A topic that has become a widely discussed and debated subject around the world between executives, universities, players, and more is have college athletes earned the right to be paid or do they even deserve it. The more we have started to realize how much these players are advertising and bringing in revenue for their respected universities has sparked this vast debate that has now become a worldwide discussion. Many credible sources and the general population have given their own personal views on both sides of this topic. After researching and pondering the issue about both sides and how each could be beneficial from compensating or not compensating the student athlete, I am against the idea. Compensating student athletes, especially in the more popular sports such as football and men’s basketball and baseball may lead to a loss in revenue at these universities because many of the other athletic teams do not bring in the money compared to the more popular sports. Each university’s number one goal is to graduate students and student athletes, playing a sport comes second to the student athlete.   Paying the student athlete could devastate this goal. These players are already receiving an enormous amount of perks from scholarships, meal plans, access to student athlete success centers, the best campus housing among many other advantages that support the idea of not being paid. We simply cannot pay these student athletes because of the many possibilities that it could destroy both the sport and the university or college.

I chose this topic because of my high interest in the college sports world.  I wanted to research deeper into the topic, trying to understand the center of this debate while establishing my own opinion while observing each side’s argument in trying to gain an advantage over the other. I had no idea how large of a topic and debate I was about to encounter. Many of the best and most credible sports writers have given their opinions on this topic and it was surprising to me that the majority supported a main side. Another large part for myself in choosing this topic is I am able to give a firsthand view of the debate. I am not a student athlete, however, I am a undergraduate student assistant for the University of South Carolina football team. 

Over the past year and a half my time with the team has enabled me to observe the amenities and perks of how much these student athletes are receiving. From the special help they receive to gaining some of the players’ prospective views on this situation. Of course, when asking several different players their opinions on the issue of whether or not college athletes deserve money or even a salary the answer is always an immediate yes. The players have tenacious schedules from their individual and team workouts, film study, classes, and homework giving them very little time for a small social life. Therefore, even if, the student athlete wanted get a job or something small to earn a small income it would be very difficult because of their time limiting schedules. One of the athletes gave me a good example; he stated that the student athletes are not on a three or four year scholarship.  Their scholarships are renewed each year as long as your performance has been good throughout the classroom and actions outside the football field. An injured player could go from being drafted in their respected sport to nothing and lose scholarship money and maybe no way to even pay for their college education. My viewpoint is very different basically due to the fact that I am seeing how much they receive compared to the average student, such as myself. They come in as freshman and get the privilege to live in the best dorms and most are paid for completely. Their books, meal plans, tutors all come with it. The student athlete has access to resources the average student does not. I do not think it is fair or right to provide them with more because they already have so much.

One main issue is how paying athletes would affect not only university’s main goal and mindset, but would it affect how serious the student athlete takes school because they are making money playing the game. Scholarships are given when college’s athletes attend a university, these scholarships throughout the “students career and time at the university can be from  $100,000 to $250,000 in scholarships throughout their time at the university.”(Wilborn 3) In addition, a student athlete may be redshirted giving them five years, sometimes six years eligibility of tuition-free living. “A student who attends a college or university with no financial aid, a full-time 12-credit-hour schedule and no housing could pay at least $24,000.00 for the 120 credits required to graduate.   If that student comes from out of state, the tuitions may increase upwards to around $86,000.00.”(Mitchell 1)

An athlete has the advantage of receiving the same academic scholarships offered to most general students, in addition to athletic scholarships. Athletes also have the privilege of not always needing as high of a GPA or SAT score as a general student would need to get accepted into an institution, opening educational opportunities that some would never have the chance of obtaining without athletic abilities. That opportunity to obtain a college education has its own value. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “the average person with a bachelor’s degree makes $566 more per week than one with a high school diploma — which adds up to $29,432 more over a 52-week period. If these athletes don’t take advantage of this, it’s their own fault ( Feeney 1).” In other words, student athletes receive much more than average students. All colleges are different when it comes to tuition with some tuition money less than others. In my thesis, I state that it is a privilege and gift to play a sport at a college or university. We have to make sure that comes second, while receiving a college education the main goal for the student athlete allowing them to be prepared for a non- sports career in the future. The more we are able to prepare the students for a life and future outside of sports the odds of them being more successful in life increase. The university’s have to understand that the main goal is to graduate these students, and by changing the rules and potentially paying them could ruin the sport and the future of the students.

Along with keeping the main goal of these higher education schools we have examine the amount of money the student athletes are receiving. Most athletes obtain a scholarship that allows them to attend the university or college they choose upon graduating high school.  These scholarships offer most everything needed to attend college including paying for books, housing, meal plans, parking passes, and many other advantages.  If we are offering these student athletes a chance to earn a free college degree while attending a university and the average student may possibly be facing years of debt the debate will continue for many years to come.  Along with the debate, will be the main question asking is it fair to award the student athlete more?  Accessing other resources is important to factor in here. For example, at the University of South Carolina, all student athletes have the privilege of a separate student success building with tutoring, academic advisors, study rooms, computer labs, and a cafeteria can be accessed for all classes offered at the university. These colleges and universities are giving the student athlete so much to be successful, not only in the classroom or on the field, but in life. These athletes basically have a free tryout or a chance prove themselves worthy of playing at the next level through their performance in college.  One topic very few people think about is top notch coaching. The best every university has to offer are staff and coaches that are considered to be the best. The athletic director, head coach, assistant coaches, in addition to, the entire athletic department are giving the guidance these student athletes require. The athletes receive hundreds in dollars worth of clothes, shoes, and gear from their university. Some of these student athletes get chances of a lifetime when their team travel across the United States, Mexico, Bahamas, Europe and many other places around the world to play in locations these students may not ever have a chance to visit. A chairman of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletes Dr. Tublitz said, “schools aren’t doing these kids any favors by admitting them when it’s unlikely that they will succeed academically. We bring 17 year-old kids, some of them from the inner city and we wine and dine them. They have female chaperons. We put them up in fancy hotels. They come here and see an incredibly fancy locker room with individual TV screens, air conditioning and video games. They go in and see the new football stadium and the new $200 million basketball arena. They see a medical training facility that is stunningly beautiful with waterfalls, treadmill pools, and the sate-of-the-art medical and dental equipment. They come here and are treated like royalty. Until they break a leg or get put on the second string and they get set aside. Many don’t earn a degree. They don’t have the training or the skills to be independent after they leave the university. They’re lost (28, p.D10).” This is showing these students may start their college education with a false idea that they have the world in their hands; however, it all can change in just one moment.  These student athletes need to focus on the task of academic and graduating, preparing themselves for the future. Another side of the argument is the NCAA states that coaches are real adults and the student athletes are not, therefore, they do not need to receive compensation for their participation in a sport, and should not get paid. 

If we decided to pay a student athlete, then the question is who and where is this money coming from? Does the money come from the individual university?  Is it coming from the income brought in from the sport? Another option could be taking money from the coaching staff’s salary, however, this would create another situation of having to increase their salaries to an astronomical number making coaching salaries higher than we ever have in sports. We would need the coach’s salary to be higher if we decide to take the pay for the players out of the coach’s salary. Directly from the NCAA or government could be an option as well, but even if they decided to pay the players I think it would take some time to figure out the logistics to make it fair? There are too many obstacles to cross in order to go through with the idea of paying the players even though the players best chance in history to push this idea is now it is not going too or needs to even be considered about happening.  

Jeopardizing the collegiate sports could be a significant in making a decision to pay players. Since the birth of college sports it has 100% always been against the rules and law to compensate players for participating in a sport. The universities are required to give the players compensation for meals on game days normally 20-30 dollars is sent to their accounts through the university. The student athletes are receiving legal money for meals when playing in the game and the amount can change from game to game and it’s nothing outrageous, but they are receiving some type of compensation for their time spent playing the game. There have been hundreds of allocations and scandals thought history of players being paid and some have resulted in serious punishments for the universities. One of the most famous scandals was the SMU death penalty during the 1970sin, which they paid high school players to come play and attend the university. The NCAA penalized the university years later with multiple of allocations ruining the program and just recently getting off punishment. It is very hard to prevent this from happening in the future because some athletes coming out of high school in today’s age may bring in huge amounts of revenue for the team, giving the university great exposure. Some colleges and universities will go high extremes to bring in a gifted athlete.  

            The main argument and reason people believe college athletes should be paid is the NCAA produces billions dollars. With the athletes bringing in so much money to NCAA and their university, one can understand that is upsetting and they believe the athletes earned percentage of that revenue. We should not be paying the athletes with how much they are already receiving and benefiting already. Another point debated is paying the student athlete could teach them how to manage their money and salaries. You hear and read stories about how these great athletes leave college and go on to a successful career in their sport, but without the experience of learning finances and how to manage money, some end up with nothing only a few years after their careers. They are going to continue to bring up facts and arguments that try and prove athletes deserve pay, but the amount of change it would cause throughout the school, students, sport, system is not enough to make changes. A quote really gave a more reasonable answer to this debate “So, perhaps the question should be whether it is reasonable that student-athletes should have additional resources typical for full-time students who work during the academic year, since scholarships do not cover all living expenses and many student-athletes do not have the opportunity to earn income to cover those expenses or to afford simple social outings with friends, an important component of college life, well-being and holistic development (Mitchell 1).”

           Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries. They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports, for which they earn scholarships to pay for tuition, housing, food, books and other allowable expenses. When the high school student signs the paper to confirm or declare a school they want to attend, continuing their education as a future student athlete, then the student needs to understand what they are signing and how this is going to be a huge decision for their future. Playing a sport in college is a privilege that few students are blessed to be given this opportunity of continuing to play the sport they love. We, as a university, must maintain the goal of graduating these students and trying to prepare them for life and not compensate them for playing a sport. If we decide to pay college athletes it comes down to the importance of each sport. Would all the athletes get paid the same amount? How would determine how much each individual sport is compensated?  This all seems unfair because a basketball player playing in the Final Four tournament, in front of millions of people, should be paid the same as someone playing for a team, not airing on television.  Not to offend the athlete playing a game on television, but how would we be able to determine who gets what and how would you back your idea? With all these student athletes working each day on their individual sports they should be paid equally? If the NCAA and the government are looking and trying to make a change to a rule that has stood in place since college sports started they have a pile of situations and questions still to figure out and answer with reason.

          With this debate growing stronger the NCAA, the individual schools, coaches and players, need to determine a realistic goal. We have had success in the same system for over 50 years now. The NCAA and the universities must remain firm on their decision, making sure the main goal is graduating the student athlete, ensuring that playing a sport comes second. Each university’s number one goal is to graduate all students and student athletes, playing a sport comes second to the student athlete and if they receive a salary this could jeopardize this goal.  These players are already receiving so much from scholarship, meal plans, access to schooling help, best living styles and other perks that supports the regulation that they should not be paid.  Simply stated the student athlete cannot be paid because of the possible ramifications to the universities and the student’s respective sport.
