NCAA cracking down on education standards

[NJTank]

Word is 410 teams could face some peanlty or another.

Discuss

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[UCLAcrew]

the balance between academics and athletics in college is a tricky one. from experience, i can tell you that college athletes are given every opportunity to succeed in academics, as those are requisite to remain on their respective teams. i couldn't comment on other universities, but at ucla, athletes are provided private tutors and tutoring sessions which are lead by teaching assistants and sometimes by the professors themselves. these review sessions amount to little more than the instructors providing the questions to upcoming exams and then coaching the student through correct responses. and this is for those student athletes with enough savvy to attend study sessions, or classes at all for that matter.

but on the other side of the picture, i want ucla to win national championships. we've blown goats for the past four years, and i'll be damned if i didn't wish a return to ucla's dominance in the pac10 and nation. but of course to do this, i understand that the academic bar must be lowered. ucla's high academic requirements have been cited as even being a cause for recent ucla under achievement. a bit of a scapegoat to be sure, but true in part.

but this is the problem with the american collegiate sporting system. i'm studying in europe, and here, you go to college to pursue academic excellence. college sports are limited to intramural competitions and leagues amongst students. if you want to develop your sporting ability, you join an independent sporting club. i realize the money tied up in american college sports will forever preclude this from happening, but at least it's something to think about.