate before leaving.
Personally, I think these numbers should embarrass their universities. If a school's job is to educate its students and you have people such as Knowshon Moreno enrolled, you might as well help them out, as you would any other student.
This is why I propose that schools start offering football and basketball as majors. I know it sounds crazy, but think about it; the professional sports industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, yet athletics are looked at as just an extra-curricular activity at schools. Tim Tebow does well in school (He has a 3.77 GPA, according to UFL.edu), but is he really going to use his degree in Family, Youth and Community Sciences, if he evens stays long enough to earn it?
The answer is no. Tebow went to Florida to become an NFL player, the same way I came to Tech to become a mechanical engineer and you did to become what you want to be.
It's not fair for someone who is gifted mentally to make the most of her talent by going to medical school, but a gifted athlete has to pick a ruse major, as his athletic prowess is not sharp enough.
Here is how this system will be implemented. First, these majors have to be extremely exclusive, only the best of the best should get in (think Harvard Law). This ensures that only those players who are surefire future professional athletes are allowed in, because this major will be pretty useless for anyone who doesn't make it as an athlete.
It will be a 2 year to 3 year program, since this is about how long these players usually stay. The core curriculum will involve in-class advanced strategy, as well as business classes to help them manage their money once they get out, since according to the Toronto Star, roughly 60 percent of NBA players go broke within five years of retiring.
I think this system would ultimately raise the level of play in the NBA and NFL as well as the NCAA because I think players will stick around school for another year or so to finish this degree.
It will make them more intelligent about the game they play, plus their skills will be more refined from more time in college.
Players would also come out of school older and more mature, with a better sense of money management, which will help them in the long run.
And how sweet would a master's in football from Penn State or a B.A. in basketball from UCLA sound?
Matt Gagnon
senior, mechanical engineering You might be interested in...
athletes, majors, letter
