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Athletic vs. Academic
Athletic vs. Academic
Executive Summary
This research aims at finding out why there has been a growing trend in the way
institutions recruit students based on their athletic performance and not considering their
academic performance. Evidence has pointed out that majority of the institutions enroll their
students in relation to their athletic performance and not their academic performance. Based on
literature review and interview conducted, this paper seeks to find out why the trend is growing
rapidly and it is not about to end any time soon.
Introduction
There has been a lot of speculation on whether to allow students who are poor in their
academic but have great potential in athletics to continue with their studies and help them to
graduate. In addition to that, it has also been noted that some schools are very keen in recruiting
students who are good in their athletics but they do not meet the required academic standards.
I’m interested in this subject because I have a son that is so invested into football and gives in a
hundred percent. However, he does not give this much energy in to his studying. When
discussing this with him, he already knows that others have gotten in to great colleges while they
were not the best performing students. I know this trend is common among young athletes so as a
mother it is an important topic for me. This research is based on finding out what is more
important to schools: Athletics or academics
Background
There has been a lot of emphasize on the academic performance of a student in
comparison to their athletic performance. However, there has been an emerging trend of
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Athletic vs. Academic
institutions putting emphasize on the athletic performance rather than the academic performance
in recruiting their students.
This is because institutions that perform well in athletics get sponsorships and
recognition. Additionally, they are also given free t-shirts and caps during the games. The level
of the institutions raise and majority of the parents prefer taking their children to institutions that
are well recognized.
Current situation of academics vs. athletics
Many institutions approximately more than half of them which compete at the top levels
continue to break their roles as well as the set rules. The trending behavior has successfully
worked its way into the backbone of intercollegiate sports without infuriating influential and
continued countermeasures from the many institutions so corrupted speaks for itself. It seems
that extra energy goes into gazing the other way than to finding a method to incorporate major
sports into the structure of higher education.
Under the influence of television and the mass media, the philosophy of athletics is now
certified. The peak of sporting venture is defined by professional sports. These basic shifts now
pervade many institutions. Major institutional sports such as basketball and football, have a
professional look and feel in their pitches and stadiums. Their luxury boxes and funding, their
marketing and administrative structures as well as their uniforms and coaching staffs all have a
professional look. If truth were told, major courses have become negligible leagues in their own
right, more and more taken into report as part of the professional athletics system. In this fresh
situation, what is the connection between sport and many institutions as a place of learning?
The hideous disciplinary events, shameful academic fraud, depressing graduation rates
and unrestrained expenses surrounding institution sports (athletics) replicate what many have
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Athletic vs. Academic
precisely typified as an entertainment industry that is not only the direct opposite of academic
values but is cutting and corruptive to the academic enterprise.
Research questions
With this background study, it will be important to identify the casual factors that have
contributed to this kind of behavior in these institutions. The specific questions that will be asked
include:
1. Do these institutions have the right to lower the academic mean grade performance of the
student and enroll them based on their athletic performance?
2. Do these students who are good in athletics but poor in academics have a chance of
completing their studies up to the university level?
3. Should athletics be considered in the same category as education when enrolling a
student in an institution and what factors are leading these institutions in doing so?
This research will take a positivist approach towards the objects of study. This type of
research is descriptive. This topic aligns with the directional research. This is because it indicates
the direction of the results. The objects that will be studies in this research will include
individuals who are poor in their studies but good in athletics and the institutions that enrol them.
These objects are directly related to one another in that individuals who are weak in their
performances but good in athletics are usually enrolled in institutions that require high grades.
The ontological assumption is that these institutions enrol these students because they want to
increase the performance of their schools in athletics.
Research Methodology
This study will view individuals who perform poorly in their academics but are good in
athletics as independent objectives of the study. This group of individuals will be divided into
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Athletic vs. Academic
specific groups in accordance to their class performance and which sports they participate in.
Other independent objects of the study will include the rank of the institutions and who
administers the students. These objects will be measured using quantitative analysis such as
online interviews and questionnaires (Johnson & Christensen, 2010).
The epistemological assumption is that the high-ranking schools are not the only ones
that participate in this kind of behaviour. This is because both institutions are unlikely to decline
such an offer. The likely people to be persuaded to enrol students based on their athletic
performance is the high ranking schools so that they can continue ranking high in their
performance.
Most institutions around the globe commonly enrol students based on their athletic
performance and ignore their academic capabilities. For example, the objects within this study
should be grouped in terms of geographical locations. For example, the use of these products is
common in developed countries.
Conclusion
This research will focus on finding out why there has been a growing trend in the way
institutions recruit their students based on their athletics performance and not their academic
performance. This study will view individuals who perform poorly in their academics but are
good in athletics as independent objectives of the study. This group of individuals will be
divided into specific groups in accordance to their class performance and which sports they
participate in. Other independent objects of the study will include the rank of the institutions
and who administers the students. These objects will be measured using quantitative analysis
such as online interviews and questionnaires.
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Athletic vs. Academic
References
Johnson, B. & Christensen, B. L (2010). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and
Mixed Approaches. London: Sage Publications