Free stuff. Full-ride scholarships. Unintelligent. Those are just a few misconceptions heard by college athletes when mentioning that they play a sport for their school. Below are five misconceptions that people think of when college athletics are mentioned and proof that they are incorrect.
1. All College Athletes Receive Full-ride Athletic Scholarships to Pay for School.
In reality, only a handful of the thousands of college athletes receive a full scholarship. Many schools have limited finances when it comes to scholarship amounts and because of this, many college athletes have to rely on academic scholarships and financial aid rather than athletic scholarships. Many athletes continue to play in college just to be able to afford go to school. There are also many athletes on college teams that tryout to be on the teams knowing that they most likely won't receive a scholarship for it.
2. College Athletes Receive Lots of Free Stuff.
It always seems like college athletes receive lots of free stuff including all of their equipment for their sport and lots of apparel. However, most of what they are given is not actually theirs to keep. They are given a large portion of the items just for the duration of their athletic commitment. Following the end of their college athletic career or even at the end of each school year, the athletes have to turn in their equipment to the athletic department because it is not the athletes' property since they didn't purchase it. Also, any personal or personalized items such as shoes or shirts with the name of the athlete are purchased by the athletes, not given to them for free.
3. College Athletes are Unintelligent.
This one is really common throughout all levels of athletics from high school all the way up to the professionals. College athletes have to meet a certain GPA in high school to be eligible to play in college and many times coaches raise that GPA for who they are going to even recruit. Athletes are also required to maintain a certain GPA to keep their athletic scholarship and then to be able to participate in their sport.
4. College Athletes are Only Friends With Other Athletes.
Another misconception is that athletes are only friends with their teammates or other athletes. Being on an athletic team does not limit college athletes from joining organizations or from making friends in their classes or through their major. When many college athletes come in as freshmen, they have probably only spent time with their teammates before as many have been on campus for preseason (a month before classes actually begin.) Once they begin their classes, they start to meet other people and become friends with them as well.
5. All College Athletes Want to Play Professionally After Graduating.
Very few college athletes ever make it to the professional level of the sport they play. In many cases, the only way to make it to that level is to play at a NCAA Division I school and be the star of the team. Many college athletes are just playing the sport they love a little longer because they were given the opportunity and took it. They know that they will most likely not play competitively after graduating, but they are fine with that because they get to experience something new and play the sport they love playing.
Next time you see a college athlete, know that they are at college for the same reason every other student is there: to get an education.
