NCAA Graduation Rate: Athletes need to think about “Life after Athletics”

The NCAA announced today that the number of athletes graduating from college has increased one percent since last year.  According to the ESPN article, the NCAA released figures showing that 77 percent of student-athletes will graduate this year. 

Being a former student-athlete, I knew many teammates and other members of athletic teams that felt that they were going to college to play sports.  Some athletes felt that their education that they received from the university was just something that they had to do in order to particpate in athletics.  I knew some athletes taking classes and majors because “they were easy” or “All I want to do is get an A.” 

But the question is, what are you really learning?  Wouldn’t it be better to take classes that challenged you and taught you something new?  When I was at Florida, I had to take a science course, and what class did I choose?  Biology?  No, not really.  Chemistry?  Nope!  It was.. BUGS!  I know that this sounds weird, but it was a really interesting class and it was a lot of memorizing insect categories, exams, and presentations.  But– after the class, I walked away knowing what the big huge insects were flying around on the track! 🙂

The problem is, what happens after college?  Not every athlete is going to go pro, and in track and field for example– only a very small percentage of the athletes make any sort of income.  They have to be breaking World Records, and they are still not making the same amount of money as athletes in the NBA, NFL, or MLB make. 

A college degree is something to be treasured–there’s a lot of hard work, but it is more than worth it.  Having a college degree separates you from a lot of people.  All those nights studying into the earlier hours of the morning, and all the papers and presentations that you had to give– all the good times. 🙂  But– the college experience and degree is something that student-athletes need to really value.  Once you are done– it’s off to the real world of work.  Time in college goes by fast, and a college degree will help you down the road significantly.