Assume a large group of employees work long hours, put their own bodies at risk for their company, go to school full-time, and are restricted from trying to gain compensation by other means. All the while, they are underpaid, undervalued, and lose many of their own rights in order to work for this company. Sounds like a sweatshop in an underprivileged country? Not so much as this is the reality that many college student athletes face here in America. The college athletes in revenue producing sports of today are often used, abused, and thrown away by the NCAA and its member institutions. Commercialization of the college sports industry has worked directly against the NCAA’s “beliefs” of amateurism, yet they continue to deny this is a problem. For too long the NCAA has exploited their athletes and gotten away with it under their disguise of amateurism. College athletics are no longer what they were when the NCAA was founded, but the NCAA continues to run on outdated rules and philosophies that seem to benefit everyone but the athletes themselves. Along with these moral problems that arise from the current rule system, the NCAA faces a string of legal issues regarding the current rules. In this essay, I intend to bring to light issues within the NCAA’s current rule system and how these rules are designed to exploit the student-athlete in today’s college athletics system. As commercialization continues to be the main driving force behind many NCAA policies, the NCAA and member institutions are able to unfairly profit off of the backs of these student-athletes. Due to the rampant commercialization within the industry, major problems have arisen around collegiate sports; athletics taking precedence over education, corruption, and ultimately the exploitation of student-athletes.

The NCAA is the current organization that is responsible for the administration and regulation of intercollegiate athletics in America. NCAA stands for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA operates as a non-profit association and helps regulate athletes of 1,281 different member institutions, conferences, organizations, and individuals. The NCAA helps regulate intercollegiate competition between more than 450,000 student-athletes who compete in 24 different sports. The NCAA employs over 500 employees and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana (Igel). It is important to note that while the NCAA is comprised of 1,281 different institutions and organizations, the National office of the NCAA is a separate entity from these organizations. The job of the national office is that of a governing body for its athletes and member institutions; it administers rules to its member institutions, organizes National Championships, and operates programs for the benefit of the student-athlete. The structure of this legislative body is as follows; they are broken down into cabinets and committees with representatives from its member schools and these committees help vote on rules and policies which are ultimately decided upon by the national office legislative body that oversees all of the smaller committees. The current system operates on a three-division setup separated between Division I, Division II, and Division III. Division I may be abbreviated to          D-1. Committees are formed by member institutions from each of their own Divisions and can be further broken down into smaller sub-committees. Members of each separate Division develop and approve their own rules for each of their own Divisions by way of these committees (Igel). The governing laws therefore differ between each Division and schools in different Divisions are subject to different rules. Schools within the same Division are subject to the same governing laws. Schools compete against other schools within their Division with the exception of a limited amount of allowed games between schools in different Divisions. Larger schools generally compete in Division 1 while smaller schools typically make up Division II and III. Member institutions have a say in the rules and polices to which they are governed, but in the end the NCAA national legislative body has the final say on all policies and rules that member institutions are subject to follow. For the purpose of this paper I will focus on Division 1 schools and their rules. 

The need for a governing body between intercollegiate athletics arose with the first intercollegiate sports competitions. The first instance of intercollegiate athletic competitions began in the mid 1800’s with Harvard University and Yale University competing in the sport of rowing (Barr 40). Initially, these athletic events were organized and run by the student-athletes. These first events soon became popular attractions for students and non-students alike. Companies began to realize the commercial value of these sporting events and within a couple of years the Elkins Railroad line became the sponsor for these regattas, as they were called (Smith 11). As competition and athlete notoriety increased, pressure to win these sporting events mounted. Harvard sought to gain an unfair advantage by adding a rower who was not a student. From the very beginning of collegiate athletics commercial influence and institutions’ attempts to gain undue advantages over their competition began to shape the collegiate athletic environment. Soon, faculty members and institutions began to take note of the problems arising from the student run sports and commercialization within them. Harvard President Eliot stated “lofty gate receipts from college athletics had turned amateur contests into major commercial spectacles”, while MIT President Walker warned, “if the movement shall continue at the same rate, it will soon be fairly a question whether the letters B.A. stand more for Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Athletics” (Smith 11). As these sporting spectacles continued to grow around the nation, athletic endeavors began to take precedent over education. In the first ever collegiate football game between Rutgers and Princeton, Princeton fielded three players who were failing algebra (Barr 42). Recognizing the difficulties surrounding student run sporting events faculty began taking control of organizing athletic events. 

Continued growth of college athletics only emphasized a greater need for regulation. Princeton President, McCosh, soon stated the concern that would pervade college athletics for the next century, “It is a nice question,” stated McCosh, “whether evils may not arise from sports in no way under control of the College authorities” (Barr 42). Faculty-lead athletics commissions rapidly started to pop up at institutions across the nation. Although these faculty commissions tried to gain control over this rapidly growing industry, issues would only further rise as varying rules for each institution lead to obvious unfair advantages for different colleges. The need for an impartial organization to help facilitate college sports was clear. With the turn of the century and the introduction of the sport of American Football, college athletics would soon be changed forever. Rising concern over the need for more regulation and safety in college sports would make its climax in the early 1900’s. In the wake of 18 deaths related to football in 1905 alone, President Teddy Roosevelt called for change (Igel). He convened a White House conference to review the rules the of football. Soon after this meeting Henry MacCracken, the Chancellor of New York University, convened a national meeting with representatives from 68 institutions. This meeting would result in the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association; designed to formulate safety and fair competition rules for various collegiate sports nationwide (Barr 43). This organization would later be renamed the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the goal for a national intercollegiate athletic governing body was realized.  

While the goal for an impartial governing body was reached, the same issues would continue to plague college sports. Over 100 years after the NCAA was formed, commercialization continues to be the norm within college sports. Whether we like to admit it or not, college sports have become engulfed by commercialization. In 2010, the NCAA and CBS reached an agreement to broadcast the NCAA basketball tournament that totals $10.8 billion over 14 years. This past year, they both agreed on a contract extension that added another $8.8 billion over 8 more years on top of the previous deal (Katz). The NCAA brought in $871.6 million dollars of revenue in 2012 and this figure climbs with each passing year (Vanderford 1). This figure also does not include revenue earned through college bowls as they are independently sponsored and revenue from these bowls are distributed to each individual institution and their respective conference. Estimated total revenue from the college playoff football bowls in 2016 was estimated to be $608 million (Dosh). This was almost a $100 million increase from the previous year. This number is only expected to rise as television deals and sponsorship prices continue to rise and the number of bowl games increases. In 1981, the NCAA basketball earned $9 million in revenue. By 1997 it was earning about $215 per year. Today it is estimated to generate over $750 million dollars in revenue annually (Vanderford 1). All of this revenue earned by the NCAA and its member institutions would be impossible without the players themselves, but as profits rise year after year the compensation earned by the student-athletes remains the same. 

As the role of commercialization and the pressure to win in order to gain a share of this profit increases, academics take a backseat to education.  Student-athletes must be full-time students while continuing to compete in their respective sports. The NCAA has rules that are meant to limit the training time for athletes to only 20 hours a week (Vanderford 1). In real life, however, very few are actually kept to this limit and many factors are not added to this limit as this only pertains to practice or training. In addition to rigorous training schedules athletics take up additional time as athletes have games, must travel to and from games(many times across states or even nationally), watch tape, and attend meetings. According to a study conducted by the NCAA, Division 1 football players on average devote 43 hours a week to their sport (Vanderford 3) with other . Not only are student-athletes full-time students, but their sports require the commitment of a full-time job. It is simply impossible to believe student-athletes are able to keep academics as their number one priority when they are forced to devote over 40 hours a week to their sport.

Athletics take priority over academics in more ways than just time commitment. This is shown as athletic scholarships are determined upon the coaches. Coaches, not academic advisors or faculty, are given the option to extend or terminate athletic scholarships. (New) If a coach feels a student-athlete does not live up to their expectations athletically the coach can terminate a student-athletes’ scholarship. With a limited amount of allowed athletic scholarships to give, coaches are faced with the decision to extend or terminate a student-athletes’ scholarship, regardless of academic performance. Even before athletes come to college it is made precedent that athletics are priority. Student-athletes receive selective admissions when compared to the rest of their student bodies. It is estimated that the average student-athletes’ SAT scores were between 150-250 points lower as compared to the rest of their respective student bodies (New). In a speech given to his faculty, Mark Schissel, the newly appointed president at Michigan, admitted “We admit students who aren’t as qualified. And it's probably the kids that we admit that can't honestly, even with lots of help, do the amount of work and the quality of work it takes to make progression from year to year” (New). As academics are looked past when admitting student-athletes, much of the time this only works against the athletes themselves. Much of the time this leads to a hindered education for the student-athletes themselves. They are put into classes where they are behind other students or simply cannot keep up with the work given. Putting students into classes they are unprepared for only hinders their education. Due to the workload that they face because of athletics many student-athletes switch out of their preferred major to an easier one due to it being too hard to keep up with athletics and academics. Even when these athletes have the abilities to take harder classes they cannot find the time necessary to keep up with the workload required. Other times, there education is simply overlooked. Schools have been known to find ways to keep their athletes eligible. In 2011, Stanford admitted to providing athletes, and only athletes, a list of easy courses for their athletes to take. UNC was recently in news for academic scandals that involved evidence of over 18 years of fake classes, where student-athletes were enrolled in fake classes and received high grades to keep them eligible to play (New). Unfortunately, cases like this are not outliers, but rather common. As schools continually feel the pressure and incentive to win they make exceptions to athletes which only seem to hinder the student-athletes’ ability to earn a fair education.

Not only does the NCAA undervalue and demean the education owed to its athletes, they do not truly value the athletes themselves. The NCAA significantly undervalues their student-athletes, the same student-athletes who the NCAA was formed to protect and the same student-athletes who earn the NCAA billions of dollars. Knowingly, the NCAA and its rules allow for complete exploitation of these athletes. The NCAA and its institutions earn tremendous amounts on the broadcasting rights, ticket sales, and sponsorships all based on the student-athletes. These athletes are willing to sacrifice their bodies in order for these organizations and the commercial enterprises around them to profit. In return, athletes are able to continue playing the sports they love and in many cases, earn a free or reduced education. The NCAA avoids virtually all risk in this exchange. They are a non-profit organization that is commercially motivated and has given into corporate greed. While this organization was created to protect the student-athlete, it has shown its true colors by keeping all profits to themselves and limiting the value and rights of those it was designed to help. Rules created by the NCAA allow athletes to be treated as expendable. Athletic scholarships are not guaranteed for four years or the amount of years the athlete attends school, they are determined on a year to year basis (Gallagher). If an athlete does not live up to expectations or gets injured, they face the risk of losing their academic scholarship. The institution may simply stop renewing a student-athletes’ scholarship essentially forcing the student-athlete to either drop out of the school they have already been attending, find another school willing to offer a scholarship, or finance their schooling all on their own. College athletes are collectively limited in their value and long term security in order for the NCAA to minimize its own risk and maximize their profit.

In addition to rules that allow for the dropping of student-athlete scholarships essentially at will, the NCAA and its institutions take limited risk or responsibility for its student-athletes’ health. Schools have no contractual or legal obligation to provide their athletes with medical care. Almost all Division 1 schools cover their student-athletes’ insurance, however not all do (Gallagher). I will note that most schools provide their student-athletes with medical insurance and they for the most part provide good care to their athletes. This has its exceptions as schools are not required to do this and each school handles this independently. While the NCAA requires all student-athletes to have personal medical insurance, it may be held through the student-athlete, the athlete’s parents, or the school (McCune). Rules for medical insurance and care are unclear after this and allow for loopholes and problems. This is highlighted by the fact that the NCAA’s manual has over 400 pages of mandates for D-1 member schools to follow. There is less than once page designated to healthcare for athletes. For comparison, there was recently a 38-page document added to the rules regarding transgender athletes (Gallagher). My educated guess is that there have been far more collegiate athletes who have suffered injuries or needed medical care than collegiate transgender athletes. This epitomizes the NCAA’s greed as they purposely leave medical care rules ambiguous in order to avoid paying medical bills for the student-athletes who provide them with their profit. There are many reports of athletes finding out that their insurance or the school’s insurance would not cover all medical costs. The NCAA has a Catastrophic Insurance Program, which provides medical care up to $90,000 for student-athletes who suffered it during a “covered” event (Gallagher). While this is good, it still has its problems. Medical care is provided at the time of injury and for its immediate recovery but not all medical problems are short term. So, serious injuries suffered while still a student-athlete have potential to be lifelong problems that may require medical bills throughout ones live are not covered. Over time medical bills add up and once they have exceeded $90,000 the NCAA and its members are no longer required to help pay. The most glaring problem with the current insurance provided is that the NCAA’s healthcare is no longer received once a student-athlete is no longer enrolled or under scholarship. Adding to this loophole is the school’s ability to not renew an athletic scholarship on a year to year basis (Gallagher). This has led to many problems for former athletes who suffered mobility limiting injuries as athletes. These injuries can have lasting impacts on a former players’ quality of life and ability to find jobs. Once they are no longer on scholarship, they no longer receive payments for medical bills for injuries that have the potential to hinder their lives for many years beyond their playing days. The growing concern of concussions and the danger that they may present, not only at the time received, but also in the future, raises concern over the limited medical insurance provided. 

Players can put themselves at great risk by playing the sports that allow them to attend college. These players then provide great financial compensation in return to their schools and the NCAA. The players in turn expect some form of security and respect for their contributions. The NCAA has created rules that allow them to bypass the standard terms of a fair trade and common courtesy. The NCAA is willing to use its players while they still have value, but as soon as these players are no longer of value to them they toss them aside like trash. One example of this tragic problem is Stanley Doughty. Stanley was a former South Carolina football player who suffered two spinal injuries that left him temporarily unable to move during his playing days at USC.  After his first collision, Doughty was evaluated by medical staff to have a congenital spine defect that caused his spine to narrow near his neck. One year later, Doughty would suffer a second, similar spine injury. After both instances, however, Doughty was cleared fit to play by medical staff of the school and after his second injury even returned later that game. These injuries however would not stop Doughty from pursuing his dream to play professional football. He decided to forego his senior year in order to sign a professional contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Standard NFL protocol calls for a medical exam upon a player signing a contract. During this medical exam, it was found that Doughty had another spinal injury in addition to his congenital defect that was attributed to his playing days in USC. The Chiefs’ medical staff declared Doughty unfit for football and warned that if he suffered another similar blow he could be paralyzed. Obviously, the Chiefs let go of Doughty on these grounds. Doughty went back to the University seeking payment for medical bills for his required surgery. The University declined (Gallagher). This story highlights just one instance of the NCAA and its institution’s dark side. The NCAA has created an environment that allows them to exploit and profit off athletes for four years (or however long they have value to the NCAA) and then replace them.

The NCAA by way of labeling college athletes as “student-athletes” and “amateurs” has been able to bypass standard employer requirements and laws and limits standard employee rights. Notice that “student” is strategically placed in front of “athlete”. This allows them to keep the guise that college athletes are students before they are athletes. Having “athlete” before “student” would enforce the idea that these athletes are athletes before they are students. This would allow many to view college athletes as professionals and therefore employees. Being able to classify their athletes as Walter Byers, the former NCAA’s first president for 37 years, now argues emphatically against what the NCAA has now become. He was also responsible for the NCAA’s designation of the term “student-athlete” and stated that this term was coined to avoid “the dreaded notion that NCAA athletes could be identified as employees by state industrial commissions and the courts” (Katz). The student-athlete term and subsequent rules regarding amateurism are really just a clever disguise by the NCAA to avoid giving their athletes standard employee rights. Rights such as unionization, worker’s compensation, and salaries. Being able to classify their athletes as amateurs also enables the NCAA to gain a monopoly on the industry. The members of this organization can collaborate to fix prices not only on the product, but also on their labor. Prohibiting athletes from receiving money valued above their tuition costs allows them to essentially cap their own costs. Collectively by prohibiting athletes from receiving compensation on their own likenesses the members have essentially agreed that the value of the images and likenesses of their athletes are equal to zero (Vanderford). Additionally, because of these rules the NCAA operates as a non-profit which allows it to claim all revenue as tax exempt. Athletic scholarships represent a form of pay for play that allows the NCAA to circumvent laws that would require them to provide collegiate athletes with their deserved rights. When we compare college athletes to their professional counterparts we can see that the roles they play are very similar. Both put their bodies at risk for what they do, both are part of billion dollar industries, both have similar practice schedules, both play on national stages and are thrust into the national limelight, both represent their teams/universities, and both have images of their likenesses sold. Professional sports now mainly differ in the way that professional players have real power say within the industry. College players are stuck in an industry that systematically takes their power. The NCAA has rules that are meant to keep the student-athletes quiet. By discouraging collaboration between athletes and not allowing athletes to unionize, the NCAA is designed to keep voices of it athletes‘ singular and suppressed. Professional sports all have player’s unions that allow the players to get a voice and say in the rules that govern them (Smith 17). The NCAA and its institutions have the sole say in creation of rules and regulations of the college sports industry. Due to the amateur label, the NCAA is able to get away with earning revenue like a commercial enterprise while avoiding standard employer requirements. In reality, the current relationship between the college athlete and the NCAA and its institutions is the quintessential example of an unfair labor exchange.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Collegiate athletics have transformed since their birth in the mid 1800’s. No longer are they small student-led regatta races between a couple Ivy Leagues. The industry and commercialization of college sports today rival that of professional leagues. Some college athletic departments generate larger revenues than that of NBA teams (Katz). While our “amateur” college athletes work just as hard and perform many of the same tasks, with the addition of being full-time students, as professional athletes they lack far behind in fair compensation or treatment. Corporate greed has changed the values of college sport’s governing body and because of this the student-athletes are an unrepresented and underappreciated class. College sports need change. It is time that the NCAA stops feeding off their athletes and takes action to right their wrongs. It is hard for me to see how the NCAA has run as a non-profit whose goal is to protect student-athletes when in truth, they are a commercially charged enterprise that systemically limits the rights and compensation of the main contributor to their product. I believe that morally and legally the NCAA and its institutions should be required to make significant reform and rule changes. The NCAA limits the rights of its players as they expose themselves to risk of injury while the NCAA is able to avoid worker’s compensation and wages for the most integral aspect of their product. The NCAA is supposed to have the interests of student-athletes as their priority, but making a profit has superseded this. Legally, the NCAA has gotten around laws that prevent monopolies and price fixing because they are supposed to be a non-profit advocate for amateurs when in truth they should not be able to get away with this as they are obviously a commercial enterprise that has sole ownership of a billion-dollar industry. It is a shame that we have allowed what was originally an organization that helped protect our student-athletes to transform into a commercial entity with little regard for its student-athletes. As a country, we must realize that the NCAA currently operates as a lie in order to maximize its profit and cut out the main contributors to this profit. As a country, we must take a stand for this unrepresented and unvalued class. Though their actions, the NCAA has already shown us that they care little about the opinions of its student-athletes. They will only act in the face of pressure from the general public and the courts. The NCAA has ignored its responsibilities towards collegiate athletes for too long, it’s time real change is made.
