Colleges across the nation compete in all sorts of athletic competitions for the common goal of winning that specific sport's championship. It is currently football season in this great nation of ours, and if one was to turn on their television on a Saturday, s/he would be bombarded by game after game after game. Some networks even have names for these Saturdays; for instance, ESPN calls it "College Game Day" and Fox Sports calls it "College Football Saturday." Americans have a sort of passion for college sports. Many institutions are known for their prestigious teams, and it is sad to say that in many cases the educations offered by these schools are overlooked. Because many colleges put athletics before education, reforms should be made in order to straighten out the priorities of these institutions.
Even though Americans have a love for college sports, they are becoming more aware of the negative aspects of athletic programs across the nation. Many of these programs in the United States have learned how to pull certain strings to ensure the eligibility of their athletes. The NCAA has recognized that this is a problem and has begun to work with different reform groups to find how they can put a stop to this growing problem. .
In May 2002, The Chattanooga Times ran a story entitled, "New test for athletics. Reform movements want drastic changes in college sports." There are several grassroots movements throughout the country that want drastic changes to take place in college athletics. Linda Bensel-Meyers, an English professor at the University of Tennessee, is helping lead the Drake Group, a coalition that is dedicated to reforming college athletics. In 1999, Drake accused the Tennessee athletic department of paying tutors to write athletes research papers. Bensel-Meyers ended up paying the consequence for bringing this accusation up, it cost her, her marriage, her stature in the university community and several friends.
