<p>They should be allowed to major in Athletics, not their particular sport. I have NO problem with this. Kids major in Music, not Clarinet. My second son is in Electronic Media in the University of Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music. Guess how much math they require for their degree? ZERO. That’s right - all those musicians and vocalists and musical theatre people graduate with absolutely no math classes required. Yet no one critizes them because they’re artists. What’s wrong with mastering a physical art and getting a college degree in that? Not to mention all the great intangibles you learn from athletics that help you for the rest of your life: perseverance, teamwork, strategies, time management, etc.</p>
<p>On another point, I have a son who played a Division I college sport for one year, and he commented several times that what surprised him the most about college athletics was not that you didn’t have the time to do your schoolwork, but that you were almost too exhausted after practice, physically and mentally, to do it. And now all college sports really require a year-round commitment. It takes real effort to do well in both school and your sport. Somehow I don’t think we give these kids enough credit, and we let a small handful of poor examples out of a large football team represent the 500 or more successful athletes in DI programs.</p>