ERIC Number: EJ786374
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jan-25
Pages: 1
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-5982
EISSN: N/A
Athletes' Hours Renew Debate over College Sports
Wolverton, Brad
Chronicle of Higher Education, v54 n20 pA1 Jan 2008
Over the past year, members of Congress have poked around the well-fed belly of intercollegiate athletics, questioning whether college sports deserves its tax-exempt status. Myles Brand, the president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), has led the countercharge against the government, repeatedly defending the educational value of the games. The NCAA started a Web site last year, NCAAStudent.org, to illustrate how its athletes balance sports with their academic responsibilities. And in Mr. Brand's state-of-the-association speech this year, he said the main difference between college and professional sports was that "those who participate in our athletics events are students, and students first." But even the NCAA's athletes don't believe that's true. According to an NCAA survey of 21,000 players, the majority view themselves more as athletes than students. Major-college football players reported spending an average of 44.8 hours a week practicing, playing, or training for their sport, the survey found, with golfers, baseball players, and softball players not far behind.
Descriptors: College Athletics, Athletes, College Students, Student Attitudes, Taxes, Government School Relationship, Educational Finance
Chronicle of Higher Education. 1255 23rd Street NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 800-728-2803; e-mail: circulation@chronicle.com; Web site: http://chronicle.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A