College sports players are going through college without paying, and they have bad grades. While the rest of the student are paying for college and getting good grades. The colleges are not following their rules. The rule says,“To be eligible for a Division I school, you must complete 16 core courses, and earn a minimum 2.000 core-course GPA,” but many college players can play like adults, and read like a fifth grader. Many students score in the 200s to 300s on the critical reading test in the Scholastic Assessment Test(SATs). The lowest score on that part of the test is 200, and the national average is in the 500s. On the American College Test(ACTs), some sports players were scoring in the single digits, when the national average is in the high teens according to Cable News Network(CNN).

The National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) has changed their academic requirements for division I schools. This makes sports players meet higher requirements. They made the GPA minimum 2.3 instead of 2.0. Students may need to also make their SAT scores go up. The average score on the SATs with someone whose GPA is 2.5 is at least in the 820s. Sports players score an average of 346 points less than the non-athletic student. For example the Florida States average on the SATs is 1236 points out of 1600. But their football players score is an average of 890 which is ok, but it is not enough to keep up with the rest of the student body. Florida State won a sarcastic prize for having the biggest gap on the SATs between sports players and the student body.

Georgia Tech has the best national average for SAT scores with a 1028 out of 1600. Yet their football team still scores 315 points less than the student body. This isn’t fair for students who do not play sports because they have to pay to go to school, while the players get a scholarship and do not have to pay a dime. If the players want to play in the National Football League(NFL) or the National Basketball Association(NBA), then they should have a good education, so that if they do not make it, they have something to fall back on. Also if they want to play for a college team, then they should also have an average college education. The NCAA has been letting players into Division I schools with a 8th grade reading level. I can read at higher reading level than them, and I am only in 8th grade. The NCAA is violating their own rules of admittance, and it is not fair for the students. If they get a free ride through college, then why can’t the students get one?

The NCAA broadcasts the games for our entertainment. They also use that money for new players and academic purposes. We go and support our favorite teams because we enjoy making other teams lose. Yet we forget that one day, our future will be theirs to lead. We do not want people who can read at a eighth grade level to lead us. If we want this to change, then we need to do something. We need to push up their test scores. I would recommend that the colleges should hire tutors for all sports players.

If we are going to have a better future, then all of our students need to have a good education. And if the sports players are getting through college not learning, then I think that the regular students should have more scholarship opportunities and not the players. If we could get them tutors so they could keep up with the student body, then we will truly have a better future.They are our future leaders, and I want leaders who can read at a college level.