https://thejrreport.com/2017/04/04/...litary-academies-compete-in-college-football/
I know that this story is a year old, but I have seen only one article on the internet having a problem with this policy. I am referring to the DoD making it possible for Academy grads to completely circumvent their active duty OBLIGATION to serve in the reserves in order to go straight to pro sports. This can not be allowed to be on, it is wrong on so many different levels.
1. Service Academies have one purpose and one purpose alone, to produce high quality officers for the military. Any deviation from this mission is a corruption of the intention of the academies. This includes lowering standards for recruited athletes in order for SA Athletics to do well in competition with other Civilian Schools.
2. No amount of "profit" (fyi there is no profit to be gained from Collegiate sports, not even through merchandise) or "morale boosts" for doing well in D1 athletics is worth the dip in quality or now population of active duty officers. I have had a huge problem with individuals being recruited for the merits of their athleticism alone, but now some of these individuals can essentially skip out on serving their country (who picked up their Tier 1 education bill) to the full extent of their ability all in order to serve their selfish goals of being a rich pro-athlete. It is wrong.
3. The article points out that the commitment to serve after going to a free military academy was a "turn off for many athletes during recruitment season". But now that pesky policy won't get in the way of their dreams! Thank God the DoD is more than happy to be used as yet another academic athlete laundering avenue for athletes to get to their promised land that America as a whole is obsessed with.
4. America has a college problem. A problem that entails economic anchors to graduates, subpar scores and useful degrees. All of these problems can be linked to America's trademark on higher education, Collegiate Sports. Why has tuition been increasing for public colleges? There is a strong correlation between rising tuition costs and payments toward school's athletic programs/facilities/coaches. Recruiting athletes (not just for Academies) but all public universities has led America on a decline in useful degree holders and subpar academic scores when compared with nations from around the world.
5. Prep Schools need to be reevaluated. I know the prep schools were created (initially) to give enlisted personnel who have been away from school for a couple of years a year to catch up, or to give candidates from the previous cycle a year to prove themselves in an academic field they were lacking in. However, this is not the case. The Prep schools are being used by coaches to launder athletes who met very few core requirements to be eligible for admission, other than the fact that they are good at whatever sport they compete in. This must stop.
This is not a hit piece on Athletes (I am a 3 season athlete myself), this is a wake up call to taxpayers that the quality of Officers our academies produce is going to lower if we practice the same Athletic cult that the rest of America's higher education has been brainwashed into loving. Also, the taxpayers should feel scammed by these Athletes that take advantage of this policy due to the fact that they just picked up a $400,000 education bill and duped out of a quality active duty officer.
Please let me know what you guys think, and if there are any Recruited Athlete apologists out there, how can you justify this policy that lets individuals waste the taxpayer's money and SA cadet/midshipman slot?
I know that this story is a year old, but I have seen only one article on the internet having a problem with this policy. I am referring to the DoD making it possible for Academy grads to completely circumvent their active duty OBLIGATION to serve in the reserves in order to go straight to pro sports. This can not be allowed to be on, it is wrong on so many different levels.
1. Service Academies have one purpose and one purpose alone, to produce high quality officers for the military. Any deviation from this mission is a corruption of the intention of the academies. This includes lowering standards for recruited athletes in order for SA Athletics to do well in competition with other Civilian Schools.
2. No amount of "profit" (fyi there is no profit to be gained from Collegiate sports, not even through merchandise) or "morale boosts" for doing well in D1 athletics is worth the dip in quality or now population of active duty officers. I have had a huge problem with individuals being recruited for the merits of their athleticism alone, but now some of these individuals can essentially skip out on serving their country (who picked up their Tier 1 education bill) to the full extent of their ability all in order to serve their selfish goals of being a rich pro-athlete. It is wrong.
3. The article points out that the commitment to serve after going to a free military academy was a "turn off for many athletes during recruitment season". But now that pesky policy won't get in the way of their dreams! Thank God the DoD is more than happy to be used as yet another academic athlete laundering avenue for athletes to get to their promised land that America as a whole is obsessed with.
4. America has a college problem. A problem that entails economic anchors to graduates, subpar scores and useful degrees. All of these problems can be linked to America's trademark on higher education, Collegiate Sports. Why has tuition been increasing for public colleges? There is a strong correlation between rising tuition costs and payments toward school's athletic programs/facilities/coaches. Recruiting athletes (not just for Academies) but all public universities has led America on a decline in useful degree holders and subpar academic scores when compared with nations from around the world.
5. Prep Schools need to be reevaluated. I know the prep schools were created (initially) to give enlisted personnel who have been away from school for a couple of years a year to catch up, or to give candidates from the previous cycle a year to prove themselves in an academic field they were lacking in. However, this is not the case. The Prep schools are being used by coaches to launder athletes who met very few core requirements to be eligible for admission, other than the fact that they are good at whatever sport they compete in. This must stop.
This is not a hit piece on Athletes (I am a 3 season athlete myself), this is a wake up call to taxpayers that the quality of Officers our academies produce is going to lower if we practice the same Athletic cult that the rest of America's higher education has been brainwashed into loving. Also, the taxpayers should feel scammed by these Athletes that take advantage of this policy due to the fact that they just picked up a $400,000 education bill and duped out of a quality active duty officer.
Please let me know what you guys think, and if there are any Recruited Athlete apologists out there, how can you justify this policy that lets individuals waste the taxpayer's money and SA cadet/midshipman slot?