The Game of Life: College Sports and Educational Values by James L. Shulman and William G. Bowen (review)

Reviews manner that he suggests and die others belong to later and historically different eras. His comment that "the Homeric epics became fundamental" because "Homer possesses enormous talent. Beowulf Gilgamesh and the others cannot compete" (15), had I seen it in a freshman essay, would cause me to shudder. Finally , the structure of his philosophy makes Hart more comfortable with the Christian world before the Enlightenment. It is amusing to see the greatdifficulty he has accepting Locke: Indeed, what Locke cautions against, and in his theory ofknowledge excludes, may well concern the deepest ofhuman matters, the ideas ofgood and evil, the nature of the universe, the ultimate bases ofcivilization, the goals of life. From the perspective of traditional philosophy, Locke was an 'antiphilosopher.' (190) In fact, since Hart's philosophy is rooted in the merger ofChristian religion with the Greek intellectual heritage as found in St. Paul (121), most ofhis discussions ofworks during and after the Enlightenment lack coherence and sympathy. I recommend this work to all university faculty because ifwe do not learn to respond to and defend ourselves from this kind ofattack, we will truly find ourselves in a cultural catastrophe: a society where scholarship, rigorous thought, intellectual freedom, and social and religious tolerance will not be permitted, rfc James L. Shulman and William G. Bowen. The Game ofLife: College Sports andEducational Values. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002. 477p. Bob Bajuuncer University of Denver On May 2nd of this year, The Chronicle ofHigher Education reported the results of a survey which indicated that two-thirds ofAmericans believe colleges place too much emphasis on athletics. In The Game ofLife: College Sports and Educational Values, most recently published in a trade paper edition, James L. Shulman and William G. Bowen crunch the numbers on college athletics, buttressing that beliefwith empirical substance and revealing that the misplaced emphasis threatens the core values ofhigher education. While dieir findings would be difficult to refute, all the conclusions they draw from those findings do not necessarily strike one as inevitable, nor do many ofthe solutions they propose seem, in any sense, likely. The book draws its data from the extensive records of the Andrew Mellon Foundation's College and Beyond database, the same database the authors, who are both employed bydie foundation, tapped for their TheShapeoftheRiver: LongFALL 2003 * ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW * 101 Term Consequences ofConsidering Race in College and University Admissions. Shulman and Bowen analyze admissions records and periodic surveys for 30 selected institutions in four categories: Division I, Ivy League, Liberal Arts Colleges, and Women's Colleges. The Women's College category plays an important role in the authors' criticism ofTitle IX reforms as carried out in the institutions of the other three categories. The authors compare data for three freshman classes: 1951, during what the authors call "the good old days"; 1976, during the transitional period spurred by the democratic reforms ofthe preceding decade; and 1989, the last year for which sufficient data was available to determine the effects ofathletic participation on athletes' post-college lives. Opening with four thumbnail sketches of college athletic controversies, the book then moves to its real business ofstatistical analysis. It breaks into eight foundation -laying chapters, each covering one offour sub-topics, first, as they pertain to male athletes, then, as they pertain to female athletes. The opening chapters detail the history ofcollege athletics, the evolution of recruiting and admissions practices, the academic and social experience and achievements ofathletes while in school, and, finally, the experience ofathletes after college. Three chapters follow the first eight, each focusing on a key element ofthe college athletics controversy , each refuting a major claim by the gatekeepers of college athletics. In the first ofthese chapters, the authors reject the idea that participation in athletics is particularly effective in teaching leadership skills. Ifit is, they claim, it is no more so than any number ofother activities. Second, in a chapter called "Giving Back," the authors document the failure of athletes as financial donors. The discussion of finances leads to the next chapter on the bottom line of athletics programs, a chapter showing that only a small minority, only those that are consistendy successful , cover their rapidly growing expenditures. Lastly, the...