<p>Good story in Sunday’s paper about the travel demands and other factors about playing for Cornell. One thing nobody did during the travel was study.</p>
<p>I thought it was an interesting story, but felt less sympathy for the players than perhaps the reporter meant to engender. Nor was I surprised that athletes have to do schoolwork at some point during the week. The Times often seems surprised when athletes are also articulate or literate, and I found the sidebar article by the former Penn player a little pretentious–I don’t think Penn or any other Ivy has a monopoly on literate athletes. I also noticed that the Cornell players were staying at pretty nice hotels (the Marriott in Newton, and the Lake Morey Inn in Fairlee, admittedly a more appealing destination in summer, but still…). In addition, I did not think the Cornell team’s bus rides were unduly long–lots of schools playing teams in the 200-350 mile range have bus rides as long or longer. Still, I hope they have fun at the NCAA tournament if they win their League championship.</p>
<p>if you found this article interesting I’d recommend the book “The Last Amateurs” … it is the story of one basketball season in the Patriout League (Lehigh, Bucknell, Navy, etc) … a league that is DI but where the kids are true student athletes and know the NBA is not in their future … a great read and a bunch of great kids.</p>
<p>I have to second 3togo’s suggestion. We have that book and I couldn’t put it down. The author is John Feinstein.</p>
<p>“I also noticed that the Cornell players were staying at pretty nice hotels”</p>
<p>I noted that with some bitterness…even in the Ivy League, varsity athletes live in abject luxury. The fancy bus, the nice hotels, etc. A singing group has to raise every penny for its rental van and crash on dorm floors. It’s absurd that athletics are so elevated over the other kinds of activities that enrich the students’ experience and contribute to the community.</p>