A Comparison of the graduation rate of African American college Athletes to African American non Athletic college students.

A Comparison of the graduation rate of African American college Athletes to African American non Athletic college students. There are several factors to consider when comparin" rel="nofollow">ing the graduation rate of African American college athletes to African American non athletic college students. The athletes that tend to have a lower SES and a lower SAT/ACT scores tend to graduate at a lower rate. (Sellers, R.M, Kupermic,G.P,& Dumas, A. 1997; Reynolds, L., Fisher, D.,Calvil, J. K. 2012). Another reason for lower athletic graduation rate is the college environment (Sellers, R.M., Kupermic, G.P. & Dumas, A. 1997). Students are susceptible to peer pressure and stereotypes( Hodge, S., Burden, J.,Robin" rel="nofollow">inson, L., and Bennett, R. 2008). The legal system also possesses a challenge to African American college students in" rel="nofollow">in the way of makin" rel="nofollow">ing college equal to all, in" rel="nofollow">in regards to class placement, and shapes the views of the public as to what African Americans should be considered good at, and where they should succeed( Donnor, J. K. 2005). In the college settin" rel="nofollow">ing, there is an unequal representation of African Americans: there are more African American athletes than non-athletic African American students (Harper, S. R., Williams Jr, C.D., and Blackman, H.W. 2013). Accordin" rel="nofollow">ing to one study, African American basketball players graduate at a higher rate than African American students who are not athletes (Matheson, V.A. 2007). It was also seen that female African American athletes graduate at a higher rate 2 than male African American Athletes. One possible reason is that female students do not have problems of bein" rel="nofollow">ing socially accepted compared to their male counterparts ( Sellers, R.M. Cupermin" rel="nofollow">inc, G.P., and Dumas, A. 1997; Shaun, R. 2006). Additional reasons African American athletes might graduate at a higher rate than their non- athletic counterparts is that they have access to private tutors, whereas the non athlete students do not have access to the same help. The students who are athletes are given additional help that they need so they can contin" rel="nofollow">inue to be able to play (Matheson, V.A.2007). There are also new regulations that are helpin" rel="nofollow">ing the athletes have a better successful rate than previous generations; Proposition 42 and 48 (Watts,S.K. and Moore, J.L. 2001). However, when the university is win" rel="nofollow">innin" rel="nofollow">ing the championships, African American student athletes are less likely to contin" rel="nofollow">inue on to graduation. One reason for this might be that they have longer road trips and less access or focus on their course work, more focus on bein" rel="nofollow">ing successful in" rel="nofollow">in their sport (Harper, S.R. Williams Jr, C.D., and Blackman,H.W. 2013; Henschen, K. and Fry, D. 1984). The athletes are also under a lot more pressure to perform on the field or the court than they are to perform academically when their team is in" rel="nofollow">in the runnin" rel="nofollow">ing for win" rel="nofollow">innin" rel="nofollow">ing the championship. Another possible reason athletes do not contin" rel="nofollow">inue on to graduation could be that they are offered a spot on a professional team makin" rel="nofollow">ing the degree they are aimin" rel="nofollow">ing for not as important as performin" rel="nofollow">ing athletically. Many African American athletes have been given the opportunity to attend college based solely on their athletic ability and on their academic skills. While proposition 42 and proposition 48 have the athletes have a min" rel="nofollow">inimum GPA, and SAT/ACT requirements, the focus for these 3 students has primarily been on their athletic ability to graduatin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in a timely manner. The students who do not meet the requirements when they enter college, have been offered the chance to play their second year in" rel="nofollow">in college, but they are not given an athletic scholarship which could mean some students will miss out on their chance at bein" rel="nofollow">ing a college athlete, or even a college student at all, due to fin" rel="nofollow">inancial reasons. African American students who are from a low socioeconomic status have a hard time bein" rel="nofollow">ing able to graduate.