Los Angeles Times

Michael Hiltzik: Admissions scandal is an example of the academic corruption caused by NCAA athletics

A string of academic scandals over the years has delivered the lesson that big-money athletics have a profoundly corruptive effect on colleges and universities.

The admissions scandal unveiled by federal prosecutors on Tuesday offered another data point for the argument that NCAA programs should be eradicated from academia.

This point may be missed because the new scandal turns the usual arguments against big-money varsity sports on their head. Traditionally, the corruption created by NCAA athletics arises from universities undermining their academic standards to favor kids with notable athletic abilities, especially in the revenue-producing sports of football and basketball.

Syracuse, for instance, engaged in academic fraud over 10 years to keep its academically underperforming basketball stars in the game, according to a

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times10 min read
With 'Palm Royale,' Bruce And Laura Dern Are (finally) Father And Daughter On Screen
LOS ANGELES — Laura Dern and her father, veteran actor Bruce Dern, are in a room together and, within minutes, the stories begin. There was talk about the advice he received from the giants that orbited his life — like Elia Kazan, whom Bruce studied
Los Angeles Times8 min read
Higher Prices On The Menu As Fast-food Chains Brace For California’s Big Minimum Wage Jump
Chipotle, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Jack in the Box and Shake Shack are planning to raise menu prices. Fast-food franchisees are laying off employees or cutting their hours. Smaller independent business owners, meanwhile, worry their workers will bolt u
Los Angeles Times2 min readInternational Relations
Editorial: The Humanitarian Aid Gaza Needs Most Is A Cease-fire
In Gaza, famine is imminent. To get urgently needed food, clean water, temporary sanitation facilities and medical supplies to more than 2 million Palestinians, President Biden ordered construction of a floating dock. Building it will take weeks. In

Related Books & Audiobooks