ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 22, 1996 TAG: 9611220031
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN L. BINGHAM
I FIND Larry Hincker's defense (Nov. 18 letter to the editor, ``Big-time football at Tech provides big-time benefits'') of big-time athletics at Virginia Tech big-time disturbing.
The incredulity that greets the idea of de-emphasizing athletics is symptomatic of why college sports continue to spin further out of control. Hincker, like many others, fails to confront the fact that America's colleges and universities are perpetuating this country's misplaced priority on sports by providing large groups of marginal students with so-called educational opportunities. These opportunities mostly consist of long hours of practice and sports-related travel.
Sure, many of these folks are great athletes who make for great teams and fun entertainment. And they should be good, as they have little opportunity to be distracted by rigorous academics.
Of course, there are exceptional youngsters who are both students and athletes in big-time programs, and that's just what they are - exceptions. Unfortunately, most athletes in big-time programs find themselves chasing the improbable dream of professional glory.
Sports boosters place big-time pressure on big-time coaches to win. These supporters are usually from outside the educational interests of the school; indeed, they are oblivious to the notion of it.
College athletics can be a fine thing when kept in perspective with the mission of higher education. I suspect that most of the zeal and dollars raised by big-time athletic programs are directed back into athletics and not to the school at large.
As for recruiting students, it's sad to know that bowl-game exposure greatly increases applications. Bookstores are full of guidebooks that list all the colleges, but kids notice the darndest things. Until colleges take the lead in putting athletics in its place, then I suspect many schools will gain and suffer at the whims of the Monday-morning sports pollsters.
College athletics should be an extracurricular activity for serious students. Seasons should be shortened, travel budgets slashed, television broadcasts minimized. And if some schools cannot afford to field a football team, then so be it. Let the National Football League and the National Basketball Association divert some of the plentiful player salaries to the establishment of minor leagues.
Although such highly regarded schools as the University of Chicago, New York University, Harvard, and Washington and Lee long ago reacted to runaway sports by relegating athletics to minor status, they continue as thriving institutions. And I understand that admission applications and alumni spirits remain high.
Warren L. Bingham of Roanoke is a sales manager of mortgage insurance.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB