But is it ever wrong to give someone the education that they need? Should someone not learn to swim at age 30 because most people learn at a younger age? The university shouldn’t issue a degree for not completing university level work and the athlete can’t continue to play if he isn’t making academic progress toward a degree. Kids who can’t read or write can’t go to an NCAA D1 or D2 school because they can’t get the minimum ACT score needed. They might have been passed through high school courses with passing grades, but they have to prove their academic ability on the ACT/SAT.
I’ve watched both seasons of Last Chance U. It is certainly not the experience anyone on CC wants their kids to have, athletically or academically, but many of the players said, over and over, that if it wasn’t for athletics they wouldn’t go to school at all, that they’d do nothing. Not just not go to school, they’d do nothing. I think it is better for them to be in school, learning their letters and sounds if that’s what they need. Yes, they should have learned to read and write in 3rd grade, but they didn’t. They aren’t going to Stanford or Duke or even a public directional. They can’t move on to a 4 year school (which is the goal) unless they complete the minimum levels academically.
And even if they do pass out of JUCO, they still aren’t going to Stanford. Wisconsin lost a coach over admitting JUCO kids. My daughter’s team lost two recruits because they couldn’t get admitted academically to our school, but they met the NCAA minimums because they play at a conference rival. Schools can set standards above the NCAA minimums. And they do.