The NCAA recently proposed to increase (again) the standards of the eligibility requirements of its student athletes hoping to play collegiate sports at the Division I and II levels (InsideHigherEd.com, "Bar Raised for Athletic Eligibility"). The increase in standards, the first since 2003, have resulted in heated discussions and blatant attacks by the NCAA directed at the underprivileged, minority population of athletes. It is not my intention to voice an opinion stating that raising the standards will not result in an issue of disregard for minorities. On the contrary, history has proven that these discussions typically move in the racial direction due solely to the results attained by many underprivileged students on standardized tests. I believe that the new NCAA standards are solely on increasing the academic integrity of the student athlete and college athletics.
             In previous attempts to "improve academic integrity of college athletics" (Grasgreen, 2011) the NCAA has fallen under the scrutiny of being insensitive to African American students and others from underprivileged backgrounds due to their historically low test scores. These poor scores are undoubtedly due to subpar education systems in secondary school systems. A suit filed in 1997 over similar academic standard increases alleged that the NCAA was being discriminatory in its increased use of the SAT and ACT in determining eligibility at the collegiate level. Additionally, "The lawsuit [sought] an injunction prohibiting the NCAA from enforcing the minimum test score requirement and forcing it to allow affected student-athletes to regain their lost years of athletic eligibility" (Farrell, 2007).
             With recent academic requirements again being raised for athletes, the question of racial or cultural bias will inevitably be raised. But Gerald Gurney, the Associate Director of Academics and Student Life at the University of Oklahoma, takes a...