ABC Nightline topic is college sports. ... WTF?

[Bozita]

 
Nightline Daily E-Mail
September 29, 2003


TONIGHT'S SUBJECT: He is the chancellor of Vanderbilt University, and he is eliminating his athletic department, moving its functions into another part of the university structure, in an effort to, as he says, re-connect athletes to the student body, and to the university experience. You'll hear from him tonight.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It may be easy, as some have said, for Vanderbilt to try this kind of thing. After all, it is not an athletic powerhouse, and I don't mean to disrespect the athletes there. But University Chancellor Gordon Gee had been at Ohio State and Colorado, and some critics of what he is now saying are asking why he didn't try this at those schools, both major players in college sports. Perhaps a fair question, but Gee does raise the right questions.

Gee calls for a number of reforms: requiring athletes to meet the requirements of a core curriculum, meaning an end to courses manufactured for athletes. We all know the jokes, and the reality, of some of the courses that athletes are enrolled in. He wants to tie the number of scholarships to the graduation rate. This almost amounts to heresy in some quarters. And he also wants to tie the graduation rates to revenue, those millions of dollars that flow from television coverage of college sports. Is any of this likely to be adopted? I can't imagine that it is. But it's worth raising. Certainly football has come to be seen as a farm system for the NFL. The same is true of basketball for the NBA, although with the NBA drafting underclassmen before graduation and even high school players, it's maybe becoming a farm system for all but the best players.

He's got a lot of interesting things to say, so Chris Bury will sit down with him tonight. And we'll also talk to a couple of sports reporters, who have their own opinions on what he is trying to accomplish. It should make for an interesting discussion. Whether you're a fan or not, college sports impact everyone involved - students, faculty, alumni, and fans. And for the record, I waited until the end of the email to mention that my alma mater, UC Berkeley, did happen to beat USC this past weekend.

Leroy Sievers and the Nightline Staff
Nightline Offices
Washington, D.C.

 

[RamboLiberal]

1. On East Coast & Midwest it follows MNF

so maybe they don't want to waste a good topic on a night when half the country will already be in bed. Here in the East on Monday nights following football Nightline is often not on till well after 12:30AM

[Bozita]

2. kick