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I guess one of the hottest issues in college circles these days is the question of athletic
scholarships. I'd like to give you my views of this controversial topic right after we
have this important message. I promise my opinion on athletic scholarships. Now how
about them? Are they good or are they bad? Should they be abolished or should they be
applauded? Let me tell you what Dr. A. Whitney Griswold, the President of Yale University,
said recently. He called college athletic scholarships a racket and an educational
swindle. The good doctor is entitled to his opinion, but I happen to disagree with him.
It's true that a few schools allow an athlete to graduate with a BS that marks him as a
basketball scorer rather than a bachelor of science. But with the good doctor denying
a boy the chance of an athletic scholarship if the youngster couldn't pay his way through
college. I, for instance, could never have attended college were it not for an athletic
scholarship. I've heard arguments that point up the fact that colleges are overcrowded and
a good athlete has a better chance to get into school than a non-athlete. This argument
would make sense except for the fact that it presupposes that the athlete is an inferior
student. But the vast majority of our institutions of higher learning insist that all students,
athletes or not, maintain a certain academic level. I think that when people treat the
phrase college athletic scholarships as something that should not be said in the presence of
children, they're not talking about scholarships but recruiting. Recruiting, of course, is
something else. Some of the colleges make no bones about the fact that they employ a
recruiting system for athletes. Other schools deny recruiting at all. Yet, year after year,
the same schools never fail to come out with a crackerjack athletic team whether it be
in football, basketball, baseball or track. And who are they kidding? Wouldn't it make
more sense if the various athletic conferences established a code covering recruiting? Wouldn't
it be better if this were brought out into the open? This way, competition would be fairer
and the lopsided score is rarer. I'm for recruiting just as I'm for the awarding of
athletic scholarships to deserving students, providing, and this is the key, providing
each athlete keep up his scholastic standing. After all, it's more important to get an education
than to play three years of varsity football. I hope you agree. Well, it's happened again.
We're out of time. And that just about does it for now. And I'll see you soon.