What if you had the opportunity to leave school today? Not only could you leave school, but the employer was offering you millions of dollars a year, without your full degree.

You would travel the country, staying in the best hotels and you would be a household name.

Would you do it? Of course you would.

Many students come to college not for the present, but for the future.

Each fall, freshmen make the trip to Charleston for a degree. The reason everyone wants to get a degree is the same. We all want to land our dream job in the selected field we choose.

Students want to provide a living for themselves in hopes of one day having enough money to retire.

I do not think it is unfair to guess that 99 percent of college students would leave school at the drop of a dime if their dream employer called them today and offered them a contract to work for their company. If the Chicago Sun-Times contacted me offering me a job, I would be halfway to Champaign before I even hung up the phone.

Most people from the outside would most likely support the decision.

Which is why I think it is strange in our society that we usually looks down on athletes, who most likely are guaranteed lottery picks, who leave college early and enter the professional ranks.

I understand some student-athletes leave college in hopes of getting drafted and end up falling short, but I am talking about the athletes who know they will be able to make a team.

These athletes have grown up with the dream of playing professional sports and they have accomplished that goal.

In my mind if they want to make the jump, let them.

The arguments against going to the professional ranks are numerous.

Many people will argue that if a knee gets blown out or someone does not fit with a team, they do not have an education to fall back on.

At the same time, these individuals can just go back to school. Not only do they now have the funds to support themselves with the education, they are now more mature from the experience and can figure out what they want to do with life.

Because these students are so young when they make the jump, it is important for the sports leagues to help them with spending money wisely if they stick around or if they leave.

But why do we look down athletes leaving college early to go play professional sports.

Is it jealousy?

Is it because they have an education provided for them and they choose not to accept it to the full potential of its value?

Whatever it is, we must remember what we would do in that situation.

Are you staying in school or turning down millions of dollars?

Dan Cusack is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7944 or

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