Chapter 2 College Sports Winners and Losers

Chapter 2 goes into detail about how a big time sport such as football or basketball at a university sometimes has control over the school, including administration students and alumni. The coaches and athletic directors are sometimes more influential than the president of the university.

The beginning of the chapter starts with the author describing how Bob Knight, coach of the Indian University basketball team appeared on national television and was asked how he handled the intense pressure involved in coaching a big time college basketball team. Bob Knight compared it to rape,“if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” When this comment was made, it revealed that he is a macho and isolated man who is oblivious to the women’s movement and feelings people have about rape in America. At this same time, Bob Knight just won his 3rd National championship title becoming the king of Indiana, living above everyone.

It is natural that everyone is upset about the remarks and people complained to the president of the university. So the president, Thomas Ehrlich issued a mild statement about Knight’s comment saying the coach’s views did not represent the view of Indiana University. This infuriated the coach and he threatened to leave to New Mexico University. This argument was taken to the media and everyone knew about it. In the end, Ehrlich apologized to Bob Knight and he stays as coach of Indiana.

After the incident, the Indiana faculty looked at President Ehrlich as weak and ineffectual disagreeing with his decision about Bob Knight. Ehrlich hung around for 6 more years, but that day he and Knight argued it revealed who possessed actual power at Indian University: the coach, not the president.

This incident shows how influential a sport and the people involved in it can be. I feel the main reason Ehrlich kept Bob Knight around and backed down was because Indiana is a big time basketball school which brings in money from alumni, sponsors, and more students. Ehrlich should have stood his ground and told Knight to leave if he doesn’t represent Indiana University the right way. It is important that a person in leadership stands by what they believe.

After the author describes how a coach can control a situation and gain power at a large university he talks about the athletes on the teams. The players have a lot of leniency from a lot of things because they are scoring 30 points a game or throwing touch downs. Athletes are supplied with academic and financial favors and sometimes leave college after 4 years illiterate. Such as Dexter Manley, the NFL pro who admitted that he was unable to read or write. All division 1 schools have cheated to help the athletes. This is crazy! To have a student leave from a four year college illiterate! To me this is unethical and corrupt. A collegiate school should be honest, but I guess it is inevitable that a sport team bend the rules.

Besides the athletes cheating I liked how the author acknowledges how athletes have no time for themselves. Almost 60 hours a week an athlete is involved with their sport only working on bettering themselves for the next game. It is a full time job and I feel a coach can make the players feel that academics are not important and the only commitment should be to their sport. Athletes are not are not student athletes, they are athlete students. Sport comes first then school. I feel athletes can become the victims and are taken advantaged of. But a university is to learn! To be educated! Sports should come second. It doesn’t make sense.

The NCAA is a corrupt organization that contradicts what it is suppose to stand for: To regulate and reform college athletics, but when in reality it is the cause of the corruption. The author states, “Propelling the NCAA’s corruption is the almighty dollar. The total revenue from college football and basket ball games exceeds the riches professional leagues in the world.”