Female Student Athletes Research Paper

INTRODUCTION
The emphasis coaches and institutions place on academics differs significantly for female and male student-athletes. Female student-athletes benefit from a strong support system that enables them to be both students and athletes. While they intensely pursue athletics, they also find time to study for their classes and to become involved in their local communities. Many graduate from college with memories of great athletic experiences and with substantive degrees with which to build a future outside of athletics.
By contrast, many male student-athletes encounter a weak or nonexistent support system that hinders their ability to balance both academics and athletics. When they intensely pursue athletics, they discover that they must sacrifice
However, such focus is not sufficient to ensure that they will receive a quality education if they are in an unsupportive environment that penalizes them for placing academics ahead of athletics. For example, in Taylor v. Wake Forest University, Gregg Taylor brought suit for wrongful termination of his athletic scholarship. In accepting his scholarship, Taylor agreed to maintain his eligibility both academically and scholastically. At the conclusion of his first semester at Wake Forest, Taylor had a 1.0 grade point average. Taylor informed his football coach that he would not participate in the spring practice season until his grades improved. By the end of the spring semester, Taylor had raised his grade point average to a 1.9, which was above the minimum required grade point average for Wake Forest. Recognizing that although he had made academic improvements, his grade point average was still extremely low, Taylor chose to continue to focus on academics and refrained from playing football during the fall of his sophomore year. The Wake Forest athletic department terminated his scholarship, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld the