Imagine waking up at 5:30am, groggy and tired, and heading to an intense weight room work out. Directly following your workout, you scarf down a very quick breakfast and head to your first class at 8:00am. Then, after walking around like a zombie, trying to stay attentive enough to actually retain anything you have learned in the last four hours of class, you head to practice. Although you are tired and in desperate need of a nap, you are expected to perform at your absolute best. After all, you are fighting for a position on the team roster. After a strenuous practice, you are finally given another opportunity to eat. After a late lunch you head directly to mandatory study hall, where you try to re-learn what was taught in class that day. After studying for a couple hours, you then head to required tutoring, because you haven’t been able to perform at your best academically, due to your extremely strenuous schedule. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, you are allowed to go home, and then repeat all of this the next day. Understandably, going through this as a teenager or in your early twenties, there are multiple issues that could arise. And it is because of these issues that are caused by stress and anxiety from playing a collegiate sport, that these problems are getting national attention. In college athletics, there are many academic, physical and mental problems, as well as debates with athletic compensation, that are overlooked by much of the non-athletic population, and need to be addressed to ensure the success of student athletes. 

The first issue that needs to be addressed is that of academics, as the whole purpose of attending a college is to earn a degree. Many times, the whole “student” aspect of the term student athlete is overlooked. As college athletics grow ever more popular, it becomes increasingly more easy to neglect the fact that these young student athletes actually have to maintain a quality performance in the classroom. Their performance is undermined by their sport and the culture of their sport. It is because of this that student athletes learn to only care about the sport they play, and not their studies. Then, the struggling students find themselves ineligible to play or failing out. There are many institutions that believe that study hall should solve any academic problem, but the issue is deeper than that. “Although it is important for the student-athlete to be competitive on the field, they must advance towards a degree while they are competing. If colleges and universities can predict which student-athletes are at risk for academic problems, institutions can implement support programs…” (McCall). A program that targets at risk students would help bolster the strength of student athletes academic success. McCall’s statement could provide a solution to academic negligence in college athletics, that universities could implement to help support the student athletes that are struggling. 

Recently there have been more and more universities that have been getting caught trying the cheat in academics with their student athletes. This is an enormous problem as regards the success of the student athletes. By undermining the academic side of college athletics entirely, we instill a culture that pays no mind to the sole reason for going to a university, which is actually earning a degree. This culture is something that is passed down and instilled in every incoming freshman; the idea that you are at the university solely to play your sport, and nothing else. For example, one university in recent years that has been caught trying to cheat their student athletes through their classes is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. North Carolina attempted to send their athletes to “fake” classes in order to keep them eligible for the season, which is obviously against the rules of the NCAA (Infante). Likewise at the University of Louisville, their coaching and academic integrity are also at question. They have just been caught trying to pay money to their basketball players in an attempt to get them to attend their university and stay eligible. These are just a couple of examples of how in today’s society, we are creating a culture in college athletics that does not give enough attention to the academic side of playing a sport in college. With a culture like this, if the athlete does not play their respective sport professionally, they are put at a disadvantage in the real world after college because they were not properly prepared for the job force after college. Although easier classes may sound like a luxury in the eyes of a non-athlete, the disadvantage of not being prepared to work outweighs the thought of having easier classes. 

One of the aspects of being a student athlete that plays a role in the difficulty in academics is the physical schedule that athletes have to abide by. With just a taste of what a regular day can consist of when playing a sport in college, it is easy to find some sympathy for these rigorously working athletes. On an average day, a student athlete could have up to three to four hours of required athletic events that they must attend. These can include practice, weight room work outs, and conditioning, which can all be physically draining beyond belief, especially if there are multiple workouts in one day. On top of this there may also be hours of required studying and tutoring after practice or workouts. The amount of work that an average student athlete puts in to maintain a quality performance in both the classroom and on the field is overlooked, and underappreciated by much of the population. We know this because athletes are still failing out of classes and struggling with schooling, and many of them have not received any help. And although all the athlete may want to do is sleep after these tough workouts and hours of studying, they must still go on with their day, performing the same tasks that all other regular students have to complete.

Free time is something that is absolutely taken for granted by those that do not play a sport in college. With the amount of events that athletes are required to go to, it can be difficult to complete the simplest of leisure activities such as hanging out with friends, or even finding the time to watch a movie or TV show. It seems as if these simple things are hard to come by with such a physically draining schedule. It is understandable that it is hard to complain as a student athlete in regard to the work required, because for the most part student athletes are aware of what they are getting into. However, the extensiveness of the work put in is overlooked by a lot people. 

The physical demand of being a student athlete can bring about multiple possible problems. The first issue is getting injured playing your sport, which could potentially be career ending and even effect the athlete for the rest of their lives. This however, is a risk that is obvious and is knowingly taken by the athlete, as at any point they can choose not to play their sport and opt out of taking this risk. On the other hand, an issue that isn’t typically noticed by the public is that of mental health. With the exhausting schedule of a student athlete, as well as the school work load they must also deal with, the stress and anxiety brought on is sometimes very overwhelming. 

 Mental health is a growing problem in college athletics and this is concerning because it is difficult to spot the signs in a change in mental health. In some extreme cases, the stress and anxiety of some student athletes have ultimately led to their suicide. One of these extreme cases is exampled in the tragic death of Madison Hollerman.  “On January 17, 2014, Madison Holleran’s dad called her and asked if she had found a therapist on campus. She said, “No, but don’t worry, Daddy, I’ll find one.” That night, she jumped off the ninth level of a parking garage to her death” (Born). Holleran’s mental health was plummeting from the rigorous schedule she had to endure, as well as the anxiety that comes with trying to study and play a sport in college. It was a serious mental health issue that took this University of Pennsylvania freshman’s life and there is something that needs to be done. Although not all cases end this tragically, this is just an example of how serious the issue of mental health is in college athletics. In the case of Madison Hollerman, there were things that could have been done to prevent her death. Hollerman’s coach and teammates were aware that she was unhappy, just not the extent of her affliction. However, she was left on her own to find help, as opposed to her university or coach stepping in to help her. Another example of this would be of the University of Ohio State football player Kosta Karageorge, who also took his own life. Before he went missing he had texted his mom saying that he was “an embarrassment” and that his “concussions have [his] head all f---ed up” (Born). Karageorge’s case only reiterates the fact that mental health should not be overlooked in college athletics, as it is extremely important to the success of the student and could, in some cases, be life threatening. 

The more we pay attention to and learn about the mental health of student athletes, the greater the chances of success and overall well-being. There are a lot of stressors that go on behind the scenes in the lives of student athletes that most people never got the opportunity to experience. This is a topic that is addressed in the Ted Talk given by Victoria Garrick on the subject of the mental health of student athletes. Garrick begins her argument going through a typical day in the life of a division one college volleyball player, from her own personal point of view. She dives into the physically draining aspect of her difficult schedule and how this plays a role in mental health. There are every day stressors in athletics such as competing for a spot on the field, and maintaining a spot on the team roster. She explains that every day you show up to practice, you are expected to perform at your absolute best, because if you do not, you may never get a chance to play, which after all is a major reason for an athlete to choose to go to a university. On top of this, she mentions the stress of the school load that is put on students. College athletes receive the same work load as regular students, but also have to deal with upwards of thirty hours a week of athletic related events on top of this. Garrick ends her presentation by addressing a study that she conducted herself among more than five division one universities. She concluded that nearly seventy percent of participants reported experiencing symptoms of depression in the last five months (Garrick). This compares to a reported twenty-five percent experiencing depression in a study conducted by the NCAA. Clearly, mental health is a rising epidemic among student athletes due to the ever increasing hellish schedule they have to endure, all while trying to study and live out a normal life. This is all described by Garrick and she believes this needs to be further addressed by universities and the NCAA. 

There is an incredible amount of anxiety present in a lot of student athletes lives due to these stressors; however, it seems as if student athletes are held to a higher standard than the rest of the school population. A study done by researchers, Hawley, Hosch and Bovaird, indicated that when athletes and regular students were compared after committing the same misconduct, regular students thought the student athletes should receive a stricter punishment (Hawley, Hosch and Bovaird). This is just one example of how the outside world considers college athletes to be at a much higher standard than regular students. This aspect of being a student athlete is just yet another contributing factor to the stress and anxiety of playing a sport in college that the much of the population overlooks. We know this issue is being overlooked because there still is not enough coverage on the topic. Although these issues happen under the regulation of the NCAA, they need to be addressed on a national level, but they have not seen the recognition by the population.

There have been questions raised about whether student athletes should be compensated for the mental and physical stress that they go through as well as the higher standard they are held at. It has been debated for years, but as of now the fact remains that student athletes do not get paid for the work that they do. One person who expressed his support for the compensation of athletes is Tyson Hartnett. Hartnett uses his own personal experiences to explain that although athletes receive large sums of money in scholarships, there should be additional compensation. He doesn’t implore that athletes be paid tens of thousands of dollars a year, but just a couple thousand, to provide the athletes with some spending money with the little free time they receive. This can be contrasted from the millions of dollars the NCAA makes every year off the work of student athletes (Hartnett).

Although this proposition by Hartnett may seem fair in a way, most of the population does not agree that student athletes should be paid. One of these people that believe that amateurism should be practiced in college athletics is Jeffrey Dorfman. Dorfman does not agree with student athlete compensation and states, “a student athlete at a major conference school on full scholarship is likely receiving a package of education, room, board, and coaching/training worth between $50,000 and $125,000 per year” (Dorfman). Dorfman argues that there is no reason to be compensating student athletes, as the athletes on scholarship receive up to $125,000 worth of tuition, room and board, meal plan and the other essentials of living on campus. The NCAA, along with much of the population, do not believe that student athletes should be compensated for the sport they play, which is why college athletics still condones amateurism for the athletes. 

With all the issues involved in college athletics, it seems as though there should be revisions done to the rules and regulations of the NCAA. However, there have been numerous reforms that have been installed since the NCAA first began, and it is considered by most to be a work in progress. “College sport is a major part of our cultural landscape, but it is perennially troubled with rule violations, academic failure, and exploitation” (Andre and James). In the e-book written by Andre and James, the history of reforms and their reasonings from the beginning of the NCAA are introduced and explained. From the beginning we can see the rise in popularity in college athletics, and with this rise, we begin to notice problems arise. For example, from the decision of student athletes living at the school, to seeking common ground and introducing women’s competition in the NCAA, almost all of the reforms have been on positive grounds. It wasn’t until in recent decades that the largest issue has arisen, which is that of equality. One of the latest and most influential installment has been that of Title IX, which addresses the problem of inequality. It is in the reformation of Title IX, that there have been reforms in categories such as sexual assault and equality in competition regarding race and gender. Although these reforms are extremely influential on the sporting community, the fact remains that there are still a multitude of issues that are evident to the athletes, but still overlooked by much of the population. 

Student athletes around the nation are struggling with these sorts of issues and it is up to the NCAA and our universities to help these young men and women. To a student athlete, these are problems that affect their lives and the lives of their teammates and friends. Academics are almost disregarded by some top name universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s basketball team. Even then, academics are still taken very lightly at other schools as well. In regard to physical well-being, student athletes are being pushed to the absolute limit. With upwards of thirty hours of athletic related events per week, athletes feel physically drained and extremely overwhelmed with the amount of work needed to compete on the field and perform in the classroom. This aspect of college athletics leads right into the topic of mental health. With the amount of stressors and anxiety present in a student athlete’s daily life, it is no wonder mental health has become a growing issue. In conclusion, the struggles that student athletes endure and the issues present in college athletics are evident to the athletes, but are still commonly overlooked or disregarded by much of the country, in that they have not yet been addressed and reformed.
