Permalink
Wrote this for my English 308J class a few weeks back. Figured I would share it with everyone as I feel I presented a tremendously sound argument against paying college athletes salaries. I left the citations in complete with the Works Cited Page to benefit anyone who might question my sources of information. Enjoy.
College sports might be America’s true pastime. Every year millions of devoted fans cheer their favorite schools on in sports that range from basketball to water polo. It is a part of the American way of life. Since it is such a huge part of American culture, issues surrounding college sports become widely discussed topics in our media and popular culture. One of the major issues surrounding college athletics is the argument of whether or not college student-athletes deserve pay for their participation. However, arguing about paying college student-athletes is useless since for decades these athletes have been receiving benefits worth tens of thousands of dollars a year. These student-athletes already receive benefits for their participation that far outweigh those of other college students. So instead, the argument we should be having is whether to pay these student-athletes more than they actually need.
Like millions of Americans, I too have taken part in this argument countless times. Being both a die-hard college sports fan, and a college student at a Division I school I have a hefty stake in the argument. The benefits that student-athletes receive directly affect me and millions of other students at campuses across the country. The NCAA, the governing body of college athletics, makes no denial that college sports is big business. It brings in billions of dollars a year, especially during the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. It is known to millions of fans around the country simply as March Madness. It starts every year in early-to mid March and wraps up in the beginning of April. In 2010, the tournament generated a whopping $613.8 million in advertising revenue alone (Cupri). That does not include the tens of millions more made from the tickets, concessions, memorabilia and apparel sold at and during the four-week long super event. No one could logically deny that college sports generate large sums of money. It is what happens with that money that sports fans are divided on. Every year during March Madness and the Division I (or FBS, Football Bowl Subdivision) Bowl games, the conversation on ESPN and in every sports bar turns to whether or not the athletes who make these events possible deserve a piece of the golden financial pie that is Division I sports. As I have already stated though, this is the wrong argument since it is clear that the student-athletes have been receiving financial benefits for decades now.
The NCAA allows for the FBS, FCS (the other less popular half of Division I) and Division II schools to offer athletic scholarships to their student athletes. Every year the NCAA schools award more than $2 billion in athletic aid to around one-hundred and twenty-six thousand student-athletes across the country (Blue Disk). This equals out to an average of nearly $16,000 per year to each student-athlete. That figure doesn’t take into account Pell Grants, and other aid that student-athletes may receive. Even the NCAA admits the grants-in-aid many student-athletes receive can be worth more than $100,000 (Why Student-Athletes Are Not Paid to Play). Taking into consideration the rising cost of college, the ability to have most or even all of your college education paid for is a huge advantage. The average cost of tuition for an in-state student at a public university in 2011 was $7,605 and $11,990 for out-of state students (Costs to Go to College). Private universities like USC or The University of Miami cost much more than their public rivals. In a period where more than sixty-five percent of students who do not receive athletic-scholarships are graduating with an average debt of nearly $24,000, the ability to avoid the vicious cycle of college debt while achieving a four-year degree for free, is a true gift to the thousands of student-athletes across the country. According to Matt Howard, star of the 2011 Butler Men’s Basketball team that made it to the Men’s National Championship game for its second year in a row, “forty thousand dollars plus a year to play, that’s a pretty good salary for an 18-year-old that has no college education,” (Weiner).
Not only are these funds covering thousands of student-athletes tuition and books, but also many of them are able to have their room and board completely paid for by the school as well. The costs of room and board can be up near $10,000 depending on what college a student attends and where it is located. This adds up to easily a couple more thousand dollars a year in additional benefits. As anyone who has a mortgage or a rent bill due will say, having ones living expenses paid for an entire year would be a gift of untold value in terms of both financial impact and stress reduction.
A recent article by USA Today actually suggested that the average total value in scholarship, goods and services received for a typical player in a FBS Men’s Basketball program equals
Read More
Mr. Glass. I write.
Tonight was a good night for my beloved St. Louis Cardinals. Tony La Russa returned to manage the team for the first time in 6 games, and they bounced back from a 3 game sweep by the Cincinnati Reds with an impressive win over The Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1. They did extremely well against Cliff Lee too: through 6 1/3 inning tonight, Lee gave up 6 Walks, a career high and one shy of doubling his season total. Westbrook entered the game with a near 7.00 ERA, and pitched 7 beautiful innings only allowing 1 run on 4 hits against a powerful Phillies lineup. Berkman and Holliday continued to hit the ball well.