College Sports magazines present a lot of interesting data that contradicts the conventional myths about college sports. (Athletes graduate at a higher rate than students at large; even at the big-time programs, college sports are likely to lose money for their schools.) Anyone connected to college athletics--from coaches and admissions officials to trustees--will find much of interest here. The data demonstrate that the typical recruit is substantially more likely to end up in the bottom third of the college class than is either the typical walk-on or the student who does not play college sports. Even more troubling is the dramatic evidence that recruited athletes "under perform:" they do even less well academically than predicted by their test scores and high school grades. 

College Sports magazines feature topics such as admissions and academic experiences of recruited athletes, walk-on athletes, and other students. In a field overwhelmed by reliance on anecdotes, the factual findings are striking--and sobering. Anyone seriously concerned about higher education will find it hard to wish away the evidence that athletic recruitment is problematic even at those schools that do not offer athletic scholarships. Then, in their most valuable finding, they prove that women athletes are not really helped by spending so much time in sports and away from serious studies, and that athletes do not become better leaders than regular grads of schools. 

The authors are able to analyze in great detail the backgrounds, academic qualifications, and college outcomes of athletes and their classmates at thirty-three academically selective colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships. College Sports magazines show that recruited athletes at these schools are as much as four times more likely to gain admission than are other applicants with similar academic credentials. They also prove that an "athletic culture" is taking over these schools just as it did big-time college sports schools. The authors prove that Ivy League and other prestigious schools admit athletes with significantly lower SAT scores than regular students need for admission. 

Over the last four decades, the athletic-academic divide on elite campuses has widened substantially. College Sports magazines examine the forces that have been driving this process and presents concrete proposals for reform. At its core, it is an argument for re-establishing athletics as a means of fulfilling--instead of undermining--the educational missions of our colleges and universities. The authors identify a set of character traits common to most athletes no matter what sport they play, and present a great deal of data countering conventional myths about college sports. Additionally, it offers suggestions about how college athletics could be better run.