March Madness

The 2004 NCAA Basketball Tournament begins on Thursday, showcasing what is in athletic terms, a sporting institution, but what is in academic terms nothing short of a debacle.

In a timely bit of reporting, the Boston Globe today noted that the NCAA has decided not to divulge the graduation rates of basketball players at NCAA institutions. This decision results from an interpretation of federal law that would suppress, "information on any category containing only one or two students". The thinking seems to be that if only one or two students on a basketball team actually graduate, the result can be suppressed.

The Globe writes that, "Because of the new rules, 37 of the 65 men's teams in this year's tournament did not publish graduation rates of their African-American players. Sixteen schools published no graduation rates at all." Looking at graduation rates reported in previous years, the Globe article highlights more than a handful of major public universities with a zero percent rate of graduation for black students, and an appalling low (from 10 to 33 percent) overall graduation rates. One school actually reported a zero percent overall graduation rate.

I enjoy college sport as much as the next fellow, but I have never been able to rationalize the subsidy of academics on the basis of athletic ability. I appreciate the ideal of the student-athlete, but in public education that ideal is dead. Compounding the problem, when college sport becomes a national distraction it eclipses and degrades the academic purpose of colleges and universities. Zero percent graduation rates prove this point.

The Globe article values this year's tournament at close $10 billion. With such a market at stake, is there any doubt that private enterprise could create a league of young players, properly compensated for their efforts, and having nothing to do with colleges and universities.

If one has the mind for it, one should pursue a rigorous college education. If one has the body and inclination for competitive athletics, one should pursue paid sport. The two should not, and need not be entangled.

Now... off the soapbox and Go Wildcats!

Posted by publius at March 16, 2004 06:02 PM