<p>I was reading this article on CNN, and it discussed the literacy rates of college athletes.
Apparently, a collective study revealed that a small percentage of college athletes had literacy rates lower than a 10-year-old's.</p>
<p>My question is: should educational institutions be allowed to recruit sports players to their college, despite their lack of academic intelligence?</p>
<p>CNN Article
CNN:</a> Some college athletes play like adults, read like 5th-graders - CNN.com</p>
<p>Sure, it’s just good business after all! I have read many articles about the business and profitability of D1 football and basketball in particular, not to mention getting your school name into the media all the time. The school uses the athletically gifted to make money and entertain the academically gifted. I wonder what happens to those athletes if their bodies break down, or tutoring is not enough to get them through to graduation? What did they really get for putting on the show?</p>
<p>At the highest level of college basketball & football (the two most popular sports), the colleges know that these teams afford them the most publicity that they can possibly garner. Publicity translates into more overall applicants, which can improve the overall quality of the student body, and more alumni donations which again can help the college. I guess it is a question of “does the ends justify the means”.</p>
<p>This topic is oft discussed (and for many years on CC – you can easily search and find 100s of posts on this). Why is it posted on the Cornell forum?</p>