With the end of the college football season, it is time to evaluate the concept of the student-athlete. The concept is barely recognizable from the pre-entertainment era. The University is an intellectual enterprise, not a commercial one, in principal. All student-athletes should be qualified to be at the university, take the necessary coursework for their major, and graduate with a degree. Some do, many do not. They are admitted and their education paid for in expectation of their entertainment value. The institutions of higher learning have been corrupted by the money available from the entertainment provided by so-called students. It is a pretense and a farce to suggest that schools have the same standards for athletes and non-athletes. Professional sports should take the responsibility for generating players, and colleges should educate young minds. Athletes we have plenty of, intellectuals are in short supply.
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