A Touchdown for College Education
“2.97 highest ever fall GPA,” posted the local university’s football Instagram. “Why would they post this,” I thought to myself, “this is embarrassing.” The comment section did not disagree with me: “Guys, take this down. This is bad.” “Why are y’all proud of that stat?” “Who’s gonna tell em that ain’t good?” “Congratulations on averaging not even straight Bs.” I was in the car with my family when I saw this post and then told my parents about it. My mother, of course, was horrified that one would brag about that. My father, on the other hand, said: “Honestly, football is probably a way that a lot of these kids were able to get an education.”
That statement made me think a lot. Sports are often thought of as an elite activity, especially in regards to athletic recruitment for college. When discussing the student-athlete divide at Colby, a lot of people think that athletes perpetuate the rich and stereotypes associated with the student body. It makes sense to an extent, given that many student-athletes have had to pay for club teams, travel tournaments, special coaches, and recruiting specialists in high school. Additionally, it takes a level of family and time investment that many lower-income students would not have access to. A lot of non-athletes at Colby resent student-athletes because they believe that they wouldn’t have been able to get accepted to the school purely based on academic merit.
It is interesting to think about sports and college from a reverse perspective– how a student-athlete is able to attend college because of playing a sport, when they wouldn’t have the academic, family, and financial resources to do so otherwise.
Football is a sport that has been declining in popularity in middle and high school, due to the fact that there is an increased risk of concussions. While football enrollment in the past decade has declined by 6.6% overall, in the past five years in Illinois, the proportion of low-income high school football players rose by 25%, according to a NPR report. Many low-income football players, despite knowing the risks of the sport, value the sport because it is the one that is the most popular in the country and is getting the best-funded from high schools and colleges in America. Football is able to offer a path to upward mobility for low-income students that isn’t as available through other extracurricular activities. 10-12 year old football players in New York City said that they were not only playing football for the chance of a college scholarship, but also to get financial aid for private high schools that would be far better than their local public school.
The decline of upper and middle class students playing football results in more lower-class students earning football scholarships to college. This dip in enrollment allows for more lower-class players to have their chance to succeed at the sport and get recruited to college, as well as helping colleges attain a more socio-economically diverse student body.
Football seems to be one of the most equitable sports for students of low-income backgrounds. The NCAA and NAIA offer far more football scholarships compared to any other sport. There are approximately 26,000 scholarships awarded for football every year. For many sports, outside-school club teams are incredibly useful for college recruitment. These teams are very expensive to play on, therefore are a barrier for college recruitment. However, football is a sport where high school teams are the place that recruiters are going to, which makes college recruitment for football a lot more equitable compared to other sports. However, one issue for low-income students with college recruitment is that they are not as well-prepared for the higher level academics and expectations, as well as knowing how to balance D1/D2 athletics with schoolwork.
A challenge across elite colleges has been when students from elite high schools and lower income high schools both adapt to the same rigorous academics. Elite high schools teach skills that are useful for succeeding in college classes, such as enhanced critical thinking and good writing abilities. It can be difficult for students from poorer schools to adapt to an elite college curriculum, especially when some of their peers are one step ahead. Even though sports, like football, can be a way for lower-income students to get a college education, actually succeeding and thriving academically can be challenging.
