Universities Should Not Sacrifice Athletics Due to Tight Budgets | Opinion

William E. Simon, Jr. 7/20/20

Stanford University recently announced it would discontinue 11 of its 36 varsity sports at the end of the 2020-21 academic year, thus creating a huge hole in the university's athletic programs and leaving dozens of student-athletes, coaches and supporters adrift. The reason for this decision, according to an open letter to the Stanford community from Stanford's president, provost and athletic director, is financial, stretching back several years before the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated matters.

Other schools, such as Brown University and Dartmouth College, are also eliminating a number of varsity teams. With such well-off schools as these announcing cuts in athletics, others can't be far behind. This is a permanent solution to a temporary problem—and one which could be addressed more effectively in other ways, with fewer deleterious outcomes.

The contribution sports make to student lives is uniquely positive. Exercise is the only activity that engages and benefits the whole person: mind, body and spirit. Beginning in high school and often long before, sports challenge students in multiple ways, developing character, leadership and teamwork, as well as athletic prowess........ .To Read More...

My Take- This is a load of Orwellian horsepucky. 

Two things: First, universities need to end athletics as we know it. And now that the idea "student" athletes shouldn't be tested and just allowed to play is being touted, in order to "equalize university life".  End univieristy athletics as it exists currently, and allow only intermural competition! 

If college sports is to help create healthy bodies and teach teamwork, why does it have to be funded and why do they have to do this with other universities all over the country?  Because it’s morphed into corruption. 

If university sports was created to build strong bodies and good character, then it must end as we know it!  All they're turning out now is weak character. “Student” athletes are pampered and allowed to get away with inappropriate behavior, and that isn't building character.   It's not about character and good health, it's about money, and now there's a trend to stop testing these "students", because it interferes with equality.  

University sports is now big money, with coaches who are paid more - a lot more - than professors.  All this corruption and money merely creates huge administrative staffs, huge income for the universities, and a general corruption of athletics and the universities.   This current mentality helps create a corrupt society and a failure to stand up for what’s right and moral. There have a number of examples of that in recent years where university officials covered up corrupt behavior.  

Secondly, we need to stop funding universities entirely, and that includes research grants, and start taxing their endowment funds.  That's a good start of fixing sports and everything else in America's institutions of "higher" learning.