Michael Hiltzik: The admissions scandal is an example of the academic corruption caused by NCAA athletics
A string of academic scandals over the years has delivered the lesson that big-money athletics have a profoundly corruptive effect on colleges and universities.
The admissions scandal unveiled by federal prosecutors on Tuesday offered another data point for the argument that NCAA programs should be eradicated from academia.
This point may be missed because the new scandal turns the usual arguments against big-money varsity sports on their head. Traditionally, the corruption created by NCAA athletics arises from universities undermining their academic standards to favor kids with notable athletic abilities, especially in the revenue-producing sports of football and basketball.
Syracuse University, for instance, engaged in academic fraud and other unethical conduct to keep its academically underperforming basketball stars in the game, according to a
