As the 2011 college football season begins, sports writers and commentators, coaches, athletic directors and fans have once again raised the question: should college athletes be paid to play sports?
The realilty is that college students are already paid to play sports. Scholarships that cover tuition, room and board, which can exceed $40,000 a year, are awarded to thousands of kids every year. The total cost to a university for any scholarship athlete's college career can exceed $200,00. Proponents of paying athletes say that there is still a 'shortfall' - money for laundry, transportation and other expenditures - of, on average, $2900 per year. Other proponents say that colleges make millions of dollars every year and that they should share the wealth. In an interview given for ESPN.com, Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delaney spoke in favor of adding a stipend to what athletes are already given. This is a bad idea that is catching on.
It's Not a Bad Deal
Are student athletes receiving fair 'compensation' under the existing system? Yes. And the dollar amount is only part of the value of a college scholarship. College athletes receive benefits that would be considered generous in any employee compensation package: premium health insurance and medical treatment, upgraded meals, academic support including free tutoring, athletic training, coaching and conditioning, and access to facilities that compare favorably with health clubs that cost hundreds of dollars a year for members.
Life is pretty good for these student athletes. Given benefits not afforded to English Lit majors, engineering, journalism, history, computer or art students, they are in fact a priviliged class, a group of elites among their fellow students. But not priviliged enough some say.
The idea of further compensating college athletes is built on the shaky ground that these athletes produce millions in revenue for their school and that they are entitled to a piece of the pie. But all students produce revenue for their school.
Which Came First: The School or the Football Team?
Schools receive millions in research grants and contributions from alumlni, private foundations, trusts and other public charities. These endowments can add up to hundreds of millions of dollars and in some cases billions. These endowments are created by the university's strong academic credentials, not their prowess on the football field. A school's academic standing raises its national reputation which brings in exceptional students. This, in turn, gives a school the high profile and financial base to create athletic programs that attract the best high school players in the nation.
The exceptional students who bring in these grants and endowments are not treated as well as the athletes. When they graduate they are faced with the prospect of paying back thousands of dollars in student loans - loans that will not be forgiven just because they brought money into the school.
Is There Enough Money to go Around?
In furtherence of their argument, proponents of pay for play claim that schools profit from their athletic departments at the expense of student athletes. Not so. For the school years 2004-2009 the NCAA reported that there are only 14 Division 1-A football programs that clear a profit. And that no college or university in the United States has a financially self sustaining athletic department.
But college athletics goes well beyond football and basketball. If they paid football and basketball players, they would have to pay all athletes in their athletic department from lacrosse to women's field hockey. How many schools could afford that? The answer is very few. Would the 'big boys' of college athletics be willing to enter into a revenue sharing plan to keep all college athletic departments viable? Is football giant LSU going to give money to Eastern Michigan University?
But college is, after all, an institution of higher learning that prepares the next generation that will become leaders in all fields of human endeavor. And, with few exceptions, that will not include careers in professional sports.
For those who do go on to professional careers as athletes, they have been well prepared in their college years. That preparation can result in the opportunity to make millions of dollars. And for those athletes not good enough to make it to the pros, their college careers have not been wasted. There is a lot to be said for a free education and a college degree. And like all college students, their income years come after their college years, not during.
Paying Athletes Will Not Stop Corruption
In the wake of scandals at high profile schools like Ohio State University and the University of Miami, proponents of paying college athletes say it will be the solution to the problems of cheating, corruption and NCAA rules violations. There is no logic in the presumption that paying college athletes would solve these problems. The 'boosters' and sports agents and other influence peddlers will still find a receptive audience in todays college athletes - regardless of how much they are paid.
Because the call to pay college athletes comes from a variety of places - television, radio, and print media - and a variety of sources - writers, bloggers, commentators, coaches and even athletic directors -, the players themselves have a new sense of entitlement. They believe that they are responsible for the revenues that are produced and that they should be compensated. And they will further believe that a small stipend to cover living expenses will not be enough - not when they see their college making money selling football jerseys with their name and number on them.
Whose Jersey Is It?
But they are missing an important point. It is not their name and number that is selling jerseys. It is their name and number on the university's jersey that makes it worth anything. And if they don't believe that, they are free to have their own jerseys made with their name and number on them and sell them on campus or online. Of course they will not be able to use the schools name, or jersey design or colors, or the Nike or Adidas logos that come with them. And they will not be able to use the schools distribution network. Players come and go but the college football jersey remains the same. And it is the school's football jersey that fans root for. And it is the school's football jersey that fans buy.
The 98 Percent Solution
Colleges and Universities have, first and foremost, a responsibility to educate its students. And for some students sports can be part of that education. For the 98% of student athletes that go on to careers other than sports, the participation in college sports will be an experience to be treasured forever. For the less than 2% that do go on to become well paid pro athletes, they have received the training, coaching, and game experience that they needed to take that next step. And they got an education. They should be thankful for what they got.
S Gregory Small - Gregory is a graduate of architecture school in the U.S. and has worked in the field most of his life. He has been writing ...
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