USA Today article on College Athletes: You can’t judge a major by the number of athletes in it

There was an interesting article that appeared in USA Today that said that athletes are encouraged to take “easy majors,” and mentioned Boise State.  Some athletes say that they were “guided” to take these majors, while others were influenced by their fellow players to take certain majors that were easy.

Plus, the article mentioned that at least 48 percent of the juniors and seniors at Boise State are majoring in Communications, implying that it is an easy major.  Hmm– I would have to disagree on that. Communications is a perfect field for athletes in so many ways.  Why?  First, athletes have to proactively manage their own reputation and that of their team, and they have to be able to communicate effectively with the media, boosters, and fans to name a few.  Plus, the Communications major allows students to be exposed to every type of field associated with Communication (ex. Advertising, PR, Journalism, Marketing, etc.)  I would have to say that the athletes that are in Communications at Boise State are being proactive in taking Communications as their major.

I have heard this story before– both at Florida and at USC.  It is interesting that athletes do get labeled for taking “easy majors.”  Sure, there are a select few athletes that are in college that do not value the education they are getting.  However, I would argue that athletes are one of the hardest working students in college because they not only have to work on their school work, but they have to practice for hours each day, handle the stress of performing well, be proactive in managing their reputation with the community and media, and have good time management skills.  I sometimes look back at my daily schedule when I was competing in track, and it absolutely amazes me!

Now, with the issue of the USA Today article, they do mention that athletes are “guided” into the social science majors to help athletes stay eligible.  There are several issues that I have with the USA Today survey.  First, they targeted only certain sports like football, basketball, and softball to name a few.  Plus, they do seem to frame the story about the one issue of “guiding” students to a particular major.  However, what about the student-athletes that succeed in athletics and in the classroom?  There are many students that succeed in the classroom and in their sport, and go on for graduate degrees.

In terms of labeling Communications as an “easy major,” I actually ran into this when I was at Florida.  I had two teammates that knew that I was a PR major, and wanted to take the Intro to PR class because they thought that it would be easy because that was my major.  Well, they took the class from the department head at Florida, and let’s just say that they had to work VERY hard in that class!  PR is a very demanding major and field to be in– you have to have good writing, be a good researcher, have strong management skills, have creative in design, and communication skills to name a few.

Another obstacle that athletes have to deal with is the fact that they not only have certain classes that they have to take to graduate, but they have to take classes that fit into their practice time schedule. I ran into this at Florida.  I would start practice at 5:30 and go until 8:30, run to class until 12, lift weights (maybe get a quick bite to eat), head out to practice at 1 pm, end at 5 pm, have dinner, and then study or go to evening class.  I had to go my coaches numerous times and say that I had to take certain classes in PR in the afternoon and evening to make sure that I was on track to graduate on time.  At USC, I had a great situation because I would practice during the day and take my graduate classes at night.

There will always be athletes in college that feel like they are there just for the sports, but the reality is that athletes have to realize that yes– you do have a job in performing well in your relative sport, but you are investing in your future with your education.  There is definitely a misperception when it comes to athletes and their majors– there are so many athletes that recognize that they are investing in their education, and I feel that the USA Today article did not recognize this.