story stretches far beyond the hallowed Duke campus in Durham, North Carolina, across the educational landscape of America to question what going to university really means any more. For Duke is far from alone in coping with allegations of crime, violence and binge-drinking by its sportsmen - 'jocks' - and their supporters.

... A wave of 'jocks go wild' scandals has broken over America.

... Lectures have, in effect, been replaced by 'keg parties' and fraternity houses lead the social whirl, dominated by sports teams in which student athletes have been elevated to the status of gods, immune from criticism and free from the rigours of study. 'You tell a 17-year-old kid that he's the Chosen One and he will believe it. They live in a distorted dream world,' said Professor Harry Edwards, a sociologist at Berkeley.

... There is no overstating how big college sports are in America. At Duke the university football stadium is a deep bowl, carved into a hillside, that can seat tens of thousands of fans. It would put the facilities of many professional British football teams to shame. Not to mention the national stadiums of some countries that are competing in the World Cup.

... Murray Sperber, author of a recent critical book on college sports called Beer And Circus, believes they have eroded academic life. He sees a pattern of colleges putting more and more money into their sports teams at the expense of investing in academic departments. The reason is simple: university sports are the most effective way of recruiting highly lucrative fee-paying undergraduates.

... Experts say the universities should have seen it coming. At Duke the lacrosse team had long been known to have a drink problem. Its members had amassed 52 disciplinary incidents in five years. Fifteen of its 47 current players have court records for drunken and disorderly behaviour. Last year one senior academic warned the squad's conduct was 'building towards a train wreck'.

... Few believe the boom in college sports will stop. There is too much vested interest. The teams are supported by fans nationwide, the institutions love it for the money and media attention it brings, students love it for the parties and athletes love it for the chance of fame and riches. 'At the end of the day, there is no stopping this. One college deciding to do things differently wouldn't change a thing.

'There is no sign of even a slight change in direction, let alone turning things around,' Edwards said.

... Yet most of the athletes are not benefiting from the experience of so much attention. Many end up living in a 'dream world' convinced they are headed for superstardom, when in fact 98 per cent of college sportsmen fail to make it as professionals. As a result, most leave for the real world having neglected the studies that might get them a job. 'They live in a delusional world that is created by the institution of the college they attend... they are scrapped when they are no longer of use,' added Edwards.

... Now some believe the scale of the coverage of the Duke case and its heady blend of sports, elitism, racism and sexual crime could finally see the beginnings of a debate on America's sports and drink-obsessed college culture. 'The longer this case drags on the better,' said Lapchick.