Education Fraud

As much as I’d like to see major changes for Columbia and Ivy League athletics, there are some things about the Ivies and sports that I am proud of and wouldn’t change for anything.

Foremost among those things is the universally accepted value of an Ivy degree. No matter how much any individual athlete gives to his or her Ivy school, there’s no way that student isn’t coming out way ahead financially when they get that degree.

I mention that today because a group of football players at Northwestern is trying to form a union.

Just let that sink in for a second.

This is Northwestern we’re talking about here. For every non-recruited varsity athlete, it’s extremely hard to get into this school and it has been getting more and more selective for the last 40 years. Graduating from Northwestern is a very good bet as a ticket to future success and opportunities.

And yet, the scholarship varsity football players are saying that the degree they receive and the course of studies they’re directed to, is not as valuable as the financial contribution they make to Northwestern’s bottom line.

And I’m inclined to agree.

The days when scholarship football players at major D-I schools could also be serious students are long over. I realize there are probably a few exceptions to this rule out there, but the guys bucking this trend are swimming against a very strong current.

Even at top schools like Northwestern, Duke, Stanford and Michigan it’s obvious that the education the top football and basketball players are getting isn’t very valuable at all.

Northwestern isn’t even a BCS contender ever, (although it’s nice to see the Wildcats playing competitive football the last 18 years or so), and yet these players still have a strong case that they bring in more than they take out.

I don’t think this union movement at NU will come to much, but the message is clear to me about what Ivy sports fans should take away from all of this.

The Ivy way is the 100% right way when it comes to education.

I have problems with the A.I., the postseason football ban, etc. But these are SPORTS complaints. No matter how many “easy” courses our Ivy athletes sign up for, the classes in the Ivies are generally real, challenging, and valuable.

I suppose some employers think about how Ivy grads who played varsity sports got in to their colleges more easily thanks to those sports. But I doubt any of them consider the value of those athletes’ degrees to be any less worthy.

At Columbia and all the other Ivies, too many of the athletes are treated poorly by insecure non-athlete students in and out of classes. That leads to self-segregation all too often, BUT it usually doesn't hold for the entire four year period. It's still a strong area of pride for me that I never feel like I'm talking down to a current Columbia athlete or athlete alum and many of them are clearly smarter and more successful than I will ever be. They were in the same classes as I was and they held their own just fine. 

Meanwhile, I know for a fact that employers who interview “graduates” who played football and basketball at schools like Michigan etc. do not generally believe those “graduates” received a comparable education to their non-athlete peers.

It should be noted that I and all the other Ivy sports fans who call for abolishing the A.I. and other unfair admissions rules NEVER call for a relaxation of academic requirements or the creation of phony majors and classes once those students are admitted.

If the Northwestern football players believe their degrees aren’t worth their efforts on the field, I suggest they transfer to another school where they might get a better deal. But short of transferring to an Ivy school, I suspect their options will be limited. The other option is for them to buck the course track demanded of them by their coaches and “advisers” and pursue the same majors and classes their non-athlete peers are taking.

Any player who does that will have my admiration in addition to a very inside track with lots of employers out there.

And how will a player who tried to unionize rather than take his admission to Northwestern and use it properly do?

I suspect they will be in high demand from the SEIU the next time they need a gang of purple-shirted goons to shout down people at Congressional town hall meetings, but otherwise, not too well.