Great write up. I like how you argued both sides and I agree with pretty much everything you wrote. The tutors are kind of hit and miss. I don’t want to offend anyone because a lot of people who have commented have mentioned either they or their spouse was a tutor. However the requirement to be a tutor is that you got a B or better in the class. I had a couple outstanding tutors and I also had some tutors that probably did more harm than good.

As for the due dates, I can see that being special treatment depending on the teacher. My experience was that 95% of the time if I had to change a due date it ended up being moved to an earlier date, rather than an extension. For example, if we had a thursday game and a paper due on thursday I had to turn it in Wednesday before we left, not Friday when I got back.

I see both sides of the argument, and I have to say that athletes do get special treatment, but BYU athletes do not get the same special treatment that they would get at other schools. Furthermore, and Markell is not going to like this, BYU football players get a little more treatment than other athletes at BYU. Sometimes the “special treatment” is not in the athletes favor, but this is all based on individual professors, deans, etc. Part of this is because the football program is the most visible. I totally believe that there are professors who loathe jocks, and want to make their classes difficult especially for them. At the same time, there are others who want to give them breaks. Back in the Edwards days, there were some shady things going on with the honor code office blinking at violations committed by football players, but I hope and believe that that was due to individuals in the office and that problem has been delt with by now.

As far as tutors go, you have to say that having a free 1-on-1 tutor is an advantage. Unlike BYU-I, we do not get free tutors at the Y. The rest of us either have to shell out money for tutors, or make our own network of friends that include geniuses who have spare time on their hands. The labs for science classes are essential, but they are not the same thing. Being tutored 1-on-1 by someone who is an expert on a subject can be way more effective. I think it is great that athletes have that resource available to them, and it can be considered part of the “package deal.”

That aside, I worked on campus and interacted with several professors, and athletes (especially football players) usually got breaks on due dates for assignments. I think we have to call that “special treatment,” but I could see why Markell would not call it that. Should athletes get breaks on due dates? Yes they should. This is only special in the fact that the rest of us do not get it. Is it part of the package deal for athletes? Sure.

I take my hat off to any student athlete. BYU is a really hard school! I barely pulled off my 3.0 graduating with my bachelors in CS without being a student athlete. The “…passing a class is all but guaranteed if you just show up to class” statement is an indicator of special treatment, because that was not true for the majority of my classes. A failing grade at BYU is C-, even though officially is a D. You get on academic probation for less than a 2.0, and that is a C-. With a few exceptions, you were never guranteed a C or better just for showing up, though it was half the battle because that is where you learned what you needed in order to pass the class. I just finished a cohort with George Washington for a masters in systems engineering, and I ended up with a 3.95. It was totally easy compared to what I went through for my undergrad at BYU. Kudos to all student athletes who get a 3.0 or higher at BYU!

Yes non-schollie players get all the same resources as scholly players aside from the fact that scholarships pay for books.

Non scholly players still get access to all the tutors and academic resources and they also get priority registration.

Do scholarshipped athletes get any additional benefits over non-schollied (walk-on) people? I’m thinking about the academic benefits (use of tutors, and such). I suppose that scholarshipped athletes have their books bought for them while others don’t. Anything else?

Is there any other difference in the way these guys are treated–a class system or anything–within the FB or other sports programs?

That’s just it. Every student has similar resources available. Think about the writing labs and math labs, etc that you could always go to for free help. I used those resources more than I ever used tutors.

This is such a great debate and I love the responses to this post. I think it is pretty much 50/50 whether you think athletes get too much or not enough. I know a lot of people who were and are so adamant that college athletes should get paid like its a job.

I never thought that, but it is funny to hear other people really want to lobby for it. I was grateful for everything I received as an athlete, but most of all for my BYU education which has helped me in life after football.

I was a tutor for the athletes at the Y and I’ll just add my two cents on the issue. First, as Markell has mentioned, guys have to take the responsibility for their academics…this is not really the advisors’ responsibility. They are there to provide support and help, which they do AMAZINGLY. I have watched it over and over again. I do think that a lot of athletes who come to BYU on full-ride scholarship have developed skills others of us don’t have, while the rest of us are more prepared for the rigors of college. BYU is not an easy school…I spent some time at UNLV at that was like going back to high school, sometimes middle school, even in upper division classes. Anyways, the student athletes need support, but they also need to take the responsibility to heart, which I agree is not easy whatsoever for an athlete fully invested in their dream to play on a D-I level.

It all comes down to your own opinion of “special treatment.” IMO, college football players are not compensated well enough for their services, so I would say that the tutoring and “extra” academic assistance is the LEAST that the school can provide.

Others might think that the potential to make millions in the NFL or playing for the “love of the game” should be enough and the players should receive the bare minimum – books, tuition, room and board. Anything above this would then be considered “special treatment.”

Of course there would be the varying opinions in between these extremes.

Stanford’s Bootleg reported on the percentage of student athletes who graduated within 6 years of college, who graduated in the years 2003-2006.

For football, TCU 67%, Utah 57% and BYU 56%. For all FBS schools, the rate was 67%.

BYU’s overall graduation rate is 74%, indicating that the academic standards for football players are much lower than for “regular students.” I think that this is where the “special treatment” label is unfairly applied. Applicants think, “I have a 4.0 but couldn’t get in to BYU. That athlete has a 2.5 and they were accepted.” IMO it is comparing apples to oranges.

Remember, Bronco took over in 2005 and I have a feeling that these numbers will improve when the 2005-2008 data are reviewed. Also, let’s not rip on just the athletes when there are 26% of other “regular students” who are not graduating.

Do people cheat? Yeah, sure. I don’t think that is specific to just football or just athletes though. I do wish we held ourselves to a higher standard though.

You are right, if you get to the point where you can’t cut it you should not be on the team. Coach Mendenhall does not give special treatment or ask for special treatment. In fact he has the power to sign a letter of recommendation for high school players to clear admission and he no longer does it, because he found they couldn’t cut it at BYU.

Keep on thing in mind though…if we don’t recruit the 2.5-3.0 guys all the fans would say, “Why can’t we get the fast DBs or the Big OL?” In essence you let some guys in below a 3.0 because they are phenomenal athletes and you hope that you have the right structure in place to make them better students.

Another message to everyone is that BYU has the highest team GPA in the country, so although there have been 2 casualties this past year, BYU is doing a great job. The team GPA is right around 3.0! That is impressive.