Published Sunday, June 8, 2008
CECIL HURT: Impact of Saban's scholarship gift will be big
The latest news about Nick Saban may not make national headlines. There will still be more commentary about the salary of the University of Alabama football coach and not so much discussion of the amount he gives away. That’s true even when the amount of the latest gift from Nick and Terry Saban to the University of Alabama — $1 million — should be eye-catching.
UA announced the $1 million commitment from the Sabans on Saturday morning. It continues a pattern of generous giving that the Sabans began almost as soon as they arrived in Tuscaloosa.
They had previously given $100,000 to go to scholarships. Terry Saban has been active in UA causes ranging from campus beautification to library expansion. Their efforts underscore an abiding commitment to the UA community.
The gift is laudable but the purpose of this column is not so much about praising the Sabans’ generosity. It’s about reinforcing the worthiness of their cause.
The Sabans’ $1 million gift is earmarked for scholarships for first-generation college students — in other words, students whose parents and grandparents did not attend college.
It is a cause that is important to the Sabans for a couple of reasons. First, they were first-generation college students themselves.
Second, intercollegiate athletics attracts a fairly high percentage of first-generation students. That’s especially true in football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball, and it’s probably true, although I don’t have the statistics in front of me, in track and softball as well.
The Saban scholarships won’t be for athletes. They will go to what are referred to, for want of a better term, as “regular students.” But any coach understands the impact that a scholarship, athletic or otherwise, has on a first-generation student.
It can shift the paradigm for an entire family. Even though there are all sorts of financial aid opportunities that weren’t available a couple of generations ago, college can still be a daunting financial challenge for some families. Often, a scholarship is the only thing that allows a family to send that first child away to school.
But, when that first child goes to college and receives an education, he is far more likely to pass the benefits of that experience on to his children.
That has always been one argument against the heavy reliance that the NCAA places on standardized test scores as a component in determining eligibility for financial aid. It’s an argument that has two sides. There have been some benefits to Proposition 48 and similar legislation, which I am quick to acknowledge.
I am not in favor of admitting students into college if they have no hope of doing legitimate college schoolwork.
But I do think that athletics — and first-generation programs like the one that the Sabans have started, or the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarships — provide a rare opportunity for some young men and women to literally change their futures.
Obviously, since their families are more likely to have a lower average income, many first-generation students come from struggling school districts in Alabama, from rural or inner-city areas that offer minimal horizons without the help a scholarship can provide. When you look at some of the shining examples of first-generation student-athletes, like Erwin Dudley, just to name one, it illustrates just how much the chance to go to college really means. And if this state, and its state university, are to grow stronger, it needs to afford as many such opportunities — especially to in-state students — as it possibly can.
So this is not just about praising the Sabans’ generosity, as laudable as it is. It’s also to note the wisdom of their direction, not just for the next several football seasons but for future generations as well.
