The Effect of College Athletics on Academics

The topic I chose to study for my report is inequality in college athletes regarding academics. The first article I read was, Class and Cleats: Community College Student Athletes and Academic Success by David Horton, which was published in New Directions for Community Colleges. The second article I read was, Are Athletes Also Students? The Educational Attainment of College Athletes by Dean Purdy, Stanly Eitzen, and Rick Hufnagel, which was published in Educational Researcher. I chose to study this topic because there is apparent inequality between student-athletes and non student-athletes in aid they are given academically.

For instance, In 1950 Bud Wilkinson earned $15,000 a season as the head football coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. During that same time period the football players were only given scholarships. This year Bob Stoops, who is the current coach of the Oklahoma football team, will earn $4.55 million (Doyel). That is three hundred times more money a season than just sixty years ago. “College football and men's basketball generate revenues of more than $6 billion every year. Yet not one penny goes toward paying the people who make the sports possible: the student athletes. It is only reasonable that student athletes have a share in the millions of dollars that their sports businesses bring in. If it weren't for them, college athletics would not even exist” (Birkenes and Bagaria). The universities, coaches, and sports companies are getting rich off these athletes and it is time for a change. It isn’t necessary that colleges begin to pay players thousands of dollars each week but just enough money so they do not struggle with finances. If someone was looking for another term for slave labor they could easily say college athlete. If universities truly care about the well-being of the student athletes then pay them what they deserve. Colleges should start reimbursing athletes for the millions of dollars the school makes off of their athletic abilities.

But why should a student athlete be paid in the first place? Their just athletes right? They go to school just like everyone else? What makes them so special? What makes a college athlete different than the average student is the amount of revenue that they help bring to their selected colleges. This type of revenue is made up from ticket sales, merchandise, media rights and contributions. “USA today” reported that the University of Texas generated $167.7 million dollars from their athletic programs, and that’s just one school. With this in mind, imagine just how much money other colleges are making from their athletics. Sure one can make the argument that they should not be paid because they are not professionals, but one can’t ignore the fact that they are bringing in millions of dollars and seeing none of it.

Whether or not student-athletes should be paid has been a hotly debated topic since the 1900s. College athletes spend just as much time, if not more time, practicing and devoting time and energy to sports as they do academics. For this, many athletes are rewarded with scholarship money. However, many people believe it is not enough. Should we pay student-athletes a slice of the wealth or is a full-ride scholarship enough? (Business Insider). What if the athlete gets injured? Where does the money come out of to support each athlete’s salary? The huge amount of money being generated from college sports has led some people to think that the athletes are entitled to some of that revenue. While, some think that student-athletes should be paid, others disagree for various reasons.

Have you ever heard of a business that made billions of dollars, yet did not pay their employees? Seems pretty remarkable doesn’t it? Well this business is known as the NCAA. According to an article in the New York Times, the NCAA made $770 million from just the three-week Men’s Basketball Tournament, but how much did the athletes who participated in said tournament receive? If you said zero then you would be correct. The athletes that poured their blood, sweat and tears into practice everyday and into the 30 plus game regular season did not see a dime. It is hard to fathom how an industry of

For example at the University of Texas an in state tuition is worth around $4,000 while out of state tuition is worth around $11,000. Now as previously stated, Texas football players’ fair market value is at $578,000 per year. So at the very least there is $567,000 per player that we really do not know where it goes. I understand that college athletes do not deserve all the money they bring in but if one really thinks about it there is no where else in the world of economics is there a person that spends over forty hours a week and brings in $500,000 per year for their institution, yet they are only compensated $11,000. The numbers do not match up. (Frommer, 2013) These numbers definitely do not match up when one takes into account coaches salaries. The average coaching salary in NCAA division 1 basketball is a massive $1.47 million per year. With Duke’s head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, making the large sum of $7.2 million per year . While Duke’s athletic director, Kevin White, brings in close $1 million per year. After looking over these stats, one quickly realizes why college athletes are not being paid. In 40 of the 50 states in the United States of America the highest paid public employee is not a government official, but the head coach of a college football or basketball team. In North Carolina the average income per household $45,570 while the tax rate is 5.8%. What this means is that on average each person in

College coaches receive sky high salaries while the booster clubs donate millions of dollars to the university 's athletic program, but those who are actually competing do not get paid. As a former athlete, I do not think college athletes should be paid. The NCAA recently ruled that athletes can receive more than just a full tuition scholarship, they can now also get their entire cost of attendance paid for, which includes money for meals and travel. it can be more than the cost of tuition, books, and room and board.

Robert and Amy McCormick, law professors at Michigan State University, believe that some student-athletes attend college to play sports and that due to scheduling conflicts between class and practices they do not have full choice as to what major they would like to take (Cooper, 12 – 13). “The way football and basketball players in Division I programs manage juggling sport and school, the McCormicks maintain, undermines the NCAA’s contention they are student-athletes.” (Cooper, 12-13).

College sports are big money makers now a days. For most universities, the athletic department serves as one of the main sources of cash flow. Athletes are used to create millions of dollars for the NCAA and the schools that they participate in, and never receive a penny. If we are talking about profit, if all bonds with the university were removed, an athletic department representing itself could compete with some of the most successful companies. So, why does the most important parts of the machine, the players, do not receive any money for their training and participation? The answer lies in the NCAA which keeps all the money and their practice of keeping all the revenue for future use. College athletes should be paid for their

Most people don’t know that college athletes are already getting paid in different ways than just direct money. "A student athlete at a major conference school on a full scholarship is likely receiving a package of education, room, board, and coaching/training worth between $50,000 and $125,000 per year depending on their sport and whether they attend public or private university"(Dorfman). These athletes get training and coaching for free that professionals pay $2,000-$3,000 per week for. They also receive free schooling if they received scholarships from the school. They can also have free room which means the athletes don’t have to pay for their houses. The average college student pays $20,000 in tuition that these athletes get

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

Division 1 football and basketball are the most watched sports when it comes to the NCAA. These college athletes come out on television to get nothing out of it. NBA players come out on television and get paid millions. Yes, college athletes are said to get “Full rides” if offered a scholarship. However a scholarship is usually averaged to be around $25,000. Sometimes the amount of money offered isn't even enough to cover expenses.

College athletes should not be paid. “ They argue that the main purpose of going to college is to get a education, not to make money” (“Should college”...1). College is not a job, it is a place to learn. Also many college athletes receive scholarships to attend that school. “The value of the scholarships athletes receive during four years of college can be well over $250,000” (Weiss et al.1). Therefore, athletes

Most student-athletes playing a sport in college are there on an athletic scholarship. The scholarship is granted to them by their respective schools and is worth anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000. According to Edelman, the football program alone at University of Alabama brought in roughly 143.3 million dollars of revenue. In perspective, that’s about 2 million per player. Even though Alabama is an elite program and brings in more than the average football program, the NCAA brought in nearly $845 billion in 2011 per Sonny. Now it is obvious there many ways a university brings in revenue, but it is safe to say that a player is worth more than that $100,000 scholarship. In fact, a substantial share of college sports’ revenues stay in the hands of a select few administrators, athletic directors, and coaches. Now think about what college athletics would be without the world class athletes it has today, or without any athletes at all. If a school didn’t “award” athletes these scholarships, there would be

Opponents against paying student-athletes say that they should not be paid because through scholarships, they're already being paid. Yes, a scholarship is a form of payment. A scholarship is nice, but it is not enough. A scholarship will not pay the bills. Moreover, unlike ordinary students without athletics, student-athletes must also many times care for families and spouses. Actually, approximately 24% of student athletes are married, and of that 24%, about 62% have children. Of the students without their own spouses or children, many must care for parents and siblings.