While other teammates stayed, some took easier courseloads during the season. It’s this calculation that worries many administrators in Division III and beyond. A few years ago James Shulman and William Bowen published a controversial book, “The Game of Life,” criticizing college athletics. The book focused on 30 selective schools, including 14 in Division III (Wesleyan among them). Shulman and Bowen’s most disturbing finding: athletes were given a huge advantage in admissions and got lower grades once in college.
Presidents of historic rivals Amherst, Williams and Wesleyan took notice and agreed on a first step toward disarmament. They reduced the number of recruited athletes admitted on a coach’s request. But it was just one step at three colleges. And it hardly helps students who want to play sports casually. If you’re not recruited out of high school, the odds of making a team are slim. Shulman and Bowen endorse less competitive club teams as better and cheaper alternatives for schools to field. Model says she wishes Wesleyan had offered club women’s lacrosse. That way, she could have kept playing.
