Eng 100 - Paying Student Athletes

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Southall said so much emphasis is put on student athletes’ training schedules that can require more than 50 hours of practice per week, making it harder for students who might have to work more to keep up academically.

On the other side of things people argue that college athletes should not be paid. They believe that the athlete’s scholarship is payment enough and the athletes should be happy with free education. College isn’t just a luxury, it is a necessity! Those who don’t go to college will be left behind with no measurable skills for employers. In today’s world most jobs require a college degree. Also, the athlete isn’t forced take the scholarship. Nobody is forcing him to go to college. Some people are aware enough to realize that student athletes on athletic scholarship are essentially paid already because they receive free tuition, room, meal plans, and some money for books and miscellaneous expenses. At the bigger, more successful universities, athletes also receive academic counseling, tutoring, life skill training, and even nutritional advice (Johnson, Aquaviva).

Certainly, not all student athletes are on scholarship and not all are on full scholarships. There is a major misconception out there that every scholarship is a full ride. That just isn’t true. In the majority of college sports, full scholarships are rare. It comes down to this: The NCAA defines each sport as "head count" or "equivalency." Head-count sports are those in which every student-athlete gets a full scholarship. That is football and basketball for men, and basketball, volleyball, tennis and gymnastics for women. All the other sports are equivalency, meaning coaches can divide up the scholarships any way they want, just so they do not exceed the maximum allowed. Only Division 1 & 2 colleges can offer athletic scholarships. Division 3 Programs can only offer financial aid and academic grant money for top students. While D1 and D2 colleges can offer athletic scholarships, after football and basketball there are many programs that may only have 1 or 2 scholarships for their entire team and they will divide that money up to several players. Athletic scholarships are not offered at the Ivy League which also competes at the D1 level. (NCAA College Athletics Statistics.)

At the end of the day whatever brings in money should be paid for accordingly, and the same goes for any business out there. No one is saying they should be getting million dollar contracts, but universities should step up and pay them just like they would for any other part-time job a student would have working in the library, admissions office or cafeteria. Why shouldn’t athletes receive the same benefits? And if not then they should surely be able to get their own jobs and even make money off of their status as they clearly worked hard to earn it. The NCAA is a professional business and the players should be paid like one. These athletes are not only students, but employees to their universities and conferences.

Works Cited

"The Daily Tar Heel :: Study Shows NCAA Model May Exploit Student Athletes." The Daily Tar Heel :: Study Shows NCAA Model May Exploit Student Athletes. N.p., 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Johnson, Dennis A., Ed.D, and John H. Aquaviva, Ph.D. "United States Sports Academy - "America’s Sports University"" Point/Counterpoint: Paying College Athletes. United States Sports Academy, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

"NCAA College Athletics Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. NCAA, 8 May 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

"Study: Top College Athletes worth up to $265K Each." CBSSports.com. N.p., 12 Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Travis, Clay. "NCAA Exploits Black Male Athletes : Outkick The Coverage." NCAA Exploits Black Male Athletes : Outkick The Coverage. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

Woo, Jonathan. "College Football Balancing the Budget: Paying College Athletes for Generating Revenue." Bleacher Report. Street & Smith Sports Business Journal, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.