Gary Gutting, a professor...

...of philosophy at Notre Dame, has a piece in the Times today, "The Myth of the Student-Athlete." Gutting argues that: 

Football and men’s basketball players are admitted and given full scholarships almost entirely because of their athletic abilities. 

No!

But there is a way that profit-making athletic powerhouses could avoid the hypocrisy of the student-athlete. 

They could admit athletes who fall far short of their regular academic criteria as “associate students” (or maybe even “athlete-students”), who take just two or three courses a term and are not expected to receive a bachelor’s degree after four years.  They would instead receive an associate’s degree (like that currently awarded by some colleges), which would, after four years, put them in a position to gain regular admission to a college where they could complete a bachelor’s degree in two more years. (There would, of course, still be athletes who met standard criteria of admission and so would be expected to earn a regular degree in four years.) 

It's an interesting piece and well worth reading. 

And it reminds me of a conversation I had with a young man at a high school football game last fall. He had played defensive tackle (I think) at a DuPage Valley Conference school and received a scholarship to play for the University of Iowa. Good for him! 

But he couldn't qualify academically and was hoping to try again next year. And I felt sorry for him. Why, I thought, should a kid with a potential NFL career have to go to college? After all, how many professional accountants had to first prove their skills on the gridiron? Why can't this kid go to Iowa and play football as an "honorary student," or as an "associate student," as Gutting suggests? 

(I'm sure glad I didn't have to throw the shot put, or run a 440, to get my undergraduate degree in history. My son, however, did have to pass a swim test to get his degree; he showed up for it in his LIFEGUARD trunks.) 

Gutting finishes the piece (my emphasis): 

Although this is hardly an ideal solution, it’s better than trying to maintain the myth of the student-athlete.  But what a magnificent gesture it would be if, say, a school with a legendary and lucrative football program could find the courage to give up the money and the glory for a ringing endorsement of intellectual values. 

 Gee, I wonder if he had any particular school in mind?