Iowa Press; 1618; College Athletics

But I will pressure remember 16:18 on for Feb. 19 1989. A. Major funding for this program was provided by friends of Iowa Public Television. In college sports it's not how you play the game. It's the whole money paid to see it. But I tell you when they come down to the bottom line they want you to fill those stands and bring in ad money because they make the L.A. departments pretty much self-supporting. Tonight on I will press hall to meet the bottom line and other sporting propositions. What we need.

Here is. Good evening big time college athletics are composed of several competing elements of opportunity. Academic academic opportunity for gifted athletes opportunity to achieve racial equality and not so incidentally opportunity for colleges to achieve prestige and profit from field Stadio alumni donations and lucrative broadcast contracts. But sometimes promises are unfilled especially for the athletes who fuel the sports programs. National studies show for example that college athletes have lower grade point averages than other students participating in extracurricular activities such as music or student government. The 1998 national survey conducted for the president's commission of the game shows the grade point averages of athletes in the so-called revenue sports of football and basketball have lower grade point averages. To counter that trend the NCW offer some sporting propositions Nancy Crowfoot explains it.

Proposition 48 states that athletes must have a grade point average of two point. Oh and an acceptable college entrance exam score to receive a scholarship if an athlete meets just one of the requirements he or she can still receive a scholarship but must sit out the freshman year of play. And I was three state universities. There are just nine student athletes on Proposition 48 pretty evenly split between men and women under Proposition 42. If enacted these students would be ineligible for scholarship. Student athletes would have to meet both the grade point average of 2.0 and have a test score of 700 out of sixteen hundred possible on the S.A.T. college entrance exam or 15 out of 36 on the A C T entrance test. Critics say that based on the type of test questions asked the tests are culturally biased against minorities and the poor. Critics support their accusations by pointing to national averages on the S.A.T.

scores the average score for all students is just over 900. The average score among all black students is seven hundred thirty seven. To drive home the protest of Proposition 42 Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson last month walked off the court during a game. Conflict between the competitive opportunities has become greater and the vortex of the swirling propositions as Nancy Crowfoot again reports are coaches like Iowa State University's Johnny or. I never go into a home I don't tell a person of the main objective is to get your son to go to school and graduate. The mothers and fathers agree to that. I mean they're all fired up and that may kill or say yes everything I guess. But that's not that's not foremost in their minds at that time. That their big thing is to play and get in the NBA. But student athletes enter college under a sporting proposition. They can play ball but they have to keep up with their academic work as well. No one knows that better than

I was State University basketball coach Johnny or who last month lost two key players one a junior and one a senior. We gave those guys all the academic help possible and some Nancy you can do a lot for them. And I will listen. But that was their own fault and that is no fault of the schools. And I did not. I did not disagree with the schools. I never criticize a school for dropping those players and I was disappointed. The University of Iowa women's basketball team also recently lost players due to academic eligibility. The three are freshman and haven't played much this year. The eligibility standards and the failure of some to meet those standards illustrates a problem facing higher education today. Do schools want to emphasize winning sports teams that generate favorable publicity. Increase ticket sales and bring in television revenue of broadcast games at the

expense of academic standards. Iowa State basketball coach Johnny yours says statistics show which way many colleges lean. You see last year I hired five division one coaches lost their jobs and I would say the great majority of those lost their jobs because they weren't winning. And it's a big business and. No president. They may get up and say it isn't but it is. And like when you build a big arena like this. Why did they hire me here. They hired me to fill the arena and now we have 14000. We were losing three hundred fifty thousand dollars a year now are making well over a million dollars a year. And you think that isn't an interest it is in part because of that interest that coach or is upset with recent proposals to increase academic requirements for student athletes.

Admittedly or says he discovers some of his best players at inner city schools where he says college preparation is not a priority. The majority of them do not do well on the test and they have never done anything like that. And you can say well they should have had their training but they haven't had that training or says he doesn't want to see these student athletes denied a college education based on standardized test scores. Part of the reason may be because it may hurt his recruitment efforts. But part of the reason may be because of his own background. So I never had any problems in high school I was not a great student but I always passed away until I was a senior I never dreamed about going to college. I never dreamed about that until I became an all straight athlete football and basketball. All of a sudden people started calling me when I want to go on their schools. But otherwise known about recruiting then was nothing like today they got me with a milkshake a hamburger and French fries and I went to Illinois and I never even

visited. The question continues to loom. Can there be an acceptable agreement on the rule of college sports. We'll be discussing those issues just outlined with our guest tonight and I will press one is Rudy Washington he's the executive director of the Black Coaches Association. That's an 18 month old organization with now 2000 members. He's also an assistant basketball coach to Dr. Tom Davis at the University of Iowa. And our second guest is Grinnell College President George Drake. He just completed five years on the NCW president's commission although he says he was absent on the day the NCW voted in favor of Proposition 42 to toughen academic standards for athletes. He says he favors it. We'll ask him about that. The big question By Davie absent with the Des Moines Register and Mike Glover a correspondent with The Associated Press with Washington. What's wrong with setting academic standards for student athletes entering college. You know I think. As I talk to a lot of coaches around the country it's I don't think is anything wrong. We think that there is a problem because it it

it it hurts black students and what we mean by that and they talk about the test being culturally biased. You have to understand first of all the inner city and I think that's where most of these athletes this is where the target is. It is not the black students so much in suburbs but in the inner city itself. There's such a problem there. Athletics is no longer the carrot it once was it's drugs today that's a problem plus you. You go into the inner city and you go in there and there's too many things going on. I mean the academic the learning environment is not one to really get a kid prepared to go to college. Can we ask America's colleges. And we're talking with Division One colleges or referee or should we ask them to solve the problems of their city. No I don't think you have to ask them I think that's a problem of the high schools junior highs and elementary school. Once we get the point once we get the student it's too late.

You know in college in other words when we get a freshman if he has a fourth grade reading level it is not the fault of the University of the college. It is the fault of the system that he's been through and I think that is what needs to be changed. President Eric do we search for too much of a premium on athletics on our campuses today. Well I think we do. What's wrong with that. The problem I think as I see it is that major athletics. Tend to escape the control of the campus. You know I was in the state is a good example of that. We have no professional teams of major league professional teams in this state and so all of the public attention and concern for big time athletics is centered on our major university teams. And as I look at it it seems to me that these have become public property and a very real sense and it's difficult for the universities to establish controls over the programs when in fact the pressure exerted by the public. You know I was so intense it's important to the state to have winning

teams and we're a state that has an image problem and those winning teams of maybe the best thing we have going for there's nothing like you know there's no question about that we're talking before the show during the farm crisis. You would fight people really proud of the athletic teams here and I was a source of a real. Light at home. Otherwise pretty bleak period. So I get back the question. So what if they're big. So what if they tend to dominate things so they're great entertainment. The problem is that we're doing this with persons who we say are our students. And that I think that is sort of the crux of the issue. Is it possible to be a student and also a performer under such intense pressure I mean I think of the pressures that have been going on with Rudy lately and I have the utmost admiration for those young men because of the way the performing under extreme and unusual pressures. But how can they. The problem is how can they be students has it. Some people argue well maybe we should just make them professionals and not make you know I have sort of

semiprofessional going to teams. Well I think actually we shoot ourselves in the foot if we do that from the point of view of public interest. If if the public thought of the players at the University of Iowa as professionals and not as students I think the public would lose to the interest because they're not quite as good as the Chicago balls and then why not watch the Chicago Bulls but we have at least the illusion that these are kids just like our kids. Just like we were when we were getting worse and how do you answer Mr Washington's charge which is in essence you are bringing in student athletes but not dealing with fundamental educational problems of the inner city. You're simply arbitrarily set he will say if you can't reach its limit you can't get in not recognizing the special educational problem. OK so we can start dealing with a problem that I think my own view is and it relates to the Proposition 48 Proposition 42 issue. It is that we should not bring So I mean I think they should be students and we should not bring students to our universities who cannot meet the standards of

the university and if the university brings them then I think the obligation falls on the university somehow to try to see that those who were born in the south side Chicago you're certain the selfish you know there are that there are lots of places besides University of Iowa or I was state there are community colleges that can provide a stepping stone between some of the inadequacies of our secondary education system and a colleague like Mr Rogers for just a broader philosophical matter here on what you're saying then is it. In a nation which looks throughout the world and sees other academic systems outstripping us. Is it healthy for a nation philosophically to mix big time college athletics and academics within the same university and have the two competing. For the national good that's a good that's an excellent question one that I'm all a good deal because of course I'm involved in a very different level of college education and a very different level of sports in a small college but I you know I try to project

myself into the needs of the nation with respect to our major universities. I don't think that it is inherently impossible to combine an X and outstanding University and outstanding major athletic teams one can cite examples such as Stanford University which I think is one more day and see Double-A championships than any other university and also is recognized as one of the great universities of this country they seem to don't seem to be in conflict. You can think of Duke University the University of Iowa is not a bad example Actually I don't see the athletic program undercutting the university. But there is that danger and I could name I won't name them but I can name some institutions where I think the major effort is invest in the athletics and the academic program of suffering. Washington would you address some of these same questions that we've talked about here. Too much emphasis or should we just let you go run a basketball program and forget about academics and get away from all these controversies over these propositions how you feel about all that. Well you know. Listen to what he has and I think it's important first of all to start

off that you understand that black coaches are not against education. We're very very much for it you know we were very tough John Thompson the graduation rate is a good example of that. So we're not against education at all. We're against the opportunity for a young man to get into school and and just grow. You know I know at the University we have a tremendous amount of things we do for student athletes. You know in order to try to make him a better student. All right. But when we receive Him from the high school he's got some deficiencies there's no question about that. Those deficiencies are not necessarily told within the testing. And I think that's the issue today. We explain some of this cultural bias questions. Force What is it about the way people are raised in the inner cities. That makes them at a cultural test score results are pretty clear I mean the black students do have difficulty with. Yeah I was at work give me some examples.

I think bias of those who want one is one example of a question I think on the S.A.T. tests was. It was something having to do with its relationships things that we would not necessarily from the inner city be familiar with and I think one of the questions had to do in order in a regatta you know in an inner city that's something that we just never deal with. There was another intelligence test that had to deal with something about the cheeks the color of the cheeks of an individual and the correct answer was read by kids don't see themselves as having red cheeks you know and so what I'm saying is the people who make up the test for the most part really don't get into a broad range of things that happen in the community. Is there some other way some other test a separate test. Separate but equal. You get into that whole area but is there some other way that you can test black students that would not be culturally biased it would give you an idea of what they should they could be

successful students. I don't think you have to test. You know the bottom line for me I think that. You take a student his progress he might be gifted in a particular subject he might be gifted and whatever you never can tell that if in fact you don't sit down to talk the student talk his instructors talk to the people emitting him into the university I think the universities should bear the burden of admitting a particular student which was if we had a reference like if you're going to recruiting for today I'm standing right here we're talking to a kid from Chicago correct. What are you going to be telling him about coming to the University of Iowa. What are you going to be telling him you can do for him if he comes here or are you going to be saying if you come university I will get you on national TV four times a year you'll get a half million dollar in the country. So you know first of Art's cereal equal time so we can't talk to him but I'm just simply going to see if you're right but I think when you talk to a recruit. Your program is ahead of you before you get into his home before you go same place.

He knows you have national exposure. He knows that you know there's a certain amount in terms of the percentage of graduation. It's unfortunate but kids don't come to your school necessarily initially to become great students. They come in our case as athletes they want to participate in athletics. The carrot for each of those individuals of the football basketball is the professional ranks you know and that's just being is honest as I possibly can be. What we hope to do with those students is make them realize that education is a very important part of their life and it's something that has to be worked on and hopefully we can get them to a point where they're good enough to be a professional if in fact that's what they want to do. But more so where they can make a contribution to society after their four years of school. That's what we're shooters rhetoric. What do you think of the idea that Washington has it just here today we get away from tests and use some other measurements and stuff.

I doubt that we'll get completely away from tests but clearly the admissions standards should be and should involve a variety of factors. The great performance in high school the kinds of courses that the student has taken what recommendations there are from those who've taught the students what they say about the potential student. The reason for the national test is to try to establish some sort of pattern that obtains for the entire country that the variation among high schools is so tremendous and a student could get an A and one high school. And how does that compare with the NE and another high school that's that's the issue and that's why national tests are used and I can say that the Educational Testing Service works very hard to try to eradicate these culturally biased elements I think everyone in the testing business admits they're there and they try very hard to remove them. But it doesn't. The collegiate experience for all students basically provide the student with an opportunity. We in my education provided me with an opportunity to become a reporter. What's wrong with an athlete being given a chance to become an NBA player. That's why I said no guarantee he's going to

be any good. But that's all colleges really force up to. Well but an opportunity I'd say basically for an education and we have in this country such a tremendous variety of. Post-secondary education institutions that for most people there is an appropriate institution and I think the biggest concern of the NC Double-A is to try to make those match ups and to reduce the temptation of an institution to recruit an athlete to that institution who has almost no chance of graduating because of the standards that obtain in the institution that you're trying to create the proper fit and match course Washington Building on that. Are you satisfied with the current agreement between the NCW and pro sports that allows an athlete to go into the pros I think under hardship is that what it's called here just before completing eligibility It seems to me that makes colleges and universities almost a prep school for the pros. I don't like talking about opportunity Sure. And I see what he's talking about. I don't agree with the hardship rule. It's in the end I tell you what.

On the most part I think most of the people that use the hardship rule and I would say are very very high percentages percentage of the people that use it are black. It's a problem for us. We want our kids to be educated. We don't want to become a farm club of any sort. But the problem is there are a few colleges in this country that are exploiting the kids. There's no question about that they're using the kids for gains the multimillion dollar you know put money into the general fund but they wouldn't want that sort of really they don't want to keep the player as long as they could it would seem. Yeah but sometimes you can't keep them academically eligible see you know and so therefore there's a problem I would think that all hardship cases are not hardship cases. A lot of hardship cases where a young man has flunked out of school and he said no I'm declaring hardship. So it's almost like a camouflage but each of those cases in fact are not hardship cases. Mr. Washington. Do colleges have a special responsibility for the life style student athlete I'm thinking of the drug questions have been

raised lately. The university paid for rehabilitation a fairly progressive Sugar's first immensely. Why shouldn't they pay for drug rehabilitation for math majors. I don't know. I don't deal in the math department and or you know I can only I will get it what special responsibility is a university for the lifestyle not the academics but the lifestyle of the athletes want to bring to the colleges. Oh. That's a good question. You know I don't I'm not sure. You know when you bring Let's take for instance you take a young man out of South Side Chicago and you bring him into an eye an environment like Iowa OK where there's 1 percent black. There is a difference. Very seldom if at all did you ever see the reverse. You always see the black kid coming to the predominantly white situation. There's an adjustment period there. There's an adjustment period of here in Iowa just tremendous attention. He becomes a star. And a lot of times I goes to the head this is not always the best thing in

the world. I think we have a commitment to the athlete and we have a commitment to the math majors way or the engineering major I think that there should be some things done to to help all students once he's in university I think you have a commitment to the student not just the student athlete. And. And you know I think if we work towards that it would be a lot better if everybody goes do you think that the problem the drug problem and alcohol abuse problems with athletes is any higher than it is among the student population as a whole. No not at all. I think it's a tremendous amount higher within the student population over the past summer had a chance to travel across the country and evaluate programs you know for the Black Coaches Association. It was great I went all over I went to the south. I went to the east I went to the west and I talked to different trainers I talk to different coaches and the program at the University of Iowa is so far beyond the drug program in particular when talking it is so far beyond what is going on the rest of country is scary.

They want lazy to be over with just just the care the care the this in Syria of the program to actually help the student athlete. You know it's a lot different I mean you could go to some of the major schools with major programs in athletics. And they're not close to being able to care for student athlete whether be psychologically or dealing with them on the abuse. Is this a role you would. I mean are we are we asking to do too much I mean you were asking you to take care of the academics keep them off drugs. Oh by the way we want you to win ballgames. Why don't you just be in the business of winning ballgames if a kid has a drug problem. That's society's problem. If he sells drugs to be busted. Are we asking coaches to do too much. Well you know I think coaches have been given an extraordinary set of agendas in terms of dealing with things when we go into a home. If I was recruiting any one of your children and we going to your home we would want your child to play for

us. At that point when your child says hey I'm coming to your school we become whatever we need to be for the young man to be successful. And if it's a shoulder to lean on if it's a lap to cry in if it's a home cooked meal. If it's if it's a kick in the pants whatever the case. That's what we have to be. And and you have to believe that our sincerity is to make that individual as successful as we possibly can because yes you do your colleagues as presidents ducked these issues when you guys are under tremendous pressures to have winning teams to just like coach. What a team like Johnny Johnny were saying at the beginning. There's heat that falls on presidents or presidents dodging these issues of academic standards of drug abuse. All these questions. Well certainly there are individuals who are but the creation of the president's commission five years ago it seemed to me was the was the best

indication of the president's are willing to assume the responsibilities and take the authority that should be theirs. If you go I think if you ever go to an NC Double-A convention you don't see very many presidents there and that's one of the rules for the NCW are made and the appreciation of the commission was an effort to get the presidents involved after Alternately they are responsible for what goes on in many really have been very alert is really one of the colleges going to acknowledge what in fact is happening now. Colleges are going into inner cities recruiting primarily black kids who are qualified. They're doctoring their transcript or doctor to scores. They get them in there one way or the other what are called are you going to say we're going out and we were recruiting kids that aren't qualified and we deal with great redshirt freshman year that it will do whatever we're going to acknowledge that would happen if they were him. Well I think it has been acknowledged. You look at some of the legislation and some of the concerns of the president's commission and the council as well as an entire NC Double-A. It's acknowledge there and majority of schools are trying to establish standards that

will apply to all institutions and stop those practice I don't think we can you can be the reason the NCW was can was created in the first place was that individual institutions could not control their own destinies nor the nature of college athletics and so in a sense they took a self-denying ordinance and said we will create an organization that is more powerful than we are in order to keep us honest to keep all of us honest and the NCW has been effective or not effective at certain periods. I'd say we're in a period of greater effectiveness and even though the NCW has been in the news a lot and criticize a lot I think partly because it has taken a much stronger stand and it partly has been motivated by the President's Commission. There was some concern that the NCW would never really attack the major programs what about Kentucky in basketball what about Oklahoma and football it's really going after. Major major programs and I think it's quite a healthy sign. Thank you Reza great with Washington for being our guest tonight and I will press. Interesting discussion.

Next week our guest will be university president Hunter Rawlings the third and after tonight's discussion you might expect that he'll be asked for a few opinions about college athletics as well as the other challenges facing the University of Iowa. So until next week for Davie Upson and Mike Glover tonight I'm Dean Borg invite you to stay tuned for Morgan Hela great she'll have take one next. Good night. Major funding for Iowa press was provided by friends all by well public television.