Chris Webber, former University of Michigan basketball player from 1991-1993 who led the group of players known as the Fab Five, once, while walking past a store in Ann Arbor, noticed that they were selling his jersey hanging in the window while he had to borrow money to put gas in his car. Jimmy King, another member of the Fab Five, said that the only perks that they the Fab Five really got were pooling their money together to go to Taco Bell. The perception of their lifestyle was that they were living like rockstars, but there were not living that lifestyle. Over twenty years later, college athletes are not being paid enough while they are glorified by the public. An athletic scholarship pays for tuition and mandatory fees, but it doesn’t assist with necessities such as gas and food. College athletes should receive more financial assistance because they have no other means of compensation, it will especially help those from low-income families, and it would reduce shady business happening behind the scenes.
The current scholarship for college athletes is not paying enough of the necessities. Currently, a scholarship pays for tuition, dorm room, $130 worth of books, a meal plan and fees. It does not pay, however, for the estimated $500 that a regular student spends while at school each quarter to keep him/herself going, such as soap, toothpaste, gas for a car, and socializing. Only four sports (football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball) offer full rides to all athletes who receive scholarship, with the average athletic scholarship around $10,400. Eighty-six percent of college athletes live below the poverty line. In the 2010 - 2011 season, the average out-of-pocket expenses for a full-ride scholarship athle...
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...im or herself, but the university or college as a whole as well. Increasing the amount of financial aid college athletes receive will dramatically aid all college athletes. Players won’t have to worry about finding a job, and coaches as well as athletic department officials would not have to get headaches about them doing so. They will be able to pay for necessities such as food, clothing, and gas. It will create less stress to those form low-income families, though some of those families will still depend on their athlete family member for food. With have sufficient amount of funds to pay for things they need, they will be less attracted to receiving illegal benefits from boosters. By increasing to the right amount, it would be able to provide without overpaying them as to be compare fairly to non-athlete students. College sports will still keep ideal of amateurism.
Some feel that by not paying college athletes that college institutions are thereby exploiting their athletes free of charge, which is unfair. However, this article feels that college athletes are paid very favorably by the large amount of money they receive for schooling through scholarships. Also, since college athletes don’t pay to play or go to school they are receiving a free college degree whether or not they decide to stay in school for four years or not. With the training that they receive from professional trainers and nutritionists for a professional controlled diet they save possibly thousands within the 4 years they attend school and perform in collegiate athletics.
Considering the amount of money made annually by the athletic department, one would think that the college can give the college athletes more than just a few thousand dollars in scholarship money. Students should not be left with a medical bill due to services rendered on the field of a college team, nor should they be left penniless after giving their all to a college sport. Works Cited ESPN.com. The. " College Athletics Revenue and Expenses."
Paying College athletes has been a trending topic around the National Collegiate Athletic Association over the years. Many have strong opinions about this topic, and the opinions vary. The discussion of paying college athletes began in 1991 when the famed Fab Five became a household name in the United States. The Fab Five is arguably the greatest recruiting class of all time; all attending the same school (Baxter). The Fab Five first created controversy when they started to question why the university and university officials were making millions and millions of dollars off their names, and they were just deprived hungry college kids not making a dime. Nike even made billions by copyrighting their famed black athletic socks, black athletic shoes, and baggy shorts that they made famous throughout the nation. The question over the past several years has become a general and trending topic of argument. College athletes should not be paid for their performance or to perform for their universities because they are there for an education, questions will be asked, and universities would not make as big of an income off the games.
Hypothetically, as athletes recognize that they can get an education, play college sports, and also get paid like an employee, they will start transitioning away from the lesser schools while creating a pool of players in the top schools. Not only would that turn out to be a horrible situation for minor schools, but this also means that college sports’ would not be exciting to watch when the top four schools fight it out, in the tournament each year. Eventually, ratings and ticket sales would go down due to the loss of unpredictability in games. College athletics are only a portion of the negatives that come out of paying student athletes, the athletes themselves are also in virtue of disorder. Not only would college athletics find itself in jeopardy, another negative of giving a college student a paycheck comes to mind.
Today, most college athletes receive a scholarship to pay for a portion or sometimes all of one’s college tuition. So, what does a scholarship cover? According to an article written by Tyson Hartnett, “A $25,000 scholarship covers the basics, university fees, tuition, housing, a meal-plan and textbooks.” But most scholarships given to college athletes are not full rides. According to US News, in 2010, the average scholarship given to a college athlete was worth $10,400. Even with this amount, many college athletes are not granted a scholarship and have to pay for college themselves.
Some people argue about the poor financial situation some colleges are in and their ability to afford to pay student athletes this additional money. This does not make sense, though because Universities make tons of money off of their tuition and overpriced room and board. Also, the NCAA could be asked to chip in to pay for these additional scholarships considering that the NCAA, a non-profit organization, makes six billion dollars annually (Frederick 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...
One of the strongest arguments against student athletes getting paid is that many people feel they already are getting paid, through their financial aid package. Sports Illustrated author, Seth Davis, states in his article “Hoop Thoughts”, that “student athletes are already being payed by earning a free tuition. Which over the course of four years can exceed $200,000, depending on the school they attend. They are also provided with housing, textbooks, food and academic tutoring. When they travel to road games, they are given per diems for meals. They also get coaching, training, game experience and media exposure in their respective crafts” (Davis, 2011). This is a considerable amount of income. While the majority of regular students are walking out of school with a sizeable amount of debt, most student athletes are debt free. Plus they get to enjoy other benefits that are not made available to the average student. They get to travel with their teams, t...
Many students who want to attend college but are not athletes, do not have enough money to afford it. In addition, the money that would be used to pay the athletes, could instead be used for scholarships for the students who cannot afford to get their well-deserved education. Parents all across the country would hate to see their straight A student not get into the college that they deserve just because the can not afford it. So, for an athlete to be paid extra money, while getting a free education, would not be fair to other students who do not have the equal opportunity to attend college due to financial
Over the years, the debate on whether or not to pay collegiate athletes, specifically Division 1, has increased greatly. With athletes bringing in millions of dollars to their respective schools, many believe it’s time to make a change. The debate has been ongoing since the 70’s, maybe even earlier, but it really came to the attention of many in the early 90’s, specifically 1995. Marcus Camby, a basketball player for the Toronto Raptors, admitted he took money and jewelry, from somebody who wanted to be his agent, while he was playing at the University of Massachusetts. This was one of many incidents that involved a player accepting money and other gifts from an agent and/or booster. I believe that college athletes deserve to be paid in some fashion. They devote their whole life to their sport, whether or not they are the starters, and most will not go on to the pros, even though they contribute to the team. They sell tickets, jerseys, T-shirts etc. for their school, and see none of the money. Coaches sign six figure deals with shoe companies, like Nike, Reebok, Converse, and the players are the ones wearing the shoes and jerseys, the coaches have on whatever they want. Even though just recently the NCAA Committee allowed athletes to get a job; between schoolwork, and practices, they don’t have enough time to find a job. Most of the kids come from poor backgrounds, and don’t have enough money to do normal college things, like going out to eat, going on a date, or out to the movies.
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.
Some people say that college athletes get paid by having a scholarship, but if you look at it a different way, scholarships might change your mind. Coaches try to get players who they think have the talent to make them win and to persuade them to come to their school by offering them scholarships. The whole idea behind a scholarship is to lure the athlete into coming to your school. Scholarships are nothing more than a recruitment tactic. They will give you a scholarship as long as you produce for them. It’s all about what you can do for them. Indeed these scholarships pay for tuition, room and board, and books, but these athletes don’t have money for other necessities. The NCAA doesn’t want friends or boosters to offer athletes jobs because they ...
The cost of housing and food, puts a huge dent in college student’s pockets every year. College students need anywhere from five-hundred-dollars to one-thousand-dollars a year for food. Getting all the things you need just to make it through college can range anywhere from four-thousand-dollars to eleven-thousand-dollars a year depending on your needs (Frazier). Athletes have a hard time finding time for a job because the sport they play and academics take up their life. If the NCAA would allow schools to pay their athletes it would not only help the many athletes bringing in money to the school, but it could help the school as well by bringing up grades from athletes. When you don’t have to worry about if your bills are going to be paid or you can afford a place to live, you can focus more on the sport you play and the academics that come with
College athletes are not forced into playing the sport that they have devoted their time to during their years in secondary education. They continue to play into the college level for their love of the game. And for this, many college athletes are offered full scholarships. Today’s tuition for many schools are so expensive that without the scholarships that some of the students receive, they would not be able to attend college at all. For these students, college sports offer a great avenue to obtain an education that otherwise would not have been available for them. This allows them opportunity to study something that they can use to build a better life for themselves and their families.
If you or anyone else knows a college athlete, especially one who is on scholarship, you would think that they have it easy. Free tuition and room and board; meanwhile you have to work at a part time job and actually pay for your schooling. But in all reality these people earned what they got, because many of these students did not come from wealthy families. According to USA Today, 85% of college athletes who are on scholarships live below the poverty line. So by receiving a scholarship for athletics it is giving them a chance to improve their own quality of life, and as humans we deserve to at least have some sense of self-worth. Athletes get many accommodations while attending school, aside from them going for free; they c...