For a long time, higher education and sports have been a troublesome mixture, with numerous scandals. Back in 1940, Robert Maynard Hutchins pulled the University of Chicago out of the Big Ten, where it had been a mighty force, saying that football was undermining academics at the school. Things have gotten much worse since then.

In today’s Martin Center article, Walt Gardner argues that it’s time for the U.S. to recognize that big-time sports and education don’t mix and build “sports academies.”

He writes:

When academics take a back seat, participating schools no longer qualify as true colleges and universities. Instead, they become, at least in part, sports-preparation factories. That’s fine provided the institutions in question do not purport to be anything else. The trouble, however, is that they do.

Gardner points out that in Germany, there are such schools for young people who have great athletic abilities. They go there for the sports and go elsewhere for the academics they need. He parries some of the inevitable criticisms:

Critics will go on to say that the establishment of sports academies will unavoidably result in some graduates not qualifying for an athletic career. True, but at least they know that going in. Furthermore, the development of new, sports-focused schools means that there will no longer be a deception at the heart of big-university mission statements. Purists will bemoan the transformation, but the benefits will ultimately allow reformers to prevail.

Might be worth a try — as long as we keep government out of it.