Paying college athletes

[kcr]

The root of the Maurice Clarett situation seems to be that Clarret considered himself a professional right from the start, and thus so no reason to act as a student athlete. It cannot be argued that Clarett and players like him make universities much more money than they cost them in terms of scholarships and tutoring. So, should student athletes be paid?

Some problems/questions that come to mind, and might serve as points of discussion:

1. Should all athletes -- even those who play in non-revenue generating sports -- get paid.
   
2. If athletes are paid, will there be bidding wars?
   
3. If there are bidding wars, then what does that do to the athletic budgets of universities?
   
4. If universities spend more and more money on basketball and football, then what happens to smaller sports?
   
5. If smaller sports are "priced" out of existence, what effect will that have on the opportunities of non revenue generating student athletes to attend college?
   
6. Would the universities or the boosters pay?
   
7. What effect would reducing or eliminating programs have with regards to Title IX? If the sports programs are moved out of the university structure, would there be anything left but Women's basketball for women to play?
   

[jakefrep]

1. I would say yes...

...college athletes should be paid - but only for football and men's basketball. Those are the only sports bringing in substantial revenue - Title IX be damned. I would even go so far as to completely deregulate those sports and bring them under the auspices of the NFL and NBA, respectively. They should be footing the bill for their farm system, just like baseball.

[Nikia]

2. No, most lesser sports are underfunded as it is

I'd rather there be more full scholarships for athletes on the golf or volleyball team than pay football players. They work hard and devote a lot of time to their sport and are under the same amateurism rules. Give more athletes scholarships. Let the football and basketball stars learn a little humility. Of course, there is also the issue of a college spending a lot of money on the athletic department anyway.

[LisaM]

3. I think athletes in revenue-generating sports should be paid work-study

just as scholarships students in other fields are. Pay them by the hour for practice and game time, whatever the going work-study rates are.

One huge problem is that the scholarship athletes are not allowed to get jobs AT ALL - even when their sports aren't in season. I don't understand this. People with academic scholarships are allowed to work.

[kcr]

4. The reasoning

is that student atheletes have a profiel that could encouage people to give them oppurtunites they have not earned or to simply provide them with no show jobs and inflated paychecks.

[tx_dem41]

5. They already do get paid

...with full-paid scholarships.

[LisaM]

10. So do a lot of other kids, and they are allowed to take jobs

People who hold academic scholarships can be research assisants, work in hospitals, tutor, do all kinds of things to earn spending money. Would you deny them those jobs? Also, fyi, a lot of sports scholarships are paid for through grants and scholarship funds, NOT through tax dollars.

[bigwillq]

6. They should not be paid

They already reap some of the benefits of being a sports figure but they shouldn't get a salary for playing a college sport.

[realisticphish]

7. good god no

they already get a LOT of perks, and as a student, i will NOT use my tuition to pay a guy to play ball, regardless of how much i love the sport

edit: btw, Clarett is a gigantic douche, and should NEVER EVER get a career, the selfish bastard


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[jakefrep]

8. Hence my reasoning...

..for removing football and basketball from the clutches of the NCAA. Your tuition (and state tax dollars) shouldn't have to pay for the NBA & NFL's farm systems. I think it's incredibly wack that the highest paid state employee in many states is a football or basketball coach.

Maybe these big schools would be allowed to be institutions of higher learning again, and not merely a support system for a quasi-East German sports machine.

[realisticphish]

9. its a touchy subject

because i would honestly like college athletics to come back as they once were, i.e., just a way to compete with other schools. i would hate to see college sports go even farther towards just a sports machine. i love my school's sports, and i wouldnt want them to be even more corrupted than they are. perhaps a much more stringent regulation of drafts, i dunno


:hippie: The Incorrigbile Democrat

[HuckleB]

11. As long as the scholarships go to other deserving students, why not?

Pay the athletes, and then let them pay their tuition, books, housing, meals, etc... Let 'em know what life in the real world is like. Sounds like a plan to me.

[Done]

12. Make sure they don't waste their scholarship

It is regrettable that our society puts so much of its resources into football, but it does. These athletes generate huge profits for our universities, and the vast majority will never make it in the NFL. What do the universities do? They look the other way when the athlete throws his scholarship away. They require the athlete to maintain a certain grade point average, and then they provide him with classes in basket weaving so he can achieve it. When his playing days are over, the athlete goes back to his job flipping hamburgers, only now he’s got a degree in basket weaving, and the university has a lot of money off of his efforts. This is explotation. I say pay the athletes, or better than that, the university should make every effort to ensure the athlete has a degree he can use to make a living for the rest of his life even if it means lowering the grade point requirement for athletes, or adding skilled labor training to the curriculum.

[tx_dem41]

13. They already get paid...with FULL-paid scholarships

Thats worth 30-125K depending on the school PLUS the money they earn by being college graduates. Isn't that enough?