It’s a long arduous journey from little league performer to college athlete. It takes discipline, dedication, not to mention a heaping measure of talent and passion. After all, by the time an individual dons the jersey of his or her respective college institution, they have established themselves  as a top performer in their field.  Only the top 2% of  those participating at the high school level earn college scholarships.  Imagine what they would typically command (in salary) for being the top in any field– particularly when gaudy revenue numbers can be attributed to their association with the organization.  However, most college athletes are bereft of the opportunity to cash in on their chart-topping abilities– unless of course they are fortunate enough to play sports professionally.  What about the academic opportunity you might ask? Let’s talk about it.

Watch:  Pay for Play and        “Outside the Lines”

I absolutely believe a  full ride scholarship can be a powerful tool to help any individual upward mobilize. Unfortunately many student-athletes (athlete-students) are required to give an inordinate amount of energy toward their respective sport in order to maintain “scholarship” status–which goes beyond physically demanding practices.  For the vast majority, this takes away from their ability to maximize their academic and overall college experience.  Often times athlete-students are away from campus for days at a time representing and let’s face it… making money for the school.

If the scholarship is the so-called equitable compensation for their contributions to the athletic department, overall campus budgets and school brand, then there should be a system in place that allows for athlete-students to flourish in both milieus.

What if athletic scholarships were not concurrent with athletic eligibility?

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Wow…it truly has been a whirlwind of a break. I’m sure you noticed that I took some time off  from blogging. I can say with certainty it was not a matter of running out of things to say or of not being properly motivated to write. Please believe that I remain as passionate as ever to share the message on my journey to “Virtual” nirvana, and still find extreme joy in pushin’ people forward.

The down time was merely a strategic ploy to grant  my readership an opportunity to revisit each post and marinate in the message (lol).  Actually, the  shift of energies was necessary to promote  the release of “The Virtual Game of Basketball”  and establish a “Virtual” speaking tour.  Ah…. What joy in Mudville!

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