[Hoot Gibson]

Hard for an 18 year old kid that loves to play, and hates to give it up, but the wise one's focus on what you suggested. Not playing.There may be some memories and good times, but for most kids that challenge of playing and studing is so overwhelming that in the end it puts them so far behind that the playing part is a detriment.

The bulk of scholarships are only partials to begin with. You can send your kid to a state university for less than you can to a private school coupled with a partial athletic scholarship.

Some sports are more physically demanding than others but all are time consuming, just as some majors are demand much more time than others (which varies greatly depending on the college). I think that the scarcity of NCAA athletes competing in the revenue sports that pursue degrees in technical areas like engineering, computer science, and medicine is a direct result of the difficulty of combining a demanding academic schedule with an equally demanding athletic schedule.

I remember how much attention that former UK and All-SEC football player Dr. Jim Kovach received for playing his final season while attending medical school. Kovach later earned a law degree at Stanford and is now vice-president of a company that specializes in pharmaceutical software. There is no shortage of college athletes who are smart enough to get such degrees but playing sports makes cases like Jim Kovach's extremely rare. But I agree with you. It is hard for an 18-year old to turn down the attention and other perks that come with being a college athlete.