For speaking out, she was first demoted and then dismissed in 1982. That same year, Dr. Kemp filed a suit against the university for slander and defamation of character. Four years later, she won her battle in court and by the time she was reinstated at the university, some of the progress she sought was catching on. The University of Georgia now adheres to the strictest of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's guidelines - an athlete will not be admitted with less than a 2.0 grade point average and a 700-point combined S.A.T. score. Filler courses, such as ''Handicrafts'' and ''The Wonderful World of Manufacturing'' have been dropped. And the university's largely new administration has provided strong financial support for learning disability programs.

Dr. Kemp believes that many star athletes are kept from a meaningful educational experience by ''envious people who reduce the athlete's power by perpetuating the stereotype - inadequate, just a walking checkbook.'' Once a kid shows money-making potential, the money-making sharks swarm in a frenzy, wearing the hats of agent, booster, recruiter. And perhaps Dr. Kemp is right; sometimes, at least, it behooves the sharks to keep this kid in the dark. Yes, the athlete realizes he is a valuable commodity but he has no bargaining power. He has been groomed to believe that his sport is his only talent and he becomes dependent on the sharks for everything from popcorn at the movies to his future.

A recent study at Northeastern University puts the functional illiteracy rate for our high school football and basketball players at 25 to 30 percent - twice the national average. An economically underprivileged kid is constantly reminded that only one in 10,000 makes it to the N.F.L., that he has better odds of becoming a doctor, that studies should be more important than sports. But that kid knows that most N.F.L. and N.B.A. players make more money each time they put on their uniforms than his high school teacher makes in a year. In the short-sighted, young world of Saturday heroics, learning skills can seem of little consequence. And if basic skills are foregone in high school, how can an individual possibly face the challenge of college?

The first year of college is a difficult adjustment for every student, but it often becomes an impossible transition for someone who has a sport as a full-time job. The hours at practice, on the road, on the trainer's table, at banquets can be overwhelming. Students on teams that make it to post-season tournaments may miss as many as eight weeks of classes. Even academically superior students would be hard put to miss that much school and still complete the course work. For these reasons, Dr. Kemp is an ardent proponent of freshman ineligibility and a redistribution of the academic load over five years for student athletes.

Dr. Richard Lapchick of Boston also favors freshman ineligibility. Dr. Lapchick currently runs a program at the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University for professional athletes who simply couldn't pursue their degrees while competing. At the moment, 100 rookies, veterans and retired Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox and Bruins are studying computers, financial planning, creative writing and such to finally secure an honest education. Dr. Lapchick says today's high school and college players should listen to these pros, should hear the stories of rude awakenings to the universe outside sports.

They should perhaps also hear Dexter Manley tearfully recount his years of humiliation when he couldn't read a simple report of a Redskins game in the daily newspaper. And, by the way, Dexter Manley now not only devours The Washington Post daily but he is actually learning Japanese!