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Sadie Wassum
10/22/2015
WRTG 2010-090
Jennifer Courtney
The Student-Athlete Debate
(An analysis of the debate for the employment of student-athletes)
In recent years the debate of whether or not colligate athletes should be paid by
Universities has escalated. Evidence for both arguments has been produced through vast
amounts of research however, a compromise is yet to be determined on the issue. The
topic's popularity is directed mostly toward revenue generating sports and the athletes
who make the programs successful. It is difficult to determine whether athletes deserve to
be given better treatment or if they are simply spoiled by their programs, as a great
number believes.
In the United States athletics are placed on a pedestal as a very public display of
physical excellence, especially professional and collegiate programs. Athletic children, as
well as their parents, dream of scholarships and even possible income based on physical
talent. Many seek after this path without fully understanding the pros and cons of sport
participation at a high intensity. This lack of knowledge allows for individuals to sign
contracts becoming collegiate athletes without fully realizing how much control of their
lives they have given to others. This debate began due to ignorance on the part of the
athletes as well as greed and the goal of amateurism on the part of sport associations such
as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

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This paper will review literature in which this topic is discussed and evaluated as
a national issue. Many call attention to how athletes are exploited at the college level, the
spending and revenue of university athletics, as well as fairness and several other issue
present in the debate. While there is no obvious right or wrong answer to the problem that
is faced in collegiate athletics, each portion of the research can be tied together to help
identify that a problem does exist in the field while an actual solution is yet to be
discovered.

Exploitation of College Athletes

The life of a college athlete consists of a great amount of time dedicated to their
athletic career, which brings the question of athlete exploitation. The exploitation of
college athletes is one of the main concerns related to that of paying those participating.
Many argue that student-athletes knew much of their time would be occupied by
practices, competition, and team travel however; so much more is involved in their
participation. An athlete can easily spend six to eight hours each day in activities related
to the sport including: treatment and rehabilitation, competition, team meetings, practice,
travel, weight lifting, as well as other required activities. Due to contracts student-athletes
sign in commitment to universities they hand over much more than a promise of
dedication and hard work. In fact, NCAA sports programs often dictate the schedules of
their athletes and remove basic freedoms individuals believe they will be afforded during
their college experience. Recently, this apparent injustice has been gaining more and
more attention in the United States: from sports journalists to bigtime sports lawyers to
the athletes themselves, people are starting to recognize that there might something

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wrong with the current system. (Churchill) As the interest in the topic has risen, more
and more people begin to see the injustices student-athletes are put through to participate
at the collegiate level.
The NCAA is one of the most prominent associations regulating the amateurism
of student-athletes at the college level. The idea of amateurism is that those involved are
doing so without benefits based on their athletic talent. As time has passed this principle
has changed to one in which athletic scholarships, gear, and facilities, among other things
are given to the student-athletes to enhance their experience at the university. Scholars
state that universities often use these benefits as an excuse to say their student athletes are
provided for with a free education while participating in the sport they love. By virtue of
this camouflage, the NCAA and its members are permitted, like no other association of
institutions of businesses in this county, to employ on type of labor without paying a
competitive wage for it. (McCormick) Based on this fact student-athletes from revenue
generating athletic programs are used as cheap labor and those who do not participate in a
money making sport devote time without compensation, time they could use in other
ways.
The benefits of participating in college athletics can be phenomenal; while
athletes also face the risks and hardships their dedication costs them. Some studentathletes are awarded scholarships from universities based on their athletic capabilities.
What is unknown to the general public is a great number of student-athletes are
participating with no compensation other than gear and facilities, if the university can
afford to provide those benefits. Based on the idea of amateurism, athletes involved in
collegiate athletics are prevented from having agents, sponsorships, or any outside

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benefits given due to their affiliation with a university a student-athlete. This policy, as
well as the time consuming effort given to their sport, removes almost all opportunities
for college athletes to generate any sort of income while they are eligible for college play.
There is research pointing both for and against the payment of college athletes, the thesis
of this paper is to focus on the fundamental issue of the fairness and possible exploitation
of collegiate sport participants.

Spending and Revenue in Collegiate Athletic Programs

Financial issues are present in every aspect of American life and the sporting
world is no different. Athletics are viewed as a booming money making industry for
athletes, coaches, trainers, and even the fans. In the collegiate field the athletes are simply
seen as amateurs as opposed to professional who compete as a part of their career. The
debate for or against the payment of student-athletes begins with the fact that college
sports are professional in everything but the name. College practices are run just like any
professional session and just as much time and dedication is required of the athletes. Not
only is this dedication required in competition and practice but also in the classroom if
they wished to remain eligible for participation.
Athletes sacrifice time and effort without a paycheck for their hard work and no
time to be employed in another aspect. While the athletes often live below the poverty
line, coaches are being paid millions for their winning team. Those who generate the
revenue of money making sports, such as football and basketball, bring fans and donors
to the stadium, inspire young athletes, and are used to promote the university in all forms.
Athletics is an integral source of name exposure for almost every university and often

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the only frequent source of exposure for schools possessing little in the way of academic
reputation. (Goff) Many universities use athletics for promotion, it is often the only way
people know certain schools even exists. The money used for athletics helps pull in
donors, new athletes, and prospective students which all affect the university financially.
The impact of athletics is incredible; it pulls so much support locally and
nationally as the University touches the lives of nearly every American individual.
Almost every person is connected to a university by past family member attendance or
simply through geographical ties. There is no other collegiate activityacademic or
extracurricularthat rivals athletics when it comes to engaging students and alumni,
motivating donors, attracting new students, and engendering name recognition. (Dunn)
Because athletics bring so much support the university the salaries of important
individuals will go up while who generate the revenue and excitement remain without
compensation.

Fairness and Other issues involved in the Payment of College Athletes

As with all financial arguments, in order to satisfy each party, money must come
from somewhere. Should a revenue-generating sport like football or basketball being
paying their athletes the money would need to be removed from the budget in some other
area. Some say these finances may be drawn from coaches, but the most likely place
would be the cutting of non-revenue generating programs. The non-revenue
intercollegiate sports tend to be as professionalized as mens football and basketball.
Many of the athletes involved are zealously recruited, may be admitted despite in ability
to qualify under regular standards, may get full scholarships and expenses, and are

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required to spend more than forty hours a week on the sport The NCAA requires the
big-time sports in institutions to support non-revenue sports at vast expense, but the value
of the activity to anybody but the athletes themselves and their coaches is nil.
(Bergmann) Individuals who participate in sports which do not make money work just as
hard as those who are money making yet they have less support and would be the first
to be removed should the requirement be placed to begin paying student-athletes.
Another commonly known issue with the lack of payment is that student-athletes,
while some receive what is said to be a free education, often live below the poverty line.
There is a large gap between what their scholarships cover and what is required to live in
certain areas and they have no remaining time or energy to work after practice and the
time spent as full time student as well. Unfortunately, a lot of these players have no way
to fill that gap. There's no mechanism by way to get that money that they need, aside
from Pell grants and other things that people will bring up in defense of why nothing
needs to change. (Luchs) During the interview with Luchs he also mentions how
student-athletes are denied loans given to them because they are athletes when they need
help because it is a violation of NCAA regulations.
People often believe athletic programs generate vast amounts of money so they
should not need the support the university funds to stay afloat, however they do not
understand that the majority of the excess money is used to support the other non-revenue
generating sports on campus. But other experts argue that even in successful Division I
sports programs, the money made by football and basketball has to be stretched farther
than most people realize. Division I schools often support more than 20 different sports
teams for men and women. (Karaim) Not all sport programs are successful or generating

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money, which is another difficulty involved with requiring all universities to pay athletes,
even just the moneymaking sports.
Conclusion
The payment of college athletes is an ongoing debate and one that does not appear
to be ending any time soon. The issues around the topic, exploitation and financial issues,
need to be addressed in order to return the integrity of associations such as the NCAA and
the universities who participate in athletics on those levels. It is frustrating for college
athletes to know they could be making money through advertising, sponsorships, and for
simply playing or competing in their sport yet they are prevented from moving forward if
they wish to compete in collegiate athletics. Should a solution eventually be found then
the athletic world would drastically change. In the meantime, while a compromise is yet
to be reached, athletes will continue to live in the conditions they are given. Gaps remain
in the conversation due to the lack of actual solutions being presented by most of the
literature. Many know there is an issue which need to be resolved yet are unsure of where
funding will come from should a player's salary be introduced into collegiate athletics.
Signing away a portion of your freedom is a large sacrifice to make for a sport
and one many who are talented enough are willing to take. Yet a few after they are
removed from the perspective of a student-athlete they will say they may not have
repeated their college career participating in a sport. The issues in the athletic world will
remain as long as the primary goal of those running the programs is to produce money for
their own wallet as opposed to what is best for those actually participating. As the topic is
more closely researched and studied, a possible solution would be to allow for other
scholarship opportunities related to athletics from sources other than NCAA universities.

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High hopes are set for the future as more attention is called to the exploitation of athletes
and the difficulties they face which many are unaware of or do not understand.

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Works Cited
Bergmann, Barbara R. "Do Sports Really Make Money for the University?" Academe
77.1 (1991): 28-30. Print. This article takes a stance against paying student
athletes beyond the typical scholarships that they usually receive. Bergmann, who
is a PhD in Economics from Harvard, takes a look at reasons why universities do
not make the large amounts of income that most people believe they do. The
revenue brought in by television, tickets, concessions, and advertising are often
times barely enough to cover the costs of the Athletic programs themselves, let
alone have funds left over to put into academic programs.
Churchill, Kevin. "Are Student-Athletes in the NCAA Exploited?" MA thesis. Carleton
University, 2015. Print. Churchill uses Alan Wertheimer of Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy, as well as other sources in a thesis statement about the exploitation
of NCAA student-athletes. He closely defines exploitation and how it relates to
the case between the treatment of student-athletes and their programs, specifically
NCAA institutions. His thesis gives a well researched understanding on the issue
of the treatment and exploitation of student-athletes, believing student-athletes are
taken advantage of by NCAA universities and should be paid. Churchill's
evaluation is to determine how much an athlete would gain in a "fair" system.
Dunn, John M. "Should the playing field be leveled? Funding inequities among Division
I athletic programs." Journal of Intercollegiate Sport 6.1 (2013): 44-51. Print. In
this journal article an issue that has been uncovered recently is addressed. That
problem is that the more money a university receives for their athletic program,
the more rules and regulations that same university will bend or break in order to
cut corners. Whats really helpful about this article is that it discusses the misuse
of money by the athletic programs and even offers solutions to the problems.
Visuals are provided to illustrate the problem with the proper research done in
order to find that data. It is worth noting that the author didnt seem to be of one
camp or another in a militant way. The authors voice seems to be sincere and
equal to both camps.
Goff, Brian. "Effects of University Athletics on the University: A Review and Extension
of Empirical Assessment." Journal of Sport Management 14.2 (2000): 85-105.
Print. Direct impacts of athletic programs were explored. Revenues from tickets
and sales at some schools are over $20 million and the schools are not saddled
with an equal or greater amount in payroll. Accounting differences make it
difficult to compare schools, but two studies indicated schools were greatly
overstating losses due to their athletic programs. The author also explored indirect
impacts such as increases in donations and student applications for schools with
higher athletic exposure. The report uses data and analytics to provide proof and
integrity for its speaking points.
Karaim, Reed. "Paying College Athletes." CQ Press. Vol. 24. Washington, D.C., United
States: n.p., 2014. 577-600. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 3 Oct. 2015. Karaim's

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article details the experiences of student-athletes and how their collegiate athletic
career was under-compensated due to the amount of effort and time devoted to
their sport program. The article contains charts and data describing how student
athletes should be given more because they are working as if it were a job. The
numerical data is a good source to push for more compensation for studentathletes and the presentation is very factual. This would be helpful in a project to
determine the value of the difference between what student-athletes are given and
what they give to the University Athletics program.
Luchs, Josh. The 'Illegal Procedure' Of Paying College Athletes. Interview by Dave
Davies. Fresh Air. Literature Resource Center, n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA286029488&v=2.1&u=marriottlibrary&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&asid=06f7
a50bf0af1ee566c0d35315f2a236>. An interview of a former college football
agent who was involved in scandal by violation of NCAA rules due to loaning
money to a player who still had college eligibility. He addresses what he went
through and how it effected his thoughts and feelings on NCAA rulings. He states
his opinion that student athletes should be allowed to receive loans from any
source as a basic American right. The only reason they cannot, according to the
interviewee, is because the NCAA tells them they will be punished if they do. He
also states his belief that student athletes should be considered employees yet the
NCAA will not recognize them as such in order to avoid things such as
employment benefits.
McCormick, Robert A., and Amy Christian McCormick. "Myth of the Student-Athlete:
The College Athlete as Employee." Washington and Law Review 81.71 (2006): n.
pag. Print. Robert and Amy McCormick, both law professors at Michigan State
University present an article focusing on the ways in which college athletes
parallel employees. Through a combination of interviewed student-athletes, both
present and past, the authors are able to demonstrate how the work college
athletes put into their collegiate career would qualify as that of an employee. The
article helps to understand how similar athletes and employees are and to better
understand and formulate an opinion on whether or not they should receive
payment for their contribution and hard work for Universities at the Division I
level.