In this age of increased academic pressure and decreasedinstitutional budgets, do high-profile, big-budget college athletics programsstill make sense? In order to make an informed decision, you must weigh theadvantages and disadvantages. In other words, what are the positive things thatcollege sports offer and what are the associated negative things? First of all, college athletics offer excellentpublic relations with the college community, increase the college's nationaland international exposure, and provide wonderful fundraising opportunities. Atthe same time, sports programs provide education and training to potentialfuture professional athletes—many of whom might not have received a qualityeducation without the benefit of a sports scholarship. For a long time, college athletes attended school on a full orpartial sports scholarship. This meant that things like tuition, room, and boardwere paid by the college in return for that student agreeing to attend theschool and play on its team. However, in recent years, it has become common forthese students to receive additional pay. This has become considerablycontroversial since many people view this as an unfair situation where certainstudents, because of their athletic ability, receive benefits that otherstudents do not. Does financial compensation compromiseacademic and institutional integrity? I don't think so. For one thing, withoutthese college athletes, the schools would not enjoy a majority of the revenuethey receive from athletic departments. Student athletes are entitled to someform of compensation, and, since the demands of the sport often occupy most oftheir time, they are unable to keep other jobs. In addition, if collegeathletes are paid, it might stop many of them from going pro before theygraduate. It would encourage students to complete their education beforejoining a professional team. What are the opposing arguments? Many people claim that schools withwealthy and successful sports departments devalue the academic environment infavor of athletic competition. The claim has also been made that certainsports, by sheer nature of their popularity, receive less attention and moneyand, therefore, the athletes are also treated less well. Unfortunately, this isalso true with most female sports teams. However, it seems to me that, in mostcases, these negatives are not a result of college athletics alone. Institutionalcommitment to all teams—popular and unpopular, male and female—wouldconsiderably help this situation. The ultimate question is whether colleges and universities should bethe training grounds for future professional sports careers. College should bethe place where young people go to learn about the world, develop their skills,and discover their passion. Why shouldn't this also be true for sports?