Paying for College: On Athletic Scholarships

For a long time, I believed that college athletes were entitled brats who were not capable of getting a degree on their own, and that it was really stupid of them to go pro before graduation.

Hey, I was wrong, okay? And, as I realized this, I’ve come to a few observations that may be useful for people thinking of helping their kid get an athletic scholarship to pay for college.

Every semester at UIC, I have one or two athletes in my classes. It’s a Division I school without football, and a handful of graduates have had pro careers in baseball, basketball, and soccer. It’s hardly an athletic powerhouse, though. I know who the athletes are because they have to give me paperwork every semester asking to be excused from class during competitions (along with a list of the dates and times, to keep the students honest!) and for a mid-semester academic progress report. The athletes are rarely the top students in my classes, but they tend to be disciplined and diligent in their classwork. I have never been asked to alter a grade or provide extra help because of someone’s place on the team.

One of my roommates in college was on athletic scholarship for field hockey, and she was good, too, making both the Academic All-American and All Big Ten lists during her years on campus. A family friend from home played football for a top national college program. He went on to play in the NFL for 12 seasons, no mean feat. I know both of these people well enough to know that they are really smart.

And, because of my roommate, I saw how hard athletes have to work. In season, the practice and playing schedules are brutal; in the off-season, athletes have to spend time maintaining their fitness. When you figure out the value of the scholarship in return for the hours needed to be on the team, I’m not sure that my roommate’s hourly rate was greater than mine at my work-study job in the Economics department. She received half tuition and free books, but she worked hard for them.

Unlike football, there is no pro career in field hockey other than coaching. My roommate went off to law school while my football-playing friend made big money playing big-time ball.

When a pro career is a possibility, I totally see why athletes would want to leave college as soon as possible, with or without a degree. A college education is important, but lots of people go back to finish their degrees as adults. That’s fine. (My students who are over 30 are also disciplined and diligent!) Staying on campus increases the risk of a career-ending injury with no workers compensation to show for it. My friend who played in the NFL graduated with two years of eligibility left in the NCAA. His college offered him law-school admission to play out the eligibility, but he turned it down.

Maurice Clarett is another football phenomenon from my hometown. I’ve never met him, but I am fascinated with his story. He showed promise in junior high, and around town, there are a lot of stories of how his mother shopped different high school football programs to find the coach who would position him the best for a college scholarship. In high school, he was courted by college recruiters, but he wanted to know why he had to go to college to play in the pros. Clarett wasn’t interested in a degree, he wanted to play football – and he knew that his football would make money for whatever team he played for, NCAA or NFL. But if he played pro, he could make money, too.

The NFL only recruits players who are three years out of high school, however. Clarett played at Ohio State but sued to be allowed to try out for the pros earlier. He lost the suit, got kicked out of Ohio State, and was drafted into the NFL in 2005. However, he washed out in training camp.

Clarett might not be a model student-athlete, but he had a point: Ohio State makes a lot of money off of its football program, but the athletes don’t see it. The value of the tuition scholarship for an Ohio resident, like Clarett, isn’t much more than minimum wage once the time put into training, travel, and playing is considered. If a player cannot be paid to play in college, he should have the right to take his skills to the professional market.

My kid plays sports, and my husband and I have always encouraged it. Physical activity is good for kids, and they learn a lot about discipline and fair play. Over the years, he has taken up soccer, basketball, swimming, hockey, cross-country, and lacrosse. And, over the years, I have met a ton of other sports parents, many of whom have really talented children. A few of these parents are hyper-competitive. They tell me that my kid needs to specialize. They shell out money for extra clinics and training programs. They buy the high-end equipment rather that scout out Play it Again Sports.

Many of them tell me that spending on sports is a form of saving for college because, after all, it increases the odds of their kid getting a scholarship.

But here’s the thing: first, the odds of getting a scholarship are tiny. There are more high schools than colleges in the US, and every high school has a star. Many of the best athletes play a lot of sports to develop a range of skills and get experience with different coaches. Being an elementary school phenom doesn’t mean much given how much peoples’ bodies change in puberty; my family’s friend, the retired NFL star, didn’t play football until 9th grade, and he played baseball in high school, too.

The dollar value of the scholarships, especially at state-supported universities, can be quite low. Very few athletes receive full scholarships, so unless your child will be playing Division I football or basketball, the scholarship won’t be a full ride. And, the work required in exchange for the scholarship is extensive. Economically, your child may be better off waiting tables in college.

Look, I’m not telling anyone how to spend money. If your kid loves a sport and you can afford it, there’s nothing wrong with springing for camps, travel teams, and high-end gear. But don’t do it as an investment in for college.

In other words, if you aren’t saving for college now, let your kid play YMCA and park district sports so that you can save money to pay for tuition bills.

Athletes can be great students, and the skills they learn playing sports can be valuable on campus and in life. However, an athletic scholarship is rarely a great way to pay for college, even for the fortunate few who earn one.