“It's time for our college athletes to be true students on campus, not athletes on athletic stipends with sports – not education – as their top priority and obligation… By eliminating the athletic scholarship, … we could de-professionalize college athletes, reestablish athletic departments as part of the educational institution, and be able to use the term student-athlete without snickering.” (Ralph Nader in League of Fans Proposes Eliminating Athletic Scholarships to Help Restore Integrity on College Campuses, 2011) The usefulness of athletic scholarships and their outcomes for both schools and athletes have been contested in recent years. Opposing parties have debated whether banning them will solve the problems that lie within. I believe that athletic scholarships should be interdicted because they do not guarantee education, good academic performance, or a proper lifestyle for the athletes. Thoughts of athletic scholarships started over 20 years ago while colleges were attempting to maintain their athletes' amateur status (Johnson & Acquaviva, n.d.). Ralph Nader, politician, author, lawyer, and consumer advocate, recently drew attention to and ignited skepticism about their effectiveness, proposing the elimination of athletic scholarships in 2011 (League of Fans Proposes Eliminating Athletic Scholarships to Help Restore Integrity on College Campuses, 2011). After the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Professional Basketball Championship, Nader summoned higher education schools to, as he said, “…take a bold step toward restoring academic integrity in intercollegiate sports…” (League of Fans Proposes Eliminating Athletic Scholarships to Help Restore Integrity on College Campuses, 2011). Eliminating athletic scholarships, in my opinion, will put more pressure on athletes to worry equally, if not more, about the intellectual aspects of their student life as they do with athletics. The possibility of students losing their scholarship for any reason at any point during their four-year education does not give them any sense of security. Additionally, the athletes' spotlight during their entire college career is to maintain good performance in their sport, leaving little to no space for them to consider a solid academic foundation. Moreover, with the little money they receive, it is hard to live according to minimal standards.
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.
The proposal of payment toNCAA student-athletes has begun major conversations and arguments nationwide with people expressing their take on it. “This tension has been going on for years. It has gotten greater now because the magnitude of dollars has gotten really large” (NCAA). I am a student athlete at Nicholls State University and at first thought, I thought it would be a good idea to be able to be paid as a student-athlete.After much research however; I have come to many conclusions why the payment of athletes should not take place at the collegiate level.The payment of athletes is only for athletes at the professional level. They are experts at what they do whether it is Major League Baseball, Pro Basketball, Professional Football, or any other professional sport and they work for that franchise or company as an employee. The payment of NCAA college athletes will deteriorate the value of school to athletes, create contract disputes at both the college and professional level, kill recruiting of athletes, cause chaos over the payment of one sport versus another, and it will alter the principles set by the NCAA’s founder Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Under Roosevelt and NCAA, athletes were put under the term of a “student-athlete” as an amateur. All student athletes who sign the NCAA papers to play college athletics agree to compete as an amateur athlete. The definition of an amateur is a person who “engages in a sport, study, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons” (Dictonary.com).
Beginning in the 1920s, public interest towards college sports sky rocketed with the growing opportunities of higher education for everyone, regardless of social status. This effect caused the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Education to take a closer look into this fast growing industry in the “Carnegie Report” in 1929. The report made a plea to the NCAA to reduce the level of commercialization and improve academic integrity for all student-athletes. This is just the first time the NCAA receives this very recommendation. Post World War II brought another increase in college attendance with government financed aid to veterans. Widespread availability of televisions and radios lead to broadcasting of college sport events, bringing in a multitude of fans as well as the expected friends and family of athletes. Soon gambling and excessive means of recruiting tempted the industry and the NCAA was forced to...
The role of college athletics in the American home is known to all. The traditional football games on Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. March Madness for NCAA men's basketball as well as the year's end Rose bowl for college football leaves fans glued to their televisions for hours. Millions of Americans stare at ESPN or absorb themselves in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated just to catch the latest news on their favorite teams' recruits, recent games, and statistics. Often just viewed as a past time to most it is easy to lose sight of why these athletes are on the field , court, etc. to begin with. Believe it or not, it's for their education. These young adults ranging anywhere from seventeen to twenty-three years of age are all members of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). As such these students must initially meet the requirements to get accepted into their chosen university, participate in their sport, and ultimately graduate from their selected institution. It is often forgotten that these members are students first and athletes second. Delving deeper into this very controversial matter are the race and gender issues that come into play. The most affected minority group affected by these stipulations and is the African American. While struggling through the ongoing prejudice and discrimination that still exists today, African American athletes are still expected to follow the same guidelines as every other student that participates in college athletics. By investigating the trends from the past years of African American athletes beginning with their entrance into college throughout their athletic and academic careers and then a...
The impact of college athletic programs on academics has always been a controversial and contentious topic. It seems that athletic programs have some contemplative effects on academics of colleges and universities. Different people have different ideas about how college athletic programs should be carried on. College presidents, administrations, student athletes, parents of students, and athletic trainers are along with these people who point out different facts about the fallouts of athletics on academics. A bunch of people suggest that athletic programs should be dropped from college system, while another group suggests that athletic programs should be taken care with more advertence. An analysis on the effects of college athletics on academics has two personal approaches: college athletics undermine academics, and athletics amplify academic experience.
College sports are a major revenue producing industry. Athletic programs and their student-athletes can achieve national recognition and generate millions of dollars in revenue for their university. Colleges use this revenue to invest in players, pay for their education, and provide state of the art training facilities, which are used to improve their athletic performance. As revenue driven colleges begin to prioritize athletics, the emphasis on the quality and standards of an undergraduate education are diminishing. Compromising their academic acceptance requirements, universities have now found that the educational ability of their newly accepted student athletes are inadequate, to say the least (Gurney). The same universities must then spend millions of dollars to provide these athletes with “learning specialists”, who in turn helps them to meet academic requirements and maintain their eligibility (...
Pennington, Bill. "Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships." nytimes.com. New York Times, 10 Mar. 2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
College sports has become like a job with players getting paid in scholarships, and the coach being the boss. The players must do what the coaches tell them to, and that is not always the best thing because coaches will do whatever it takes to win and earn money, even encouraging the use of drugs (Peck 36). Sometimes when coaches want players to come to their schools, they will give them preferential treatment and benefits while they participate in college sports regardless of NCAA rules (Saffici and Pellegrino 1 of 6). There is no doubt that college athletics are changing and becoming a big business, so the rules associated with how student-athletes are treated must change too (Saffici and Pellegrino 1 of 6).
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...
As I said in my last paragraph, many athletes who receive full ride scholarships have been given thousands of dollars for tuition, a meal plan, free books, and school fees, just to play sports. These athletes are also entitl...
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.
In the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia’s definition of “Amateur” it states, during the early 20th century “the American intercollegiate athletic system… adopted amateurism, claiming it developed competitors who were morally superior to professionals” (“Amateur”). Amateurism is the concept that athletes should compete without payment. Until recently, playing collegiate sports as an amateur was thought to be a noble calling. As time surpassed, college sports became a commercialized industry, generating billions of dollars in revenue. When this became apparent, the implementation of athletic scholarships became more relevant. The athletic scholarship seemed to be a more than fair way to delight athletes with some sort of incentive to ensure their participation in collegiate sports. However, many college athletes have become eager to receive a larger cut of the money. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has issued many regulations indicating the limitations of what athletes can and cannot receive in benefits and compensation. Many individuals argue that the NCAA and colleges are taking advantage of student athletes by not indulging them in the riches of collegiate sports. They believe because the students athletes are the ones spending their time both preparing and competing, they are deserving of a share of the athletic programs’ revenues. Though being a college athlete entails a considerable amount of a student’s time, there are many reasons why the college athlete should not be paid. Therefore, student athletes should not be paid because it would discriminate against schools without the means to pay their athletes, it would alter the principles of college athletics, and it would further compensate student athletes ...
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...
For decades there has been a debate on student athletes and their drive to succeed in the classroom. From the very beginning of organized college level athletics, the goal to want to succeed in athletics has forced students to put academics to the back burner. In spite of the goal to want to succeed over a hundred years of attempts to check limits of intercollegiate athletic programs on colleges' academic standards still seems to struggle to this day. This brings to surface one of the most asked questions in sports, “What effect does college sports have on academics and economics?” Herbert D. Simons, Derek Van Rheenen, and Martin V. Covington, authors of “Academic Motivation and the Student Athlete” researched the topic on whether athletics and academics benefit each other. Bryan Flynn, the author of “College Sports vs. Academics” poses the question “Should institutions of higher learning continue to involve themselves in athletic programs that often turn out to be virtual arms races for recruiting talented players who bring big money and prestige, but put academics to the back burner?” Although both authors agree that sports have an impact on an athlete’s academics, the focus of their argument differs.
Pennington, Bill. "Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships." Nytimes. New York Times, 10 Mar. 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.