As a young child, I had dreams of being an Olympic gold medalist, a professional basketball player, and a WWF (before it became the WWE) superstar. I just knew I’d be able to do it all. I unfortunately had an injury in high school, which put a damper on those dreams.
However, I still received an athletic scholarship to work (not play) with one of the main sports teams at a major university. This scholarship helped cover my tuition, books, and a few other expenses such as housing and my campus meal plan. In return, I spent roughly 5-6 hours a day at the athletic facility between practice, game prep, study hall, etc. On game days, I spent more time at the facility than the athletes did! Did I forget to mention, I had a full course load of classes?
Although I came from a privileged family, my parents never gave me an entitled upbringing. That meant if I needed something, I had to work and earn it, which included everything I needed in college. It really started to hit me towards the end of my freshman year when I had exhausted the extra funds I was granted via my scholarship, loans and other awards. I needed additional income to be able to travel home, go out with friends, and do normal everyday activities!
I was fortunate enough to find a work-study position in one of the school’s offices that was willing to work with my hectic athletic and class schedule. If I had one free hour in the day or even just one free hour in the week, they’d let me come in and work. The work-study position allowed me an opportunity to earn extra income, but the athletes on my team didn’t have that option because of compliance rules. I knew many of the players would’ve loved to earn an honest extra income especially during the off-season or free time between classes and practice. As a result, some of them unfortunately resorted to wrongful activity that I will not discuss.
So what is my perspective? I can go both ways on this argument. The NCAA, specifically Division-1 televised sports, is a billion-dollar industry and a major source of revenue for institutions. The athletes who contribute to that success should be compensated accordingly. But, college tuition costs between 30-120k or more for many of these four-year institutions, and these collegiate athletes should be grateful for that. Right? But what about the athletes who are walk-ons who contribute to a successful team but aren’t receiving any type of athletic scholarship? The time they put in and the contribution they make still helps that team; yet, they’re receiving no scholarship or type of compensation. What about the other collegiate sports that aren’t moneymakers for the university? Does that mean only football, basketball and baseball players should get paid? What about the irregularities that also exist between the male and female team funding?
There are so many factors that exist that I haven’t even mentioned, and all of them contribute to the very reason on why a solution hasn’t been made. Considering the disparities that exist between the different programs and the different schools, I do believe that potential resolutions should be thoroughly examined on a case-by-case basis. I do like the thought of athletes at major Division-1 teams being considered as student work-study employees. Higher performers receive higher wages; bonuses and additional grants or scholarship aid is given based on individual and team performance. Also, walk-ons and those without scholarships should be able to receive some type of funding for their work contribution. This could help student-athletes learn the valuable aspect of money management, which tends to be the ultimate demise for many professional athletes. Whatever the solution is, student-athletes need to be valued and compensated considering the billion-dollar industry that relies solely on their athletic ability.