With thousands of students preparing to go to Florida colleges this week, Sammie Smith is wondering whether he should be one of them. Smith, a former Florida State and Dolphins running back, has a chronic pulled groin muscle. Now he has to look at the possibility of life without football or a college degree.
Like Smith, many athletes leave college early, lured by professional teams and the potential to make big money.
And while the debate about whether athletically gifted young people should abandon college in favor of a career in sports continues, for some players the choice is easy.
“I figured I had accomplished about everything I could in college, and there was an opportunity for using my earning power,” said Smith, who left FSU after his junior season in 1989 and was the No. 1 draft pick of the Dolphins. “I always knew I could finish my education.”
Smith said he needs about 30 credit hours to complete his degree in social science.
After making $2.5 million in three years, Smith is out of football, having been waived by the Denver Broncos.
But a majority of athletes who dream of professional stardom never reach their goal.
“Everyone thinks they will be like Michael Jordan and sign million-dollar contracts. Then once they stumble, with no education and no money, they’re stuck and left chasing dreams,” said Ken Scott, football coach at Dillard High School.
FSU coach Bobby Bowden advises his athletes to get their degrees before entering the pro ranks.
“We stress that education is important. [But) when you’re going against millions of dollars, [education) doesn’t make a noise,” Bowden said. “There is a lot of pressure. The money is so big. And if the guy is questionable, he should stay in school.”
One athlete whose talents and abilities to succeed professionally were not questioned was Deion Sanders. He left FSU early to play professional baseball and football. Sanders has a $10.75 million deal over three years with the Atlanta Braves and is still drawing part of a $4 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons, whom he will join after the baseball season. Sanders, 26, also stars in a series of commercials that earn him around $1 million.
Still, Bowden said he would like to see Sanders, as well as all his other athletes who left early, return to get their degrees.
Even though FSU stresses education, it hasn’t been enough. The graduation rates of FSU and Florida’s eight other Division I universities are not up to par with the rest of the country.
According to an NCAA report focusing on six-year graduation rates of athletes entering college in 1986, 57 percent nationwide graduated. The University of South Florida and Jacksonville University had the highest percentage in the state at 56, Florida had 52 percent and FSU 50. Florida A&M; was the lowest with 41 percent.
When the most gifted athletes, like Sanders, think about turning pro, experts said they should consult people they trust.
“There is no magic answer. It’s not, ‘Do X, Y, Z and you get the answer,'” said Dr. Dan Gould, sports psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
For different people, there are different answers.
In Chris Evert’s case, the answer was to play tennis professionally after graduating from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1973 at 18. She went on to win 18 grand slam titles and earned more than $8 million.
For Dolphins linebacker, Dwight Hollier, the answer was pursuing education and professional sports. In 41/2 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he earned two degrees – psychology and speech communications. During the offseason, Hollier plans to work on a master’s degree.
After his NF career, Hollier will easily move into another career. But for athletes who do not earn degrees and are not financially stable, life after sports can be a rude awakening.
“I think the thing you have to look at is the past players when they get hurt or get cut,” said Clarence Noe, director of athletics for Broward County schools. “They haven’t saved their money and now they’re on the streets. There is life after pro sports and that is most of your life.”
The paths of athletes who got their start in Broward County high schools or whose careers led them to South Florida teams shows the outcome of the professional lure.
A passing grade
NBA All-Star Mitch Richmond wants to share with kids the importance of an education.
A Boyd Anderson High School graduate, he hit the road to get his college degree. He attended Moberly Community College in Missouri for two years, then transferred to Kansas State and earned a degree in social science.
Richmond, 28, wanted to get his college degree before entering the NBA, in case he didn’t make it.
He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors and signed a five-year, $4.5 million contract in 1988. Richmond has since been traded to the Sacramento Kings.
Though Richmond is successful in the NBA, he is glad that he stayed in school and emphasizes education in his Solid As A Rock program. This motivational program is for Broward County athletes with a grade-point average of 2.7 or higher.
“I wanted to honor students who get the job done in both areas, on and off the court,” said Richmond, who sponsors seminars to teach kids the importance of applying themselves in school.
“Kids don’t realize the struggle when you have to pay the rent, light bill and a car note. They just want to be the tough guy or the class clown. The real tough guy is the guy who hits the books now to make his life easier later.”
Richmond warns that only a few players make it to the NBA. And some athletes who leave college early to play professional basketball still end up broke at the end of their careers.
“We have many NBA players on the streets now because they didn’t know how to handle the situation,” Richmond said. “In our society today you need more than a high school education to succeed. These days you need a college degree.”
Harvey would play
Bryan Harvey knew early that he wasn’t cut out for school.
He attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for one year.
“When I left school, it wasn’t because of baseball. I left because I wasn’t too much into school,” said Harvey, 30, a Marlins relief pitcher and one of the best.
He has no intentions of going back to school. After leaving UNCC, Harvey went home to Catawba, N.C., and took a job retreading tires. He also had a job hauling sofas at Howard’s Furniture.
Harvey’s ticket to the majors came when he was asked to pitch in an American Legion game. He pitched nine innings and lost 1-0 on an unearned run. A scout from the California Angels heard about his performance and asked Harvey to try out. He pitched impressively and was signed.
Harvey, who will be paid $11 million through 1995, advises athletes who have the opportunity to make it in the pros to “go play baseball. That’s what I would do.”
Though Harvey wasn’t lured from college by millions of dollars, he understands the pressures kids face.
“Money’s awful powerful. It’s a tough decision. I don’t think there’s a right answer,” he said.
College life – sort of
In the 1983 Major League Baseball draft, John Toale of Coral Springs was a top prospect. Selected in the second round by the Boston Red Sox, Toale was faced with the question – play professional baseball or go to college? A Taravella graduate, he considered the decision tough to make.
“Coming out of high school, my main objective was to play ball. I [also) wanted to go to college,” said Toale, 28. “[My father) was a big factor. He got a college degree and wanted me to go to college.”
Toale chose both. He asked the Red Sox to include a clause in his contract providing money for his college education.
“They paid for my college tuition. The season would end on Sept. 1 and I would go back to FSU,” Toale said.
It took eight years for Toale to get his degree in business marketing. Toale said going to school one semester a year was difficult.
Toale, now with High Desert, the Marlins’ Class-A club in Adelanto, Calif., advises athletes, given the choice he was given, to pursue both college and a sports career. “Go 100 percent with your athletic dreams, because your athletic abilities won’t always be there. But don’t forget about a college education. Don’t lose track of it.”
When injury strikes
There are many good high school football players, there are some good college football players, but there are few who make it professionally.
Rod Carter, a former University of Miami linebacker who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 10th round in 1989, was everything except the great pro player.
Many fail professionally for various reasons: injury, illness, lack of size or lack of speed.
It was a knee injury that stopped Carter.
When the Cowboys cut Carter after the exhibition season, he said he was fortunate that he had his fine arts degree from UM.
“I was glad that my mom stayed on me about staying in school and getting my education,” he said. “I didn’t understand it then, but I do now.”
Carter, an assistant football coach at Coconut Creek High School, said kids should realize that football won’t always be there.
“What if you go to the pros and get hurt on the first play of your professional career? Then what are you going to do, become a bum? That is why education is more important than football. When you get your education, everything else falls into place.”
A dream that dies
Not all star athletes make it big. Hyland Hickson found out the hard way.
A former Dillard and Michigan State running back, he considered football his life’s calling. He left college after his third year for the NF and was drafted in the 10th round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990.
“I left school because I was on the road so much [visiting agents), and I didn’t want to flunk out. I wanted to play football,” Hickson said.
Hickson, 24, saw his dream disappear.
“I got sick the first year before the regular season started, and [Tampa Bay) cut me. I just had the flu and it lasted two weeks,” he said. “It drained my body and couldn’t practice.”
The following year, Hickson went back to the Buccaneers’ training camp. But he failed the physical because of a torn knee ligament.
Hickson now is without football and without a degree. For the past year, he has been a substitute teacher at Dillard. During the summer, he works for a company that picks up medical waste at hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices.
While a substitute, Hickson shared the importance of an education to athletes.
“I tell them to get a degree. Your athletic abilities can only go to a certain extent. Football, basketball and track are not always going to be there. You’re going to need something to fall back on.”
One athlete Hickson is encouraging to get a degree is his younger brother. Eric Hickson, 18, graduated from Dillard this year and will attend Kansas State.
Hyland Hickson plans to enroll in college in January at Michigan State or Florida Atlantic. He will work toward a degree in social work and hopes to be employed by the state, working with kids.
Baseball royalty?
If you ask Rick Perry, Stranahan football coach, about elite athletes, he will tell you, “There aren’t a lot of Andre Kings out there.”
King, a wide receiver from Stranahan, passed up a football scholarship to the University of Michigan to play professional baseball.
He was the first pick of the Braves in this year’s draft.
“Baseball is what I want to do,” said King, 19. “Getting a scholarship to Michigan would have paid for my college education, but I didn’t really want to play football.”
In a telephone interview from Danville, Va., where he plays for the Braves’ rookie-league team, King said he weighed his decision carefully and received advice from parents and friends before choosing baseball.
“A friend of mine told me that there are a lot of graduates from Harvard and Princeton who thought that they would get good jobs but are not getting the jobs they wanted. It makes sense to get financially stable first.”
King would not say how much he signed for, only that he and his family were happy with it. He has a clause in his contract that covers college expenses, and he plans to pursue a broadcast degree.
“Many people think that when you choose baseball, you don’t go to school,” King said. “But Andre King will get his degree even if it is 10 years down the line.”
