University of North Carolina Chancellor Lee Roberts presents Bill Belichick with a new UNC hoodie (Screengrab from Go Heels You Tube channel)
It’s not hard to see how college sports became fully professionalized over the decades. What started out more than a century ago as a natural outlet for young people competing for fun and pride was popular and it drew fans and attention and boosters.
And thus, it wasn’t long before college teams and coaches started cutting corners and bending rules of amateurism and academics to get and keep the best athletes.
In this sense, today’s college sports world in which athletes with little real connection to their schools are paid openly and state universities like UNC-Chapel Hill hire people like all-time great NFL coach Bill Belichick to multi-million dollar salaries, is more honest and transparent than it’s ever been.
But that doesn’t make it logical or appropriate.
The bottom line: As the late great UNC president Bill Friday eloquently argued over many years, college sports and competition can be wonderful, but when they become professionalized, higher education institutions soon find themselves headed down a dangerous and destructive road they will find very hard to exit.
For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.
by Rob Schofield, NC Newsline
December 18, 2024
by Rob Schofield, NC Newsline
December 18, 2024
It’s not hard to see how college sports became fully professionalized over the decades. What started out more than a century ago as a natural outlet for young people competing for fun and pride was popular and it drew fans and attention and boosters.
And thus, it wasn’t long before college teams and coaches started cutting corners and bending rules of amateurism and academics to get and keep the best athletes.
In this sense, today’s college sports world in which athletes with little real connection to their schools are paid openly and state universities like UNC-Chapel Hill hire people like all-time great NFL coach Bill Belichick to multi-million dollar salaries, is more honest and transparent than it’s ever been.
But that doesn’t make it logical or appropriate.
The bottom line: As the late great UNC president Bill Friday eloquently argued over many years, college sports and competition can be wonderful, but when they become professionalized, higher education institutions soon find themselves headed down a dangerous and destructive road they will find very hard to exit.
For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.
NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
NC Newsline Editor Rob Schofield oversees day-to-day newsroom operations, authors and voices regular commentaries, and hosts the ‘News & Views’ weekly radio show/podcast.
NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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NC Newsline is a Raleigh-based nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom dedicated to fearless reporting and hard-hitting commentary that shines a light on injustice, holds public officials accountable, and helps improve the quality of life throughout North Carolina.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. (See full republishing guidelines.)
© NC Newsline, 2024
