A National Signing Day we'll never see

The political cartoon indirectly addresses the issue of college athletes, many with little to no academic merit, getting accepted to even the most prestigious universities. Nevertheless, these students attend their universities on full ride scholarships. Poor billy here with his high GPA, above average test scores, and extracurricular activities is no competition for a student athlete who will bring the school money and recognition with their athletic ability. A professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a research study on the reading levels of college athletes. The results were alarming, she discovered that many of them read between a 5th to 8th grade level. She tells an interviewer about a college basketball player who once came into her office and she was appalled to discover he could not read multisyllabic words.The study was effective because she requested the reading levels of college athletes of 36 different universities, many which denied her request. The 20 universities or so who did comply showed a similar and concerning correlation. How these individuals get into some of the most selective universities in the country is very clear. Their performance on the field is valuable, so much so, that their performance in the classroom is simply overlooked.