UNC's top majors in 2014 were
"Communication and Media Studies;
Psychology, General; Biology, General; Political
Science and Government; and Economics,"
according to U.S. News and World Report.
McCants played from 2002-2005.
UNC, which is being investigated for academic
corruption by the NCAA, did not immediately
return calls for comment.
eligible to play, earning the school and NCAA
money while the students learn less than they
should.
Former NBA star and current civil rights
activist Etan Thomas agreed. Upon hearing
of McCants' comments, the former Syracuse
University player said major college sports is
a business that doesn't care about its athletes'
futures.
“What he’s saying is exactly what it is. They do
not care," Thomas, who is now a speaker and
author, said after noting athletes have to push
harder to get an education in college. "They
don't care about your education, just you being
able to make the schools and the NCAA money.
After
you're done making the money, they’re through
with you [as far as education]...they have
everything, they just don’t have to pay you.”
McCants emphatically said his war for
educating athletes isn't aimed at Roy Williams,
or even the UNC sports program, but the
culture of big-time athletics, which focuses
on money-making physical ability while
willfully ignoring mental growth. In the case
of McCants, who averaged 17.6 points per
game during his UNC stay, the guard said he
was pushed into African-American studies
instead of the business classes he would have
preferred.
"I'm done with talking about Roy. This is
way bigger than Roy. This goes across sports
from the high school level all the way through
college. Everybody knows it," McCants said.
"I want people to know how valuable an
education is. It's not all about money; it's about
knowing something to take us forward in life."
12
The NCAA is aware some student-athletes might
have been funneled into certain majors or
classes to remain eligible while neglecting the
pursuit of true educational goals. Since 2003,
rules have been in place to ensure athletes
focus on core classes, so even if a player like
McCants exits school early for the pros, the
student will have learned something.
"Research indicates that the incidence of
“clustering” has not increased since Division
I adopted rules in 2003 requiring studentathletes to finish a certain percentage of their
degrees at the end of their second, third and
fourth years of college. In fact, the prevalence
of student-athletes choosing majors in specific
categories has not changed much over the
last decade. Often, the most popular degrees
for the student body on a campus are also
the most popular for student-athletes," NCAA
spokeswoman Michelle Brutlag Hosick wrote
in an e-mail.
"Nationally representative surveys of current
student-athletes show that less than five
percent of student-athletes in any sport would
change their major or the classes they chose,
and 87% report that they would choose their
majors again even if they were not studentathletes," the e-mail continued. "Surveys of
14.4.3.2 Fulfillment of
Percentage of Degree
Requirements.
A student-athlete who is entering
his or her third year of collegiate
enrollment shall have completed
successfully at least 40 percent
of the course requirements in
the student’s specific degree
program. A student-athlete who
is entering his or her fourth year
of collegiate enrollment shall
have completed successfully at
least 60 percent of the course
requirements in the student’s
specific degree program.
A student-athlete who is
entering his or her fifth year
of collegiate enrollment shall
have completed successfully at
least 80 percent of the course
requirements in the student’s
specific degree program. The
course requirements must be
in the student’s specific degree
program (as opposed to the
student’s major).
(Adopted: 1/10/92 effective
8/1/92, Revised: 1/9/96, 10/31/02
effective 8/1/03)
Source: NCAA
SPECTACULAR MAGAZINE | July 2014 | www.spectacularmag.com
former student-athletes show that more than
80 percent of all student-athletes chose their
major because of a personal interest and the
majority would choose the same major if they
could start again."
NCAA graduation rates have been going up for
years, according to the organization. But what
are student-athletes learning, McCants asks in
his attack on under-education, which he said
can lead to an unfulfilled life.
The NCAA, for its part, said it can't control