Should athletes finish college before becoming professional athletes?

Should they?

I think they should.

They shouldn't draft out of High School anymore.

 

Yeah i thik they should too, whats the average age of retirement for an Athlete im gonna guess 35 or something like that, if they haven't made a ton of money doing that what are they gonna do for the other 25 yrs of working life. :neutral:

 

??

Other than baseball, what league drafts out of high school?

The NBA changed its rules to only allow players to enter the draft at 19, and the NFL won't allow anyone under 20 to enter its draft.

And while ideally we would all have access to education at any level, these athletes should not be forced to complete a college education to play professional sports.

 

I see both sides. Tough question. But if it were my child I'd want him left alone until he was finished with his degree.

 

Whilst i have opined in favor of athletes putting the "student" first, i do not think some kind of draconian mandate, especially for those student-athletes who are only "students" in name only, is the best way to go about it. If someone doesn't want to be in school, why waste our precious tax dollars to burn their time there?

 

Pro athletes shouldn't be forced to further their education.

 

I think they should as well most definately. . Some pro sports have already up the standards but I think they should up them some more. No degree no draft.

 

I think they should, but nobody should force them to, since they are grown ass people.

 

Football (American football) is the only sport where it makes sense because colleges are the only pipeline..unlike futbol, hockey etc....and American football requires a higher level of physical maturity than any other sport...a 19 year old can have great success in tennis, soccer, etc. but an athletic 19-year old in football would get his block knocked off.

If the athlete cares deeply about education and wants to pursue a degree..that should be commended but watching college football on CBS and seeing the majors that some of these guys have is ridiculous. "Communications" makes little sense for someone that can barely put together a sentence. Many of the guys have no intention to graduate...just take enough blow-off classes and get out of school as soon as possible. The only beneficiary so far from keeping kids in school is college basketball ever since the NBA decided not to accept youngsters. Generally it is a good idea...sort of...at least allow the college to get a year or two of success off of a kids' back...knowing he won't get a degree. Unfortunately, someone that's a true Wunderkind like LeBron James was at 18 would have to risk serious injury just to "develop." In a rare case like him...it would have been unfair for him to go to school when 3/4 of the NBA couldn't guard him when he was in high school.

 

The NCAA does not give student atheletes to have some decent money to live on. Unless they change the rules I agree those young athleletes get the big bucks.

 

Actually Francie the percentage of athletes that have long careers (10+ years) is very small. The majority of athletes that make it to the pros in any sport only last a few years. I am a huge advocate of education, however for most athletes, injuries are a constant threat, and every minute you stay in college not collecting a salary, is one more chance for a pro career future to be taken away or limited by injury. With the boom of on-line and distance learning options, this question really is becoming more of a moot point, athletes can most certainly pursue both options at once now which most leagues are starting to seriously encourage through the players unions. According to Len Dykstra, former baseball player turned financial advisor, fewer than 10% of pro atheletes remain millionaires 10 years after their playing days are over, very sad statistic and highly indicative of the huge need for education for these guys.

 

Very interesting question. Loki, your position was very surprising to me considering your stance on education. Also, quite interesting. Regarding distance learning, Shaquille O'Neal did exactly that. He has an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

 

Very personal issue for me. At the time I played, I was only the 3rd person to graduate in four years while playing D1 ball at my undergrad university. Had some tepid interest from the pro level, did not work out, but I was able to move on with my life on a path to success because I had my education. I saw, and still do see, a lot of the players I played with and against who never graduated suffer serious negative consequences in many areas of their lives, due in no small part to their lack of education in my opinion, when they either did not make the pros or their career ended. I also have worked with numerous pro athletes in an estate planning capacity, and oh the horror stories I could tell. So my thinking on the matter has evolved a great deal, whereas before I would strongly encourage athletes to stay in school or if they leave make finishing their degree their top priority. Now I encourage them to look to examples like Shaq and others who are able to pursue both degree and still get paid as pros year round, not just on the offseason when they are trying to take a little time to themselves away from the stress of playing pro ball, on-line learning has been a godsend for them, and more and more traditional schools, are incorporating fully accredited on-line courses in their curriculum.

 

Now that's the truth.

There are so many athletes that likely won't ever earn the type of money Shaq has (and does) yet he decided to get more education while many others that probably need education far more than he does.. don't finish. Of course if I'm not mistaken..Shaq skipped two grades in school so he was ahead of the curve from the start. Much of it starts in high school though because some of these guys would have no shot at all of being accepted to the universities' they are recruited to...making their work that much more difficult...many work hard and discover their natural gifts while others languish without proper guidance.