Time to Pay College Athletes

[TxSkyBolt]

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/the-shame-of-college-sports/8643/?single_page=true

This is a rather lengthy article, but well worth it to read to the end.  There are big changes coming in the world of college athletics.  This article is rich with history of the NCAA (aka the cartel).

Best regards,

Brad

[clearwall]

Players already get paid, it's called a free education worth over 120k at most D1 schools.

[TxSkyBolt]

Only for as long as it suits the college. By NCAA rule, scholarships are only good for one year and can be revoked for any reason.  Did you read the article?

Best regards,

Brad

[clearwall]

No, but there's no justification for paying college players. It'll cause considerably more problems than it solves and will hurt college football in general to do it.

[harrell12]

No, but there's no justification for paying college players. It'll cause considerably more problems than it solves and will hurt college football in general to do it.

  AMEN!!!  Let em get paid after they graduate and get a job in the real world like the rest of us!!   

[Osric Pureheart]

  AMEN!!!  Let em get paid after they graduate and get a job in the real world like the rest of us!!   

Except with four or five years of extreme wear and tear on their bodies that most students don't come close to accumulating...

[TxSkyBolt]

Have any of you read the article?  Doesn't sound like it....."Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up" Comes to mind.

Best regards,

Brad

[NWA_UMP]

Agreed, except where does all the money go that Colleges, NCAA, TV networks, Advertisers, sponsors and licensing contracts go that are made off of amateur athletes? Having played DI football on a "full ride" I can tell you that it is a very weak case to say that they are getting a free education. It is anything but free. The demands that are put on your time are amazing. Plus for some of these kids once they get to college the real money problems show up. Parents don't have much, they have poured everything into getting their kids to college for "free" only to find out that there are a lot of thing a ride does not cover. It is very frustrating to see academic scholarships have not limits to how much or many a student can collect. I have seen kids get paid to go to school...meaning they have multiple scholarships that pay above and beyond school costs. We're talking $2,000-$5,000 in "extra" money that just goes straight into the bank account to be spent on clothes, beer, pizza, gas.....

I have a daughter that is being recruited for DI volleyball and a son who has the grades and test scores for an academic ride. We are pushing both to get the best grade possible...the academic money is much easier to get and has by far fewer, if any strings attached...

[TxSkyBolt]

that's all covered in the article.  There are hundreds of millions made in the NCAA.  A stud college athlete can't sell an autographed jersey to buy gas for his car, but guess what?  The university can and does. 

There was lot of hand wringing when the olympics eased their amateur athlete requirement, but it doesn't get a second look now.  If the NCAA isn't careful, these super successful conferences will start their own league and flip the finger to the NCAA.

Best regards,

Brad

[El Macman]

That's the deal you made. Education in exchange for your time and talent. Nobody held a gun to your head. If parents struggle to keep their student-athlete in school on a full scholarship, they damned sure would not have been able to do it on their own. My parents sacrificed pretty much everything they had to put my brother, sister, and me through school. Oh, would that I had the physical talent that could have made that easier for my parents and they could have enjoyed a little better life...
Don't misunderstand. I am not bitter or jealous in the least. I live a good - no, great - life, thanks to my parents. But I have no sympathy for folks that make a voluntary deal and then complain about it.
If scholarship athletes accept the education they are offered, and make good use of it, they are more than fairly compensated for their time and talents. Winners like Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, et al, use their talent to get ahead in life, and then use the education their talents bought them to flourish. Those that use their scholarships as only a means to get to the NFL or other professional sport, and don't take advantage of the education that was offered with it, will flounder and fail. The papers and tabloids are full of stories of former scholarship athletes that had achieved fame and fortune, only to throw it away by their own greed and stupidity.
No sir. No sympathy here.   

Agreed, except where does all the money go that Colleges, NCAA, TV networks, Advertisers, sponsors and licensing contracts go that are made off of amateur athletes? Having played DI football on a "full ride" I can tell you that it is a very weak case to say that they are getting a free education. It is anything but free. The demands that are put on your time are amazing. Plus for some of these kids once they get to college the real money problems show up. Parents don't have much, they have poured everything into getting their kids to college for "free" only to find out that there are a lot of thing a ride does not cover. It is very frustrating to see academic scholarships have not limits to how much or many a student can collect. I have seen kids get paid to go to school...meaning they have multiple scholarships that pay above and beyond school costs. We're talking $2,000-$5,000 in "extra" money that just goes straight into the bank account to be spent on clothes, beer, pizza, gas.....

I have a daughter that is being recruited for DI volleyball and a son who has the grades and test scores for an academic ride. We are pushing both to get the best grade possible...the academic money is much easier to get and has by far fewer, if any strings attached...

[clearwall]

Agree 100% with Macman. Congratulations for being able to juggle D1 football on top of your studies, it honestly is impressive. However, no one FORCED you to do so.

What about schools like, say, Purdue where football doesnt generate the hundred millions that a school like UT does. How would they be able to compete with UT if Mack Brown got to offer 500/week and Danny Hope could only offer 100? You are destroying any kind of legitimate competition and simply turning the NCAA into a battle of the highest bidder. Maybe im being  but I still hold out hope that colleges are about EDUCATION, not making money through TV deals and signing lucrative contracts for athletes.

[Osric Pureheart]

How would they be able to compete with UT if Mack Brown got to offer 500/week and Danny Hope could only offer 100?

There's still only 22 starting slots on a team.  Plenty of recruits with further ambition would surely be prepared to take less money now for a bigger chance of being noticed on account of starting every week; and those that are being more realistic about their chances of going pro will, as now, look at more than just the finances.

Unless you paid a flat rate to every player or the rate was set in stone on signing, it could well force recruiters to be more honest in their recruiting pitches, since players would surely get annoyed quickly if they signed for a promise of 500pw and ended up on 100pw, spending most of their time on the bench or the suicide squad, when their classmate Jerome is getting the same at State and he's playing every week...

[NWA_UMP]

If pay was ever to come into the mix, which I don't think will as long as the NCAA is in charge. It would HAVE to be a flat rate. Every school at each level would pay "X", no more no less.

We'll see what happens with the "super conference" setup after the season ends. If we see 4-5 14plus team conferences I think the break will come with the NCAA...just a guess.

As my wife says..." you we're wrong once, you'll be wrong again"

[Grant - AR]

What about schools like, say, Purdue where football doesnt generate the hundred millions that a school like UT does. How would they be able to compete with UT if Mack Brown got to offer 500/week and Danny Hope could only offer 100? You are destroying any kind of legitimate competition and simply turning the NCAA into a battle of the highest bidder. Maybe im being  but I still hold out hope that colleges are about EDUCATION, not making money through TV deals and signing lucrative contracts for athletes.

I think the NCAA would have to set it in stone so that every school pays exactly the same amount.  And, it will have to be paid to all athletes, not just football players.  That way, there wouldn't be an recruiting advantage with some schools paying more than others.

I don't know for sure, but I've been told that many athletes live off campus and the schools pay them $X per month for rent, etc.  I've heard of stories where the schools pay $600 - $700 per month and 4-5 players share an apartment and spend $200 each so they get to pocket the other $400 - $500 per month.

[bama_stripes]

I think the NCAA would have to set it in stone so that every school pays exactly the same amount.  And, it will have to be paid to all athletes, not just football players.

Therein lies the rub.

Paying all athletes, not just those in net revenue-producing sports, would either (a) cost so much that it would be impractical, or (b) pay so little that it would be meaningless.

[TxSkyBolt]

I think the NCAA would have to set it in stone so that every school pays exactly the same amount.  And, it will have to be paid to all athletes, not just football players.  That way, there wouldn't be an recruiting advantage with some schools paying more than others.

I don't know for sure, but I've been told that many athletes live off campus and the schools pay them $X per month for rent, etc.  I've heard of stories where the schools pay $600 - $700 per month and 4-5 players share an apartment and spend $200 each so they get to pocket the other $400 - $500 per month.

Grant, I hadn't heard that so I asked my friend to comment.  He is the assistant AD for Compliance at a local university and here's his answer to me:

"Schools are allowed to give student-athletes that live off-campus a room and board stipend that is determined by the institution using federal guidelines (assuming their scholarship agreement includes room and board.) This has to be the same amount used for all students attending that institution for determining the cost of attendance (i.e. the athletics department can't determine the amount).

Obviously this amount varies by institution depending on the locale (i.e. the cost of living in Austin is higher than the cost of living in Waco.) It is not uncommon for students to pile several guys (or girls) into a small apartment in order to save money. Our full-scholarship student-athletes at XXXX University get $927 per month if they live off-campus. "

Best regards,

Brad

[Grant - AR]

Grant, I hadn't heard that so I asked my friend to comment.  He is the assistant AD for Compliance at a local university and here's his answer to me:

"Schools are allowed to give student-athletes that live off-campus a room and board stipend that is determined by the institution using federal guidelines (assuming their scholarship agreement includes room and board.) This has to be the same amount used for all students attending that institution for determining the cost of attendance (i.e. the athletics department can't determine the amount).

Obviously this amount varies by institution depending on the locale (i.e. the cost of living in Austin is higher than the cost of living in Waco.) It is not uncommon for students to pile several guys (or girls) into a small apartment in order to save money. Our full-scholarship student-athletes at XXXX University get $927 per month if they live off-campus. "

Best regards,

Brad

Brad,

Thank you for verifying that for me/us.  $927 per month is pretty good if you can get by with $200 per month on rent. 

[NWA_UMP]

Grant-

That is nothing new...we did that back in the 80's. 4 of use rented an apartment, we all were on full rides, we split the rent and utilities and stayed on the board plan thru the college. So we received checks for the room portion of our scholie and we kept whatever was left over. It was not a huge amount but it did help with food, gas, and of course beer. Since we stayed on the board portion of our scholies we just kept snacks at the apartment since we could eat 3 squares on campus. We spent close to 10 hours a day on campus so we really didn't have time to go back the apartment to eat anyway.

[busman]

Like has already been said, the burden of educating children is on the parents.  I paid for 100% of mine, minus a $500 one time scholarship she received her first semester as the best female athlete from her high school, but certainly not college caliber.  (Plus a wedding betweenher junior and senior year).  She had a roommate, academically, that not only rec'd everything, but went to the business office the first of the month and got a nice $250 check.  And this girl could have played basketball, but the academic money was better than the athletic money.

I know there are parents, and particularly single parents, that have a tough time.  And I think it is great that their child's athletic ability can "help" pay for their education (key word help). But the ultimate responsibility is with the parents. If they can get relieved of the cost of room, board, tuition and books, I don't have a lot of sympathy for those that can't provide their child with a few bucks a month spending money.     

[clearwall]

And how many schools are actually turning a PROFIT on their athletics? I seem to remember that out of 120 D1 schools, the number was like 9 or so. So if the NCAA mandates that EVERY school spend an extra 500/athlete thats an additional expense that they cant cover. That means, most likely cancelling TWO more sports(thank you title IX) just to make ends meet. Thats two sports where every single athlete now loses the opportunity to earn a college degree just because the behemoth schools want to pay players to go to their programs. Either that, or the smaller school just doesnt pay the 500 and we're back to square one, Big school offers 500, little school offers 0. Where will the recruit go?