There is a growing debate as to whether or not student-athletes should be paid. NCAA was much simpler back when President Theodore Roosevelt helped to create it in 1906. Then, it was an institute for regulating certain rules and supporting the sports that everyone loved. Yet now in the 21st century, the NCAA is a billion dollar company that keeps growing. The increasing possibility of the unionization has brought more and more attention to whether student-athletes should be paid. The opinion varies across the board – with some saying that the possibility of a student-athlete seems unfair to those who see the athletes as receiving special treatment with full rides to colleges and universities. “The hope is a union for university athletes concentrates on the competitive environment, not on payments” (Bondy, Web). Many questions are connected to how it would be implemented when college sports create little revenue. There is only profit seen from football and basketball, which would discriminate against the rest of the athletes from other sports. The topic requires an explanation as to where the funds to pay students would come from. Will this be written in a contract or a regular per-hour job? And, if the school were to make little profit while the expenses continued to grow, would the NCAA pay the student-athletes instead of the schools?
The advantages to paying students have been presented in numerous forms. The students lead a fast-paced schedule where most are not able to find time to dedicate to an outside job. Paying student-athletes would fulfill the role of having a part-time job that would otherwise be impossible to have. Through their education, students can learn skills that promote proper financial practices to help them ...
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The payment of NCAA student-athletes will deteriorate the value of an education to the athletes. The value of an education for a young man or woman cannot be measured. It is our gate way to success as...
College athletes are undoubtedly some of the hardest working people in the world. Not only are they living the life of an average student, they also have a strenuous schedule with their specific sport. One of the most discussed topics in the world of college athletics is whether or not student-athletes should be paid money for playing sports. The people who disagree with the idea have some good arguments to make. Primarily that the athletes get to go to school for free for playing sports. Another argument is that if student-athletes were to get paid then it would ruin the amateurism of college sports. People who are against paying the athletes do not want to see the young people become focused on money. “Paying student-athletes would dramatically shift their focus away from where it should be - gaining knowledge and skills for life after college” (Lewis and Williams). This is very understandable because one of the biggest reasons college sports are so popular is because the athletes play for school pride and for bragging rights. They play because they enjoy the game, not because it is their job. Most people that disagree with the idea of paying the athletes fail to realize what really goes on behind the scenes. At most Universities around the country the bulk of the income the school receives is brought in through the athletic programs. In fact the football and basketball teams usually bring in enough money to completely pay for the rest of the athletic programs all together. To get a better understanding of how much has changed in the world of college sports a little history must be learned.
College athletes attend post-secondary schools in order to receive an education and to participate in sports. “Student athletes participate in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled. Student athletes must typically balance the roles of being a full-time student and a full-time athlete” (“Student athlete” 1). Additionally, some people believe athletes should receive a salary. However, paying college athletes hurts the school, the sports, and the athletes.
Suggs, Welch. "NCAA Faces Wave Of Criticism Over Crackdown On Payments To Players While In High School." 17 Mar. 2000
Today there are over 450,000 college athletes and the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) faces a difficult decision on whether or not college athletes should be paid. Many people believe that they should and many believe they should not. There are several benefits that college’s athletes receive for being a student athlete. Why should they receive even more benefits than their scholarship and numerous perks?
Schneider, Raymond G. "College Students' Perceptions on the Payment of Intercollegiate Student-Athletes." College Student Journal 35.2 (2001): 232. Questia School. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Logan, Bob. "Pay College Athletes? That's Something We Can't Afford." Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 4 Dec. 1999: 4. Questia School. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Student athletes should not be paid more than any other student at State University, because it implies that the focus of this university is that an extracurricular activity as a means of profit. Intercollegiate athletics is becoming the central focus of colleges and universities, the strife and the substantial sum of money are the most important factors of most university administration’s interest. Student athletes should be just as their title states, students. The normal college student is struggling to make ends meet just for attending college, so why should student athletes be exempt from that? College athletes should indeed have their scholarships cover what their talents not only athletically but also academically depict. Unfortunately, the disapproval resides when students who are making leaps academically are not being offered monetary congratulations in comparison to student athletes. If the hefty amount of revenue that colleges as a conglomerate are making is the main argument for why athletes should be paid, then what is to stop the National Clearinghouse from devising unjust standards? Eventually if these payments are to continue, coaches, organizations, and the NCAA Clearinghouse will begin to feel that “c...
Howard-Hamilton, Mary F., and Julie Sina. "How College Affects College Athletes." New Directions for Student Services (2011): 35-43.
Robe, Johnathan. "Rethinking the Benefits of College Athletics." Forbes 15 Mar. 2012: n. pag. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. .
Chen, Jen. "Jay Bilas argues for colleges to pay student athletes." The Chronicle. N.p., 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. .
Despite the strength of the reasons as to why student-athletes should not be paid, there are certain problems with the current NCAA system which can and should be cured. The gap between a full scholarship and the cost of attendance should be covered by the academic institution, especially when a student athlete does not qualify for a loan. Such a policy will go a long way in ensuring that student-athletes are not leaving school to become professional athletes because they cannot pay their bills. Academic institutions should be able to provide at least that much for their athletes. Ultimately, this is a form of payment, but it is not the type of payment that some individuals are advocating. The primary purpose of these institutions is to educate; it is the coach's job to teach, and not just in terms of the sport a student athlete plays. These schools should facilitate the educations of student-athletes through scholarship grants, but not through a system of salaries dependent on supply and demand, which ultimately detracts a student-athlete from picking a school, and detracts them from attending a school, for the right reasons.
Dosh, Kristi. “The Problems with Paying College Athletes.” Forbes: SportsMoney (2011). Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Nocera, Joe. “Let’s Start Paying College Athletes." New York Times Magazine (2012): 8. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.