The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(05-02-2018 08:56 PM)cschierh Wrote:  This is descriptive, not a judgment. Straight reporting.

Football, men's and women's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics are all full scholarship sports. That's room, board, tuition and, as of a couple of years ago, "cost of attendance," which adds $3,000+ more.

That's about 200 athletes at full-ride plus.

Before I retired, I did much of the recruiting of high-ability journalism students, so I knew where the academic scholarships were.

I don't think there are a total of 200 full-ride scholarships for academic ability on campus. Cartwright started something called Founders Scholarships that were tuition, room and board. But that was scaled it back to tuition only.

So the No. 18 recruit in the football freshman class -- maybe someone who will never rise above third string -- gets more money than the absolute best student in the university.

The university probably spends at least five times the amount of money per student-athlete on academic support (advising, tutors, study facilities) than it spends on the average student. Those folks run s a good operation.

80 percent of the athletic budget comes from student fees.

The university could, if it chose, drop that fee and add another to shift that money to academic scholarships and general academic support. That would, of course, take us down to Division 3 (think Mount Union or Hiram).

Most major universities have made the decision that sports is such an important part of the total college experience (administrators use almost those exact words) that the money is well spent.

I'm not saying that's a bad argument. I very much enjoy college athletics and have come to know and admire a lot of athletes I've covered and taught.

But clearly, universities (this is far more than a Kent State decision) have decided that scholarship for the third-string tackle is more important to the university than one for a top student in chemistry or nursing or journalism.

That's the argument that money for the football team "is a drain on" academics.