They shouldn’t get paid except through a scholorship. They have a choice to go play in the pros if they want to get paid. Plus what athlete doesn’t want free exposure through the networks? They want teams to see them so they can get drafted. What’s happened is some who didn’t make it big time, are now trying to get big money. Take a lesson from Kobe Bryant, go big right out of high school. Go back to school later if you really want to.
I agree with you, Baxtor. They are getting an education for free. If they get paid, they shouldn’t get free tuition. I also think that any player who gets a pro contract before they graduate should pay the school back for any scholarship money they received.
I think you both are a little out of touch on this topic. NCAA reform has been on the horizon for several years now. Understand this: EA Sports made close to $4 billion in the 2012-13 fiscal year, with the NCAA raking in over $900 million during the same period. Yet, the NCAA or EA never attempted to compensate these athletes, who number in the hundreds of thousands, for the use of their likenesses in an incredibly popular and lucrative game. That’s just flat out unfair and unjust and the Court of Law also agrees that this is unjust (hence the payments to players)
No other student on a college campus is restricted like the NCAA restricts its “student-athletes”. Student athletes are not permitted to work during the school year because their main responsibility is to win games and make more money for the schools. Working around the clock hours of exceeding 40+ hours a week during season and the offseason to try and win games. Missing important classes and exams in order to try and win games.
This topic is very near and dear to my heart because I am a former Division-1 athlete. I had a great experience and earned my degree from a very good University and work hard in the classroom and on the court. I have put my degree to use and working in the insurance industry today when I came across your comments.
However there were a couple of glaring things that grabbed my attention during my time. First and Foremost, I was fortunate to have a relatively health career, in my four years I only had two major injuries. After the surgeries and rehabilitation for those injuries the school covered about 85% and I got a bill for just under $4K. That I had to come out of pocket for, actually my parents did because as a scholarship athlete you are not permitted to work.
Speaking of working did I mention student athletes are not permitted to work? So when your meal plans run out before the school year is over. You have the option of calling mom and dad to see if they have the capacity to send you reserves. If they don’t you can ask the athletic department for more meal money to eat…which they will say no because those are deemed extra benefits by “NCAA bylaws”. However the coaches are all making six figure salaries for their efforts and skills. Is that fair or just? I recall vividly a teammate of mine from Brazil who was 7’0 feet tall. When his meal plan was exhausted the athletic department told him they could not give him anymore money because of “NCAA rules”. He ended up getting caught stealing fruit and sandwiches from the campus cafeteria and ended up being disciplined for that (eventually leaving the school all together).
Meanwhile, Coaches are paid very, very well for their efforts. John Calipari from the University of Kentucky just signed a contract extension for $52 million dollars. University of Alabama’s football Coach Nick Saban makes $7 million a season, but just how much is that? For one thing, he now makes more money than any coach in America, except for a couple of NFL coaches and one NBA coach. Wow, but the players making him the money with their talents don’t deserve any compensation?
I think you two are both a little out of touch. I am a former Division-1 athelete myself. As a D-1 scholarship student athlete you were not allowed to work like other students. Your job was to be an athlete. We had annual meal plans of about 1500 dollars for the entire academic year. Once that ran out you were on your own, you still had to train but you could not get any additional money because that was an NCAA violation. I recall a time when one of our players who was from Brazil and came from a poor family ran out of money and was caught stealing fruit and a sandwich from the cafeteria. He was not permitted to work because he was a scholarship athlete. Yet our coaches were all making a minimum of six figures. Also your scholarships are not guranteed, they are renewed every year and some coaches are notorious for not renewing scholarships when better players are available. I graduated and have moved onto a professional career in the insurance industry. In hindsight, The NCAA is a multibillion-dollar business just like the NBA or NFL or Major League Baseball that just happens to be run out of a college campus.They’re claiming, “No, we deserve to have free labor”. Did you know that six baseball coaches in the Southeastern Conference are making more than one million dollars a year? Baseball coaches. And they claim they don’t have enough money for the players…Nick Saban the football coach at the University of Alabama makes more money than any coach in America except for a couple of NFL coaches and 1 NBA coach. Yet the players deserve no compensation?
They shouldn’t get paid except through a scholorship. They have a choice to go play in the pros if they want to get paid. Plus what athlete doesn’t want free exposure through the networks? They want teams to see them so they can get drafted. What’s happened is some who didn’t make it big time, are now trying to get big money. Take a lesson from Kobe Bryant, go big right out of high school. Go back to school later if you really want to.
I agree with you, Baxtor. They are getting an education for free. If they get paid, they shouldn’t get free tuition. I also think that any player who gets a pro contract before they graduate should pay the school back for any scholarship money they received.
I think you both are a little out of touch on this topic. NCAA reform has been on the horizon for several years now. Understand this: EA Sports made close to $4 billion in the 2012-13 fiscal year, with the NCAA raking in over $900 million during the same period. Yet, the NCAA or EA never attempted to compensate these athletes, who number in the hundreds of thousands, for the use of their likenesses in an incredibly popular and lucrative game. That’s just flat out unfair and unjust and the Court of Law also agrees that this is unjust (hence the payments to players)
No other student on a college campus is restricted like the NCAA restricts its “student-athletes”. Student athletes are not permitted to work during the school year because their main responsibility is to win games and make more money for the schools. Working around the clock hours of exceeding 40+ hours a week during season and the offseason to try and win games. Missing important classes and exams in order to try and win games.
This topic is very near and dear to my heart because I am a former Division-1 athlete. I had a great experience and earned my degree from a very good University and work hard in the classroom and on the court. I have put my degree to use and working in the insurance industry today when I came across your comments.
However there were a couple of glaring things that grabbed my attention during my time. First and Foremost, I was fortunate to have a relatively health career, in my four years I only had two major injuries. After the surgeries and rehabilitation for those injuries the school covered about 85% and I got a bill for just under $4K. That I had to come out of pocket for, actually my parents did because as a scholarship athlete you are not permitted to work.
Speaking of working did I mention student athletes are not permitted to work? So when your meal plans run out before the school year is over. You have the option of calling mom and dad to see if they have the capacity to send you reserves. If they don’t you can ask the athletic department for more meal money to eat…which they will say no because those are deemed extra benefits by “NCAA bylaws”. However the coaches are all making six figure salaries for their efforts and skills. Is that fair or just? I recall vividly a teammate of mine from Brazil who was 7’0 feet tall. When his meal plan was exhausted the athletic department told him they could not give him anymore money because of “NCAA rules”. He ended up getting caught stealing fruit and sandwiches from the campus cafeteria and ended up being disciplined for that (eventually leaving the school all together).
Meanwhile, Coaches are paid very, very well for their efforts. John Calipari from the University of Kentucky just signed a contract extension for $52 million dollars. University of Alabama’s football Coach Nick Saban makes $7 million a season, but just how much is that? For one thing, he now makes more money than any coach in America, except for a couple of NFL coaches and one NBA coach. Wow, but the players making him the money with their talents don’t deserve any compensation?
I think you two are both a little out of touch. I am a former Division-1 athelete myself. As a D-1 scholarship student athlete you were not allowed to work like other students. Your job was to be an athlete. We had annual meal plans of about 1500 dollars for the entire academic year. Once that ran out you were on your own, you still had to train but you could not get any additional money because that was an NCAA violation. I recall a time when one of our players who was from Brazil and came from a poor family ran out of money and was caught stealing fruit and a sandwich from the cafeteria. He was not permitted to work because he was a scholarship athlete. Yet our coaches were all making a minimum of six figures. Also your scholarships are not guranteed, they are renewed every year and some coaches are notorious for not renewing scholarships when better players are available. I graduated and have moved onto a professional career in the insurance industry. In hindsight, The NCAA is a multibillion-dollar business just like the NBA or NFL or Major League Baseball that just happens to be run out of a college campus.They’re claiming, “No, we deserve to have free labor”. Did you know that six baseball coaches in the Southeastern Conference are making more than one million dollars a year? Baseball coaches. And they claim they don’t have enough money for the players…Nick Saban the football coach at the University of Alabama makes more money than any coach in America except for a couple of NFL coaches and 1 NBA coach. Yet the players deserve no compensation?