Brief PSA

Andrew Luck announced he’s staying at Stanford to finish his degree in architectural design according to ESPN. Not trying to get all preachy on here or off the topic of general sports updates, but I’m glad that’s what he’s chosen.

For those new to the blog (or who just may not have known), I’m going to grad school in the fall for a degree in higher education student affairs, hopefully ending up with a career in athletic student affairs. As an avid lover of many sports (um, see: watching games, blogging/talking about them, or watching ESPN during about 98% of my time awake), I’ve seen many college guys not make it in the pro world, and some who have made it getting hurt, cut, or otherwise out of pro sports and thrown into the “real world.” It seems like guys are entering their respective pro leagues younger and younger, which often means forgoing completion of their degree or even skipping college altogether a la LeBron. With such a high possibility of career-ending injuries, or even getting dropped from the team due to the highly competitive nature of pro-sports these days, if they haven’t already made enough money to be set for life, what are they expected to do without a degree?

Anyone who has ever watched a game with me knows I defend my boys adamantly. I don’t want to see them stuck if their pro-career doesn’t work out. I’m curious—does anyone else have an opinion on draft eligibility, joining a pro team so young, etc?