Years ago, I asked a professor from New Zealand who was visiting in the U.S. what he thought about the American mania for college sports. He replied that he found it strange, since in his country (and everywhere else), education was one thing and athletics something different. They weren’t intertwined as they are in the U.S., and he thought it had more downside than upside.
Since that conversation, American college sports have changed dramatically, and the old veneer of amateurism has been ripped away. Many players are now in it for the money.
In today’s Martin Center article, George Perry reflects on the consequences of this. He focuses in particular on international athletes.
He writes:
With a few exceptions, the road to becoming a professional American athlete passes through a university. That fact is uniquely American. Aspiring pro athletes around the world pursue their athletic ambitions through clubs and teams and pursue their education on a parallel track.
International student-athletes may be bellwethers for the consequences of professionalizing American collegiate sports.The NCAA historically presented an attractive alternative: obtain a university degree while still playing sport at a high competitive level, in the context of a traditional college experience.
College athletes now have to deal with “transfer portals” and agents and marketing deals — complications that many don’t want. Of course, this is good news for the agents and deal makers; not so much for most of the students.
And Perry points another unintended consequence:
Among the schools that go full-bore into the global sports marketplace, immigration-law specialists could be the next must-have staff members for athletics departments seeking a competitive edge. Those that can afford experienced, specialized immigration staff will have an advantage over those that can’t. The same goes for schools that have advanced scouting relationships and networks overseas, whether those come through agencies or American universities’ overseas campuses.
Perry suggests that many of the international students might prefer to enroll in lower-division American colleges and universities where sports are still sports, not professions.