Attending college is not only an opportunity for students to further their education, but it also allows them to experience the lessons that life has to offer. One of the hardest lessons to learn is how unfair life can be. Students who work diligently to achieve academic success in the classroom may quickly realize that their academic efforts do not “pay off” as much as the student-athlete who possesses the ability to kick a ball from fifty yards. There is a clear failure in the education system when the student-athlete's performances and how they contribute to a winning season have more value to the university than the academic student striving to graduate with honors. Students who focus their efforts on an academic-based education are not rewarded with the same benefits, resources and perks as their student-athlete peers. College sports are a major revenue-producing industry. Athletic programs and their student-athletes can gain national recognition and generate millions of dollars in revenue for their university. Universities use this revenue to invest in players, pay for their education and provide state-of-the-art training facilities, used to improve their athletic performance. As revenue-driven universities begin to prioritize athletics, the emphasis on the quality and standards of a college education is waning. By compromising their academic acceptance requirements, universities have now found that the educational capabilities of their newly accepted student athletes are inadequate, to say the least (Gurney). The same universities must then spend millions of dollars to provide these athletes with “learning specialists,” who in turn help them meet academic requirements and maintain their eligibility (...... half of document... ... Chester E., Jr. "The Cost of College Sports." Commentary 112.3 (2001): 53. Literature Resource Center Web November 29, 2011 Gurney, Gerald S. "Stop Lowering the Bar for College Athletes." A30. Premier Academic Research. November 29, 2011. Jensen, Mark, et al. “Athlete Stigma in Higher Education.” Potuto, Josephine (Jo) R., and James O’Hanlon on student-athletes about their experiences as college students" College Student Journal 41.4 (2007): 947-966 Web. November 21, 2011. Wolverton, Brad, Eric Kelderman, and Kate Moser "Spending Big So That Athletes Can Reach the level (Cover article)." Chronicle Of Higher Education 55.2 (2008): A1-A23. Premier of academic research. Network. November 21. 2011.