Why do some schools oppose giving out Scholarships

[Stang Fever]

I was just reading an articale about Lafayette on giving out scholarships....i was wondering from a faculty eye...what is the big reason why you would be so opposed to it

[LeopardFan04]

From what I gather, I think that some of them believe that the academic quality of the student body and specifically the student-athletes will just decrease. A couple of fellow alumni friends of mine say the same thing. I just don't buy that argument. When the rest of the league lacked scholarships then it might have made more sense...but not now...I just don't see any PL schools becoming "football factories" like some larger I-A schools...

[ngineer]

From a philosophical standpoint many adminsitrators and faculty believe that money should be given to academically qualified students who couldn't otherwise attend a Lafayette or Lehigh because of the price tag. To give money to academically qualified student-athlete, but who comes from a wealthy family doesn't, to some, seem fair. That's the bottom line. The PL schools give out 'grants in aid' based upon formulas weighting a student's family income and assets. Some may be supplemented by merit scholarships for exceptional students that would include musicians, science scholars or athletics., etc.

[colgate13]

In short, the faculty don't think that athletic talent should be paid for by a university. Good thing faculty don't run schools.

[DUPFLFan]

It's one of two reasons...

1. Can't afford it (football doesn't bring in enough revenue)

2. Title IX issues/fears

Or it could be both...

[DetroitFlyer]

Scholarships for sports, like most everything else, will ALWAYS be about the money. Title IX is primarily a money issue. Not drawing enough fans is primarily a money issue when it comes to football scholarships. If a school has enough money to grant scholarships for academically gifted students, and athletes, it will do both. If not, than some sports may suffer, say like football in the PFL.... Another factor relative to money is using it as efficiently as possible among all sports programs. Some schools would actually like to have a top ranked women's crew team before the thought of football scholarships enters into the money equation. Football scholarships are just so darn expensive as compared to almost any other sport, that schools just drop football or play in the PFL or MAAC for football. Funding scholarships for soccer, crew, baseball, softball, track, golf, tennis, etc., is just so much easier, and cheaper....

[colgate13]

Scholarships for sports, like most everything else, will ALWAYS be about the money. Money's not the issue in the Patriot or the Ivy. It's been all about philosophy.

[DFW HOYA]

Money's not the issue in the Patriot or the Ivy. It's been all about philosophy.

Maybe at Colgate, but it's the money at Georgetown. (Half kidding, of course.)

[blukeys]

The U.S. Department of Education considers Grants In Aid as equivalencies and therefore requires that PL school have equal funding for women's sports whether that is by scholarships or Needs Grants.

At Delaware we have done both. Our overall academic rating has improved since we have gone scolly. (I'm not saying this is cause and effect just that academic standards need not drop.)

[DTSpider]

This debate was held at Richmond last year. The President was insistent upon the concept that athletic scholarships hurt the academic performance of the football players (a reason cited for his backdoor attempt to move UR to the Patriot League). UR did a study to compare to Patriot League schools. In our instance, it turned out that our football team's graduation rate was higher than Patriot League schools football teams and that the team's GPA was similar (difficult to really compare anyways). So, it can be done right in terms of giving athletic scholarships. In fact, at UR our graduation rate among scholarship athletes is much higher than the general population.

[ngineer]

The U.S. Department of Education considers Grants In Aid as equivalencies and therefore requires that PL school have equal funding for women's sports whether that is by scholarships or Needs Grants.

At Delaware we have done both. Our overall academic rating has improved since we have gone scolly. (I'm not saying this is cause and effect just that academic standards need not drop.)

Absolutely. In fact Lehigh's wrestling team's academics have improved immensely since they went to full scholarship status. 16 wrestlers this year had 3.0 or better last fall--about 40% of the team.

[carney2]

In short, the faculty don't think that athletic talent should be paid for by a university. Good thing faculty don't run schools.


Absolutely! I think that you will find at most institutions that the faculty thinks (a) that the athletic programs receive far too much funding and attention, and (b) run counter to the goals of the academy. At Lafayette, under Arthur Rothkopf, the faculty did, in a way, run the school. Ergo, no basketball scholarships to date - despite the fact that the basketball programs (men's and women's) have recorded a 55% graduation rate for most of this decade.

[colgate13]

Absolutely! I think that you will find at most institutions that the faculty thinks (a) that the athletic programs receive far too much funding and attention, and (b) run counter to the goals of the academy.

Having seen some of the faculty types in action, everyone can be thankful that these people are not in charge. Mis-informed, full of prejudice and assumptions as well as ego, it is best to leave the ivory tower types to their own little domains, and leave the running of a college or university to the professionals.

[Stang Fever]

This debate was held at Richmond last year. The President was insistent upon the concept that athletic scholarships hurt the academic performance of the football players (a reason cited for his backdoor attempt to move UR to the Patriot League). UR did a study to compare to Patriot League schools. In our instance, it turned out that our football team's graduation rate was higher than Patriot League schools football teams and that the team's GPA was similar (difficult to really compare anyways). So, it can be done right in terms of giving athletic scholarships. In fact, at UR our graduation rate among scholarship athletes is much higher than the general population.


the samething here at poly...our graduation rate is higher then that of the general student body....

[DTSpider]

Absolutely! I think that you will find at most institutions that the faculty thinks (a) that the athletic programs receive far too much funding and attention, and (b) run counter to the goals of the academy. At Lafayette, under Arthur Rothkopf, the faculty did, in a way, run the school. Ergo, no basketball scholarships to date - despite the fact that the basketball programs (men's and women's) have recorded a 55% graduation rate for most of this decade.

I think that you've hit the nail on the head about why professors don't like it. However, the numbers don't lie. You pay a kid money to play basketball and study and he'll probably do both fairly well (given you recruit the right kid). Only give a kid money to go to school and then ask him to do both and he may not do as well. 55% is an awful graduation rate for a Patriot League school. Give kids scholarships and the number should go up. Which, in a professor's mind should be a good thing.