Black men are big stars of the BCS football series, not so much in the classroom
Football’s 2014 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is just a few weeks away, and while some of the series’ Black players are stars on the field, many are failing in the classroom.
According to a report released by the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, based on six-year graduation rates at the 10 schools, at least half of Black players taking the to field in a BCS game will not graduate.
Those numbers suggest a lack of accountability to study author Dr. Shaun R. Harper.
“In some instances, at Florida State University, for example, Black men comprise nearly 70 percent of the football team, yet just over one-third of those Black male student-athletes will graduate,” said Harper, a professor in the Penn Graduate School of Education and the Center’s Executive Director. “These numbers are shameful. In my view, no team with rates this low for a population that comprises such a significant portion of the team should be allowed to play in any BCS Bowl. These schools and their athletic conferences must be held more accountable.”
Read more at Black Star Journal
The data also shows that while Black men account for 60 percent of the top 25 BCS football teams, only 12 percent of coaches and athletic directors are Black.
Only 50 percent of Black male students graduate within six years from universities in seven mahor NCAA Division I sports conferences, compared to 67 percent of student athletes overall.
Thoughts on the study’s findings?
How can we get BCS athletes on track to graduate?
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