Paying College Athletes

[featofstrength]

got into a rather heated debate with some "friends" over the matter of paying college atheletes. I was definitely in the minority with the "no" and "pro quality education" stance, resulting in quite a browbeating and some unwarranted personal attacks. Sports fans, how fired up does this topic get you, and what are your feelings towards the movement?

[Wheeljack35]

Amateurs shouldn't get paid.They really should be playing this because they love NOT because they are getting paid too

[Dragon66]

I agree that the payment of a scholarship plus the per diem that is allotted to these players is enough. The simple fact that when they leave school, they don't owe student loans is proof of payment. Room and board, food, books, and many other things are provided to these athletes at no cost other than playing a sport that they enjoy playing.

[CLAM]

I agree that the payment of a scholarship plus the per diem that is allotted to these players is enough. The simple fact that when they leave school, they don't owe student loans is proof of payment. Room and board, food, books, and many other things are provided to these athletes at no cost other than playing a sport that they enjoy playing.

 

 

agreed. They get plenty to play. A free ride through college should be good enough for these guys. And they are supposed to be playing because they love the sport.

 

 

I know that the schools make tons of money from sports usually... and if it already isn't, that money should be used to lower tuition for everybody else, not payed to the students that play sports

[Nguyen_Dragon]

I agree that the payment of a scholarship plus the per diem that is allotted to these players is enough. The simple fact that when they leave school, they don't owe student loans is proof of payment. Room and board, food, books, and many other things are provided to these athletes at no cost other than playing a sport that they enjoy playing.

 

 

agreed. They get plenty to play. A free ride through college should be good enough for these guys. And they are supposed to be playing because they love the sport.

 

 

I know that the schools make tons of money from sports usually... and if it already isn't, that money should be used to lower tuition for everybody else, not payed to the students that play sports

 

That's the problem... It isn't... Tuition is ridiculous compared to when I got my degree... Check on the salaries of the coaches and athletic directors and you know where the money is going...

 

I am surprised most of you guys are on the side of these higher learning institutions that are now more about making money than education...

 

I am not saying to pay them but something is wrong when these kids from Ohio State got suspended selling memorabilia so their family can pay the bills and Mac Brown from UT is getting paid 5 million plus a year...

[Dragon66]

No, I am not on the side of the institutions, but fixing the costs associated with those is a whole other ball of wax. Want to drop tuition? Get rid of tenure, base pay for all staff (administrators, professors, coaches, etc.) on their performance. One of the reasons that the top football coaches make more than anyone else at these schools is that the football program makes most of the money that funds all of the other sports on campus. So the colleges feel more pressure to keep their football team in a place where the alumni and boosters are happy, will return, and donate money to the school.

 

However, I am saying that a four year degree means more to the scholarship player who doesn't make the pro's, or only plays professionally for a short time, because they need that for their future employment opportunities (teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime). If your are taking the money from the football program away from a women's spring sport and give it to the hotshot 18 year old Quarterback, he is going to end up getting into trouble. These big programs have enough problems with hanger-ons, disreputable boosters, and bad agents, that paying the players will not fix the problem. The only solution that would work both ways is pay the players, but make them pay for their education, books, room, and board. If you did that you would essentially kill college athletics as we know it, because big time boosters would try to buy championships (a la boosters like Phil Knight and T. Boone Pickens).

[featofstrength]

I am not saying to pay them but something is wrong when these kids from Ohio State got suspended selling memorabilia so their family can pay the bills and Mac Brown from UT is getting paid 5 million plus a year...

 

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Latest+News/2011/June/Jay+Paterno+Pay+Student-Athletes+Theyre+Already+Getting+a+Great+Deal

 

What's wrong is there are always better options, and some choose to take the easy way without weighing the consequences. Their families should be working their asses off to work out their own sh*t at this point in their lives, considering these kids had the talent to get that far. These kids are fighting hard enough to become adults on their own to worry about the failings of a previous generation. Full-ride..a chance to persue a dream and keep doing what you love, while at the same time getting a great education fall-back plan if things dont pan out. And in time it could all work out for the kids and the families as well...but guess what? they blew it. they all blew it together. And i dont care how bad the college sports business is in structure, these people need to suck it up and be responsible for their own actions.

 

Should we put together a slideshow of slaved and abused full-ride athelete with "Angel" by Sarah MacLachlan?

Tear down the greedy, fat-cat college atheletics associations and school administrators?

 

get out the tiny violins and let the bleeding hearts dance: how many second chances should people get?

[CLAM]

I agree that the payment of a scholarship plus the per diem that is allotted to these players is enough. The simple fact that when they leave school, they don't owe student loans is proof of payment. Room and board, food, books, and many other things are provided to these athletes at no cost other than playing a sport that they enjoy playing.

 

 

agreed. They get plenty to play. A free ride through college should be good enough for these guys. And they are supposed to be playing because they love the sport.

 

 

I know that the schools make tons of money from sports usually... and if it already isn't, that money should be used to lower tuition for everybody else, not payed to the students that play sports

 

That's the problem... It isn't... Tuition is ridiculous compared to when I got my degree... Check on the salaries of the coaches and athletic directors and you know where the money is going...

 

I am surprised most of you guys are on the side of these higher learning institutions that are now more about making money than education...

 

I am not saying to pay them but something is wrong when these kids from Ohio State got suspended selling memorabilia so their family can pay the bills and Mac Brown from UT is getting paid 5 million plus a year...

 

I am not on the "side" of the colleges. but I don't think that paying students is the answer. Those two things are not in direct comparison. It is not Pay the athletes or let the school have all the money.

 

I think it is complete BS how much money the schools rake in and allocate to other areas besides education or the students. Something definitely should be done by the NCAA to make sure that the money isn't going towards rich coaches. I agree that that is indeed bullcrap that the students put just as much in as the coaches, but the school and the coaches get rich off of the sweat that the players put in.

 

I also think those players getting suspended for selling THEIR OWN stuff was ridiculous. It does seem like the student athletes are the only ones held to such strict regulations. They can't make any money at all (and they shouldn't), but the coaches are millionaires. In the mean time, the regular students have to pay an arm and a leg and go into major debt to go to school there. Something ain't right.

[Nguyen_Dragon]

Keep in mind the majority of these guys don't graduate with useful degrees... They go for the easiest major and a lot of times encouraged to do so by the coaching staff so there be more time for football... I played sports in highschool and it was difficult finding time to get all my studies done... I had a tough time getting my business degree without any sports... I cant imagine how it is at the college level with even more pressure to perform on the field... I just feel the majority of these kids never really had the chance to succeed beyond football and the "free ride" is just a cover up... I think its around 1% of student athletes actually making it to the pro level... The rest risk life threatening injuries to make everyone else rich for a communication degree...

[Dragon66]

Keep in mind the majority of these guys don't graduate with useful degrees... They go for the easiest major and a lot of times encouraged to do so by the coaching staff so there be more time for football... I played sports in highschool and it was difficult finding time to get all my studies done... I had a tough time getting my business degree without any sports... I cant imagine how it is at the college level with even more pressure to perform on the field... I just feel the majority of these kids never really had the chance to succeed beyond football and the "free ride" is just a cover up... I think its around 1% of student athletes actually making it to the pro level... The rest risk life threatening injuries to make everyone else rich for a communication degree...

Your second and third string guys no that there are limited number of spots in the pro's, so they do pursue a useful degree on the college's dime. Let's just say 110 colleges are fielding a football team with 75 scholarships available, but each NFL team can only maintain a 53 man roster, that is over 6500 scholarships for kids who don't make to the pro's. While the student athlete has a tough time juggling practice, studies, and maintaining a social life, they still have the advantage of free tutors to help them whereas regular students have to pay for these privilege. There is a reason that they are still called student athletes, not athlete students, because the emphasis is supposed to be on the education first. This is not as big of a problem with sports other than your premeir college basketball programs, where your one and done kids register for classes for the first couple of semesters then declare for the NBA draft. Do you think that Stephon Marbury actually ever showed up for a class at Georgia Tech? Do you think John Calipari can tell all of his kids to go to class everyday with a straight face?

[Silverbolt]

I have no issues with college players being paid provided the ones that do are not getting a scholarship as well.

 

Honestly the scholarships should go to the players that likely have little to no future after college sports. Those are the ones that will use the education they gain.

 

Going to be a one and done in basketball, fine here some cash to play here (that money can come from a booster pot) and here's the bill for your tuition. They can either pay for it out of their "salary" or get a loan until they sign their big contract.

 

I rather see this then have a scholarship wasted on someone that likely will never complete the degree, or even if they do will likely already be well set for life and not really require it going forward.

 

There also needs to be some changes for those that are on scholarship, they need to be able to sell stuff they have earned, provided the price is around the going rate for the item, and they need to be able to accept reasonable gifts like a dinner.

[featofstrength]

useful degrees... The rest risk life threatening injuries to make everyone else rich for a communication degree...

 

They dont have to. Again, choices. Life goes on in either direction. Suck it up and learn to take the responsibility for your own failures just as you would your own success.

 

Nice slam on folks who may have gone for the communication degrees, generalizing that all of them are failures.

[Nguyen_Dragon]

useful degrees... The rest risk life threatening injuries to make everyone else rich for a communication degree...

 

They dont have to. Again, choices. Life goes on in either direction. Suck it up and learn to take the responsibility for your own failures just as you would your own success.

 

Nice slam on folks who may have gone for the communication degrees, generalizing that all of them are failures.

 

Not failures... Its just tougher to find work compared to other degrees even more now that the economy has gone to hell... I used it as an example cause I know a few people that had to go back for another degree...

 

I understand that... But these are kids being guided by adults who are looking to fill their pockets...

[Nguyen_Dragon]

Keep in mind the majority of these guys don't graduate with useful degrees... They go for the easiest major and a lot of times encouraged to do so by the coaching staff so there be more time for football... I played sports in highschool and it was difficult finding time to get all my studies done... I had a tough time getting my business degree without any sports... I cant imagine how it is at the college level with even more pressure to perform on the field... I just feel the majority of these kids never really had the chance to succeed beyond football and the "free ride" is just a cover up... I think its around 1% of student athletes actually making it to the pro level... The rest risk life threatening injuries to make everyone else rich for a communication degree...

Your second and third string guys no that there are limited number of spots in the pro's, so they do pursue a useful degree on the college's dime. Let's just say 110 colleges are fielding a football team with 75 scholarships available, but each NFL team can only maintain a 53 man roster, that is over 6500 scholarships for kids who don't make to the pro's. While the student athlete has a tough time juggling practice, studies, and maintaining a social life, they still have the advantage of free tutors to help them whereas regular students have to pay for these privilege. There is a reason that they are still called student athletes, not athlete students, because the emphasis is supposed to be on the education first. This is not as big of a problem with sports other than your premeir college basketball programs, where your one and done kids register for classes for the first couple of semesters then declare for the NBA draft. Do you think that Stephon Marbury actually ever showed up for a class at Georgia Tech? Do you think John Calipari can tell all of his kids to go to class everyday with a straight face?

 

Personally I think they need to make it mandatory that all draftees have a degree... Maybe even extend their scholarships if they choose to go back for another degree with a better opportunity after football...

[Dragon66]

Personally I think they need to make it mandatory that all draftees have a degree... Maybe even extend their scholarships if they choose to go back for another degree with a better opportunity after football...

if this were the case, maybe all student athletes would be more inclined to attend classes. All of the student athletes involved in sports other than Football and Men's Basketball have to focus on their classes. An added bonus, requiring a degree would lessen the chances of drafting a Jamarcus Russell, Greg Oden, or Ryan Leaf.

[featofstrength]

working today at Missouri State...in a crowded elevator, a custodian passed around a graduation picture of her daughter, sharing the news of her recent acceptance to college to play basketball on a full-ride scholarship. Made me tear up to see such a proud parent sharing their joys with almost strangers.

 

Not once did she complain about the amount or say anything about wanting more. Not once did she speak out about the unversity fat-cats. Not once did she bring up any family problems or anything that might cause strain on her daughter's newly opened path.

 

Pride. Joy. Gratefulness.

 

I wish them all the best.

[Dragon66]

Awesome story.

 

That is the problem with this topic, people only really talk about paying the athletes who can go onto the NFL and NBA. The full scholarships help so many kids who need help and have the ability to play at the collegiate level.

[Nguyen_Dragon]

Great story... If only we have more stories like this society would be a whole lot better...

[Saraluck9090]

Good story.