Student Athletes' Opinions of NCAA Amateurism Laws

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Since the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) inception in 1906 there have been laws in place to protect the amateurism status of its student athletes. Over the last 100 years the NCAA has morphed into a multimillion dollar business. The success and revenue that student athletes have brought the NCAA and its member institutions has sparked a debate of whether or not to compensate players for paying. Research in the field has focused on the debate and reasons to pay players and reasons not to. There has been little attempt to assert the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of the student athletes. The purpose of this study is to examine what the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of the student athletes towards NCAA amateurism laws. Informal face to face interviews with Division 1 student athletes at universities in Indiana will be conducted to get an analysis of the attitudes, opinions, and feelings Division 1 student athletes have towards NCAA Amateurism laws.

Introduction
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) formed in 1906. When the NCAA was incepted they created strict bylaws requiring student-athletes maintain amateur status (NCAA Amateurism). The NCAA has remained diligent in enforcing and maintaining those laws. Under NCAA law it is illegal for student athletes to enter into contracts with professional teams, receive a salary for participating in athletics, and receive benefits from an agent or prospective agents (NCAA Amateurism). Presently, the NCAA has justified these regulations to “ensure the students’ priority remains on obtaining a quality educational experience and that all of student-athletes are competing equitably” (NCAA Amateurism). These rules however, have been in place since 1...

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...ate Athletic Association. http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Finances/Revenue (accessed December 1, 2012 ).

"NCAA Amateurism" National Collegiate Athletic Association. http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/eligibility/becoming+eligible /amateurism (accessed December 1, 2012 ).

Sack, Allen L. 1991. "The Underground Economy of College Football." Sociology Of Sport Journal 8, no. 1:
1-15. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed December 12, 2013).

Schneider, Raymond G. 2001. "COLLEGE STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS ON THE PAYMENT OF
INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDENT-ATHLETES." College Student Journal 35, no. 2: 232.
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1992. "SHERMAN ACT INVALIDATION OF THE NCAA AMATEURISM RULES." Harvard Law Review 105, no.
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