In more than 30 years of working as an athletic director of college sports, Eric Hyman said he’s never heard of someone outright buying a position on a team.
But this is the age in which the wealthy buy their kids’ way into prestigious universities via bribing schools and coaches to put their young students on teams — whether they deserve it or not.
This news, in turn, revealed a long-standing tradition of the rich getting their kids into elite schools like Yale University, Stanford University and the University of Southern California over others who may have deserved the honor based on their academic or athletic achievements. Many of these slots were purchased from schools that have teams that play non-revenue spots, like crew, soccer or lacrosse, NBC News reported.
“Recruiting somebody who doesn’t play the sport? I haven’t heard of that,” Hyman said. “I’ve known of situations when you recruit a young man or young woman who isn’t as talented as the others in hopes that they can develop and that you also might get some financial support for the program from their parents.”
It’s the coaches, according to Hyman, who make the calls about which kids earn spots on college teams.
“But that ability appears to have highlighted a vulnerability within academic institutions — one some wealthy parents were able to exploit by paying bribes to coaches and members of university athletic departments,” NBC reported.
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