Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Why College Athletics Are Worth The Investment
May 19, 2016 | General, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Almost since the day I began covering college athletics — some 35 years ago, if you're keeping score at home — I've been asked the same question by friends and acquaintances who aren't familiar with sports:
Why do universities have athletic departments? Why spend money on athletes?
It's a fair question, particularly from people who aren't familiar with the role sports plays in our society, or people who don't understand (or agree with) America's love for games.
But the question comes up much more frequently whenever an athlete finds his or her name in the headlines for the wrong reason. Then, it becomes a bizarre justification for those who don't like or simply don't understand college athletics.
Here's my answer:
Every year, on just about every college campus in America, a few students get into trouble.
It happens. College students — of every type — make poor choices and must endure the consequences.
The vast majority of those students, however, manage to negotiate those instances in relative anonymity. They make a mistake, they pay the price — whatever it might be — and they move on with their lives.
But for a very small minority of those students, it is different. If they are student-athletes, it is “newsworthy.” Their troubles earn them a spot on the front page of the local newspaper and maybe even a few seconds on the local nightly news.
It's part of the equation of being a public figure. If you get your name in the headlines for scoring a touchdown, hitting the game-winning basket or winning a conference title, you get the same treatment when you run afoul of the law. It's just the way it works.
I understand. I was in the newspaper business for more than 30 years, and the rule of thumb was pretty simple when it came to athletes. When you are a public figure, the boundaries don't stop on the field of play. Step out of bounds on the field of acceptable behavior and the world finds out about it.
Engineering major gets a DUI? Nobody outside his or her immediate sphere is ever aware (and nobody clamors to close the School of Engineering).
But when a football player gets the same? The world knows, immediately and forever — and the reaction against college athletics is sure to follow.
During my time in the newspaper world, I knew there were also plenty of “good” stories about student-athletes, but we seldom — if ever — took the time to tell them. The simple fact is that “good news” doesn't sell, and the world of news media is a business.
But while I knew about the good stories, I confess to not knowing the incredible breadth of such stories. Not until I began working for the CU Athletic Department's website, not until I had the opportunity to be around the students every day, did I fully grasp the extent of the amazing accomplishments of these young men and women who will someday change our world for the better.
For every student-athlete who finds himself or herself in trouble — and, yes, it happens at CU — there are dozens and dozens more who accomplish astonishing, astounding things.
There are student-athletes who maintain perfect or near-perfect grade-point averages, student-athletes who graduate in three years, student-athletes who invent products that will literally change our lives, student-athletes who will become doctors, teachers, engineers, coaches, professors, scientists, musicians, Olympians — simply, student-athletes who will leave CU and go on to make the world a better place.
And every one of those student-athletes — and you can find them in every sport — is accomplishing those feats while dedicating hours and hours of every week to their chosen sport. Practice, conditioning, weightlifting, good nutritional habits, competition — it's all part of the equation they must balance with the rigors that accompany being a student.
But what most people don't know, or don't realize, is this: student-athletes don't excel in their academic pursuits in spite of the time required by athletics.
Rather, they will tell you those athletic pursuits are a reason behind their success in the classroom. Athletics teaches them discipline, dedication, work ethic, time management and perseverance. They learn these traits in the world of sport; then apply them to their academic pursuits.
It's an equation I seldom acknowledged in my years in the newspaper world.
Again, I understand. The media can't be blamed for giving the public what they want to read. Good news seldom sells, and media have to pay the bills — just like everyone else.
But those stories do indeed exist, and my current job allows me to tell them. In the last few weeks, I've touched on just a handful of the hundreds of success stories the CU Athletic Department helps produce every year.
Cross-country runner Connor Winter, a mechanical engineer, has invented a wearable device for runners that will help reduce injury. Football player Derek McCartney earned his degree in less than four years and plans to pursue a career as a doctor. Skier Clare Wise produced the highest GPA of any CU graduate in chemical and biological engineering, and will apply to medical schools this summer. Track standout Jaron Thomas has taken on a very public role as a spokesman for social justice.
All are elite-level competitors and elite-level students, and they are literally the tip of the iceberg. CU has dozens and dozens of others just like them, student-athletes who are making their mark in wonderful ways every year — and many of those student-athletes would not have had the chance without some financial assistance. Athletics literally paved the way for their success; literally opened a door that would have been unavailable under every other circumstance.
So, that's my answer. That's why college athletics are worth the investment. It's why, despite the headlines that scream “football factory,” despite the cheating scandals that occur annually, despite the occasional athlete that runs afoul of the law, it's a worthwhile endeavor. Worthwhile because college athletics provides the opportunity for thousands of young men and women across the nation every year to earn degrees and move on to careers that will make a difference in our world.
It's an investment that pays dividends for generations.
Now, here's an invitation: get to know those student-athletes a little better. If you are interested in becoming a scholarship donor or supporter of a specific program, there are plenty of ways to accomplish that. If you want to just get to know their stories a little better, that's also possible.
Contact us. We'll help.
But most of all, simply know that for every bit of “bad” news that hits the headlines, there is exponentially more good news that goes relatively unnoticed. Astounding young men and women who will make a difference, amazing young men and women who will change the world — and college athletics helped pave the road for their accomplishments.
It's a success story worth knowing about.
Contact: CU Buff Club
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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