As of last Tuesday, the University of Maryland is now guaranteeing student athletes of all sports full scholarships, not just the revenue-generating football and basketball, until they graduate, regardless of play-preventing injury or on-field performance.

. . .Wait, but student athletes are at college to get a degree, right? 

This new initiative, called "The Maryland Way Guarantee" no longer adheres to the traditional annual renewal of scholarships for student athletes. Is this more beneficial or hurtful to student athletes' futures? And is it even fair to regular students?

The whole point of attending college is to receive a degree, and furthermore, get a job in the real world after graduation. These scholarships however, suggest otherwise. With this program, student athletes will be able to focus more attention on their athletics and goals to go pro rather than their academics, consequently hurting those who do not go pro and spend more time in school getting their degree. According to the NCAA, of about 460,000 student athletes nationwide, only 2% go pro. While I am not trying to deter anyone's dreams of becoming a professional athlete, clearly most student athletes will at some point have to choose another occupation, and as all students know, entering the workforce should be done sooner rather than later. This program is beneficial in the sense that student athletes are provided a cushion in trying to balance academics and athletics, but it seems to condone the mindset that student athletes can focus on athletics first, and academics later, limiting their skill set for when they enter the workforce.

Entering the workforce in one's prime is key. If students entering the workforce at age 25 or younger with one or multiple degrees are having difficulty finding jobs in this economy, how are former student athletes who go back to get their degrees later ever going to find jobs? Not only that, but it's unfair to allow student athletes who go pro without graduating to return to complete their degrees again, with a full scholarship without evaluating their current financial status. The minimum wage for an NFL rookie surpasses $300,000, leaving pro athletes plenty of money to go back to school if they so desire. If a regular student receiving an academic scholarship decides to go back to school, they don't receive that same guarantee and more than likely are not making the kind of money that professional athletes are.

Many student athletes do, indeed, deserve scholarships and need to keep them in order to pay for college. In that respect, this new initiative is a positive; however, until students who work equally as hard in other fields receive the same treatment and superfluous benefits, I think it's uncalled for to keep showering student athletes with gifts and scholarships, especially to those who can afford college otherwise.