After some primary research I found that resources that are given to student athletes may vary from university to university, but I wanted to find an article that gave more first hand insight into this topic at another Big Ten institution. Although the University of Washington is a new addition to the conference I believe they are a comparable university when it comes to athletics. I hope this article gives me more insights on how students are treated by their institution and what resources they are given.
They first talked of their abundant, yet apt mental health and academic resources provided by UW to help them balance their schedules and stay on track with graduation.
Then, they began to deconstruct the function and intention of these resources.
While these learning specialists are meant to keep them in check, it seems a bit overbearing. This scrutiny over class attendance is perhaps a reflection of the real priority: getting them to the field.
After hearing about overcoming the very preliminary, yet difficult barriers that come with scheduling classes, making good attendance, and adequate grades, I asked about the quality of their studies.
It’s one thing to walk away with a degree and another thing to walk away with an education.
Are the classes they take truly enriching, or are they just the ones that fit easiest into their tight, sport-oriented schedule?
The senior gave an example of another player who wanted to take architecture classes, but his 7 a.m. architecture classes conflicted with his practice schedule. In order to compensate for the schedule change, the player was told to make up the lost time by coming into the gym at 2 a.m.
“They won’t tell you that you’re limited, but you’re limited,” the senior said.
The athletic faculty can’t explicitly tell the players what classes to take. However, there are clearly unreasonable sacrifices to be made if their education threatens their playing on the field.
And what if their mental health affected their playing?
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, roughly “30% of women and 25% of men who are student-athletes report having anxiety, and only 10% of all college athletes with known mental health conditions seek care from a mental health professional.”
How does UW support the mental health of our athletes? How helpful are our resources?
Both the players I interviewed have been instructed about mental health resources on campus, meant to provide some calm in their demanding lifestyle. But the infrastructural placement of these resources seems strategized.
“You can see the priority here — the fact that I have to go across campus for mental health [services] but, go next door for my physical health,” the senior said.
Even though they say these players are technically students first, there seems to be a mixed message.
“Am I still important when the jersey comes off?” the senior said.
UW seems to only care about the athlete side of these Huskies.
When players are offered resources that stray away from the field, they don’t always seem truly encouraged or accessible.
Whether these players have to walk across campus for a therapist session or wake up at 2 a.m. to manage the class schedule they want, UW’s priorities are clear.
Sidelining other aspects of a holistic student experience in order to prioritize performance on the field shows that UW emphasizes an athlete student — not a student athlete — experience (Newman, 2023).
After reading this article I have become even more interested how this may compare to the experiences to students at The Ohio State University. Seeing as though these athletes have to ask the question “Am I still important when the jersey comes off?”, shows just how important they feel in the eyes of their institution (Newman, 2023). Even in the world of collegiate athletics, where football is the pinnacle, athletes feel like their time as a student isn’t valued by their institution. After saying this I do have to acknowledge that the universities do give athletes resources to pursue academic accolades, but again, these athletes in the article mention that these resources are placed behind obstacles (Newman, 2023). How then can design give these athletes proper access to resources without the obstacles that are presented by the institutions that they play for?
Source
Newman, S. (2023, May 31). Student athlete or athlete student?. The Daily of the University of Washington. https://www.dailyuw.com/opinion/student-athlete-or-athlete-student/article_82fb543e-ffe1-11ed-874b-0f18705d28d6.html
