March Madness I
I do not want to pick on Greg Oden; for all I know, he enrolled at school early and took linear algebra, French literature, and comparative government in a particularly rigorous stretch of summer school. But I fear that his fall course load is more the rule than the exception for the "scholar-athletes" at major college football and basketvall programs.
College life, at least academically, has not been strenuous. Oden took two courses last semester—sociology and the history of rock 'n' roll. He acknowledges it is hard to go out in public without being bothered, or at least noticed. "I like going to the movies," he said. "I can just sit there and watch and no one bothers me."
For most students at actual institutions of higher learning, a course load like that in one's first semester means only one thing: academic probation.
The problem, of course, is that at Ohio State (and many other "colleges"), academics are far less important than athletics. How can you tell? Follow the money, as USA Today did late last year in examining the salaries and perks extended to football coaches. Adjunct professors for the students, but top salaries for what really matters!
Labels: basketball, colleges, Greg Oden
