What’s a college to do?
Given our state’s struggle with reading, as Judge Howard Manning characterized it, what is a college coach to do?
Mary Willingham, the UNC whistleblower, believes effective remediation is key. “The challenge lies with the NCAA and university admissions exceptions,” she says. “The scholarship agreement promises an opportunity for an education in exchange for talent. In order for this contract to be valid, we need to first provide many of our DI revenue athletes with the literacy skills necessary to compete in the classroom.”
Michael Holzman, a leading researcher and author on education matters, suggests this is an opportune time for UNC to address this disparity. He said, “If the UNC football coaches found that all of their potential recruits were undernourished they would find some way to feed them.”
Maybe, this is bigger than just a UNC athletic or academic scandal. Maybe, this is our moment to address a much larger issue.