A Look at a Hypothetical Major in Sports, Part V: Summation

(For previous entries in the series click here.)

On Wednesday, we came across a story in the Wall Street Journal by Ben Cohen about how Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts and the football program differed over the survival of  a failing major in public administration. The major was ultimately saved by a new dean.

One of the points raised in the article was the concern about the clustering of student athletes in the program:

Public administration majors account for less than 1% of Auburn’s undergraduate student body. But in the fall semester of 2013, documents show, 51% of the 111 students pursuing the degree were athletes. Among them were the football team’s starting quarterback and running back, its leading wide receiver and the three defensive players who led the team in interceptions, tackles and sacks.

While we tend to not think of this being that big of a deal, because it actually could allow for a learning community of sorts to develop if properly curated, on the surface, perception-wise, it can be viewed as an issue by outsider.

And whether it makes sense or not, perceptions is often viewed as reality.

A couple of other thoughts:
1) To reiterate, the last few days were simply an exercise in designing a major that would give student athletes in particular a grounding in some practical and theoretical classes to aid them in their transition to the workforce—either as a professional athlete or as someone who works in intercollegiate or professional sports.

2) The program would not be housed out of athletics, but rather in either a school of business or liberal arts or both. It is, in essence, an interdisciplinary degree, since there is a fair bit of business course work along with an emphasis on social science.

3) For these schedules, the minimum number of credits to be a full time student was utilized. At semester institutions, that number is usually 12. We tried to keep things in the 12-13 credit range to allow for the fact that student athletes may be in season either in one or both of the semesters. If the student athlete demonstrates that they can handle a larger course load, then classes could be shifted around. Summer school is also a possibility as well.

4) As should have been stated earlier, the most variable part of this is the general education requirements, as that would vary by institution. Additionally, the total number of credits required for a bachelor degree varies as well, so this would have to be accounted for in the plotting of a student's schedule.

Questions, feedback, and thoughts are always welcome at pigskinpundit@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.