College Athletics Essay

Lyndon Ewing
Ms. Argiriou
20th Century History
15 April 2013

NCAA Pay for Play
Are you a college sports fan? Many people relish in seeing spectacular dunks, and great touchdown grabs. It is great to watch collegiate sports; however the playing field for athletes is very unfair. Many of those same athletes that you watch on ESPN cannot afford their own jersey. In 1906 the NCAA(National Collegiate Athletic Association) was founded by President Theodore Roosevelt (Unknown 1) . The original purpose of the association was to “protect young people from the dangerous and exploitive practices of the time” (Unknown 1). The NCAA College athletes at the division one level should receive stipends due to high NCAA revenues, less time for students to do other jobs, a low chance of students making it professionally, and the expenses of daily life. There are a lot of athletes and critics who believe the same, and this change needs to be implemented to protect athletes.
When we think about college athletics, we seldom think of the NCAA and the high revenues they take in. In a sense, the association is becoming a business and less of an organization. The ironic part of the NCAA is that they are listed as a non- profit organization, but they receive hundreds of millions in revenue. To be exact they made $871.6 million in 2011-2012 alone (Unknown 1). This a fortune compared to the small percentage athletes get. In fact the average value of an athletic scholarship is $15,000, which is lower than most tuition at any college (unknown 1). Also, with all of the revenue they receive they still are looking to expand. The NCAA like most other large organizations is looking to expand in other countries. This is not fair to the athletes who compete at different colleges, and don’t even get their fair share of this. Even with all of the money the NCAA gives in scholarships, students on full-rides still leave with three thousand dollars in out- of- pocket debt (Unknown 1). They also have to face the unemployment rate of 10.4 percent amongst college graduates. This is unfair to them because, they have contributed so much to an institution, but cannot even receive a job after doing so. Another part of the NCAA’s revenue is largely composed of television contracts. CBS and the NCAA recently signed a fourteen- year deal for $10.8 billion (Unknown 1), just for television rights. In all television rights alone, the NCAA receives $6 billion a year (Unknown 1). Compared to the average cost of a scholarship, the percentage that the athletes actually receive is pennies in concept.
The second reason why collegiate athletes should receive a stipend is because of the little amount of time they have for a job. All athletes, no matter what sport they’re in has to invest a lot of time in their craft. Most sports also have two practices a day (two- a- days), which can take a toll on any person’s body, and effect the amount of energy a person has throughout the day. Also, the amount of money the athletes receive sets a certain standard for athletes and a greater expectation than a normal student. This is an extremely difficult task for a person who has other obligations, and has very limited time. Even with an average student college can be very difficult, so adding sports to your life can make it even more complex. Another thing that athletes have in common with college students is that they also endure the burden of loans, and financial debt. The average cost for a private college- student is over $40,000 a year, and the cost for a public student is over $20,000 a year (Clark). These figures multiplied by four and five are what students are left with after graduation. However, some students can obtain a part-time job to off-set some of the expense created in college. In fact, 73 percent of students have a part-time job in college, whereas athletes don’t have this privilege (unknown 1). Even with the very few that do, the money is not very much, and can

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