Should Colleges Pay Athletes?
There has been an on-going debate on whether or not colleges should pay athletes. You have arguments on both sides of this issue.
Post Comment|0 Liked It
Over the years there have been many stories of athletes going to college and playing sports and not attending classes. Many of them were on full scholarships. They liked playing their particular sport, but didn’t enjoy going to class. A star player often got away with doing that. The college or university that receives enormous revenue from a successful athletic program most likely knew star players didn’t attend class. I’m sure they didn’t want to jeopardize the money coming in.
College football and basketball are the big revenue producers for the schools. Not only do they bring in millions of dollars, but a lot of exposure for the school. Schools like USC, Florida, Ohio State, Alabama and Texas are just a few of the big name universities with highly successful football programs. Because their programs are successful year in and year out, they attract the best athletes and bring in lots of money for their school. College basketball has North Carolina, Duke and Louisville among others that have very successful programs.
The NCAA which is the governing body for major college sports is highly opposed to athletes getting paid. In fact, the NCAA makes it difficult for a student athlete to receive even the smallest amount of money outside of their scholarship stipend. Some people feel that athletes should be paid because they help bring in that revenue for the colleges and universities. Others feel that an athlete goes to school first and foremost to get an education. They are talented enough to play sports and that is a privilege.
A lot of the coaches of these successful programs receive millions of dollars from the university and from shoe companies and other organizations. What kind of job could a coach do without great athletes? Probably not a very good one. Why shouldn’t the athlete receive some of that money? After all, they play a big part in the success of the team. College sports is big business. Just look at the NCAA tournament and how big it has gotten. The BCIS championship in football, no matter how controversial, is huge. A little slice of that pie should be given to the athletes that make it all possible.
