Wrapping up Junior Theme

As my last post related to my Junior Theme topic (why are NCAA student-athletes not paid?), I decided to put my opinion to answer this question here on my blog. In my paper I had to focus on the reasons why they haven't been paid, but now I want to express my own beliefs I picked up throughout the entire process.


First and foremost, I think that Division I college-athletes should get paid. The NCAA is making a ridiculous amount of money based upon these athletes performance, and using it as entertainment to sell to the people of the US. With all the sponsorship deals schools make along with ticket sales, college sports has become a billion dollar business. The athletes that put more time into their sports than most people put in their jobs should not be treated as they are now. With all the time that they do end up putting in, it is nearly impossible to get another job to feed themselves throughout the school year.


Now, I realize that it would be highly difficult to pay every single college athlete in Division I, but it can definitely happen. The student-athletes don't need to sign million dollar contracts or anything remotely close to that, but if they get roughly $200 a month to feed themselves, that would definitely be enough. The Division I universities are making enough money to pay each student-athlete this much without losing money, and it would encourage more students to participate in sports during college. Division II and Division III sports do not make enough money from college sports to pay their players, so I feel that they should be exempt from doing so.


A $200 stipend per month could solve many problems that schools have with breaking NCAA infractions, but another problem still remains. I think that players have a right to speak to agents during their college career, and even accept money from them. Schools should not have a right to limit who a student-athlete can or can't talk to, as long as it doesn't affect his performance on the field and in the classroom. Speaking of classrooms, a new rule could also be implemented that (along with suspensions), stops any money a player can receive if he is not performing well in the classroom. This would make there be much more incentive to actually learn in college rather than just play sports.


To summarize, a $200 stipend can solve many different problems the NCAA has, but unfortunately with the current system in place, it may be very hard make any changes. If there is a large enough group to go with this idea, change could be possible within the next 10 years, before the NCAA grows even larger to a larger multi-billion dollar industry that it is today.