Which is More Important to Colleges: Athletics or Academics?

21 years ago, the University of North Carolina began offering fake classes to many of its student athletes so that they may maintain eligibility for their respective sports. 3 years ago, this academic fraud was uncovered by the NCAA but eventually pushed aside as not a significant problem. Then, a counselor who worked closely with student athletes at UNC during this time, came forward with new information and staff members involved, all of which was news to university administrators. This prompted an 8 month investigation by Kenneth Wainstein (former U.S. Justice Department official and current chair of a White Collar Defense and Investigations Group hired by UNC), and as of four days ago, it has been found that the counselor was telling the truth, and that this scandal was much larger than anyone realized.

Julius Nyang'oro, former chairman
of the UNC department that ran
the "shadow courses," was indicted
on fraud charges last December

Over the span of 18 years, at least 3,100 sudents (1,500 or more of whom were athletes) were enrolled in this "shadow cirriculum" - classes that had no designated instructor and gave out all high grades, regardless of work quantity or quality. According to Wainstein, “By the mid-2000s, these classes had become a primary - if not the primary - way that struggling athletes kept themselves from having eligibility problems.” These athletes (some of whom couldn't write, couldn't read multisyllabic words, or couldn't read at all) were offered a free, high quality education that that they were completely unqualified for. But instead of at least taking advantage of that by working hard and actually earning a spot in the school (and on their teams), they decided to cheat their way out of it. And all with school officials endorsing their decisions.

While all 9 of the staff members Willingham mentioned in the original investigation were proven to be involved and subsequently fired, justice didn't come soon enough. How could something like this have gone on for so long, undetected and unresolved? And anyway, shouldn't the goal of an educational institution be to push students to succeed both in and out of the classroom, not one or the other?

While what occurred at UNC may have been extreme, it is well known that acclaimed colleges across the country have a habit of accepting less academically qualified athletes over more academically qualified non-athletes. What does it day about the American education system if colleges, of all places, are deprioritizing student's academic abilities in favor of their athletic abilities?