[DeltAlum]

To quote:

"I agree with that sentiment Ex-greek, but why does it have to be either/or?"

To answer:

Because athletics are a big business for the top conferences and schools. They bring in lots of money. The bring in lots of donations from alumni. They get the university name on TV and in the newspapers.

Because a lot of folks only go to college because they pretty much have to at least make a token appearance in school before moving on to the pros.

I am NOT making a sweeping generalization that all jocks are dumb. There are Rhodes Scholars and many bright and talented athletes. The recently deceased Byron "Wizzer" White, former US Supreme Court justice was an All American at Colorado. And there are some who are dumber than a brick and only make it into college because of their athletic skills. The big time colleges and conferences will do just about anything (sometimes even "extralegal things) for the big names.

Most of the Ivy League schools, and many other "highly selective" colleges have gone to a system of giving scholarships only on a "need" basis and not talent or academic merit.

Except for athletic scholarships. They all give those. Who runs those schools, the administration or the NCAA?

Sorry, I like college sports as well as anyone -- and made part of my living televising them for many years -- but there's something wrong with that in the overall scheme of things.

That's why I like the smaller schools and conferences. They seem so much closer to the ideals of athletics and so much less "professional."