Technique Analysis - Enthymeme & Introduction

WATCO: Giving student-athletes preferential treatment on the academic integrity of a university?

Claim: Giving student-athletes preferential treatment diminishes the academic integrity of a university because affording student-athletes easy access to academic tutoring and counseling gives them learning opportunities that other students don't have.

Implicit Assumption: Whatever gives student athletes learning opportunities that other students don't have diminishes the academic integrity of a university.

Audience: The university president (President Samuelson) and Board of Directors at Brigham Young University

Introduction: Sports are a prominent pastime in American history and an important part of campus life across the country. Big-time college sports are an important money-maker for large universities, and the student-athletes that make the teams successful often occupy center stage and draw attention from the media, fellow students and faculty members on campus. Some experts claim that the same sports that bring in millions of dollars and thousands of new students every year have an adverse effect on the integrity of the university because of the preferential treatment placed on the athletes involved. Others would claim that the athletes deserve the attention and that sports have the positive effect of attracting incoming freshmen and building school pride and unity. The question is how far are universities willing to go to help their student-athletes succeed both on the field and in the classroom?