NCAA student athletes getting paid

Should student athletes be paid?

  • Yes

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • No

    Votes: 8 80.0%
  • Not sure

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • Total voters
    10

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
Should student athletes, in revenue generating sports, get monetary compensation in addition to getting a scholarship?

The revenue generating sports most likely are football & men's basketball. Some other sports may produce revenue but it's a school by school case.
 

Freefaller

Active Member
Pay them, sure, why not? Pay them and then send them a 10-99 form so that they have to pay taxes on their income and the full value of their scholarship!
 

Beta

Smile!
Should student athletes, in revenue generating sports, get monetary compensation in addition to getting a scholarship?

The revenue generating sports most likely are football & men's basketball. Some other sports may produce revenue but it's a school by school case.

Here's the problem: which schools pay the players and which don't? If you look at the "revenue generating" sports, only some schools actually generate revenue. Do you only count Division 1 for basketball? FBS for football? Would it only be the major conferences that must pay athletes? Maybe only the teams that posted profits over the past few years would be forced to pay their athletes a share? Is the stipend the same from school to school, or can the schools pay whatever they want?

Once you draw the line somewhere, say the major conferences are the only ones who can pay, then all of the players will want to play for the teams that pay. You'll never see a great player get drafted from a lower tier college because as soon as they get recognized they'll transfer to a school that pays them, because who is stupid enough to turn down a paycheck when you have the option? A football team like Kentucky could have even more trouble being competitive if they aren't already generating revenue, whereas their basketball team would be fine. But basketball teams like Butler and Wichita State, who probably couldn't pay their players, would be at an even larger disadvantage.

While it's a nice pipe dream and the revenue generating players should get a "piece of the pie", I don't think it's practical. It's too much of a built-in advantage from the few schools that can actually afford it.
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out
We did this issue not too long ago. A fair number of people seemed to be agreeable that the kids should not be paid but they should be handed a voucher for a full four years of school so when their playing days are over they get to go back and actually study.
 

Beta

Smile!
We did this issue not too long ago. A fair number of people seemed to be agreeable that the kids should not be paid but they should be handed a voucher for a full four years of school so when their playing days are over they get to go back and actually study.

If the kids aren't taking advantage of their educational opportunities while being given scholarships then what will 4 additional years do? Plenty of players get degrees and even start advanced degrees (even finish on occasion) while also playing sports. If some aren't wise enough to get a degree the first time around, why should the school pay for it? They're given great access to academic advisers since everyone wants them to succeed. I've seen players who went to the NFL get Engineering degrees or advanced degrees, so there's no excuse that there's not enough time to study and play.

Here's where I'd bend: if a player signs to a school on a 4 year scholarship and leaves after 3 years to go pro, he could be given the 4th year at a later date of his choosing. That way he can finish up his original degree and get the benefits of the 4 years he signed for, even if he leaves early.

It's on the player to make use of the time he's on campus.
 

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
Here's where I'd bend: if a player signs to a school on a 4 year scholarship and leaves after 3 years to go pro, he could be given the 4th year at a later date of his choosing. That way he can finish up his original degree and get the benefits of the 4 years he signed for, even if he leaves early.

Why should a player that stayed for 3 years get the same benefit as the kid that stuck around for all 4 years?
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out
It's on the player to make use of the time he's on campus.

D 1 schools take in kids who have no business being there otherwise, use them, wear them out and then 2% of them go on to be pros. So, screw 'em, the school owes them nothing?

Penn State football takes in $50 mil a year. For 88 kids, IIRC that is how many they are allowed, that's about $250,000 a kid that is being brought in by the school for the privilege of watching them beat each other to a pulp. If you're a four year player and, say, pretty good, you helped earned the 'ol alma mater a cool mil.
 

Hannibal

Active Member
Kids ought to be paid in some fashion. And simply saying "scholarships" are the offset is not accurate or reasonable. Scholarships are a formality of business. It's an exchange of service. They school is "paying you" the cost of the education. And they are still making money on that. If tuition is $25k/year is the tuition for a year, their costs are far less. They make money on that. It's simple numbers.

Speaking as a former NCAA (D1) baseball player, even on scholarship, you are poor (and often poorer than most). Let's be clear, most kids dont' pay their own way. Their costs are usually the burden of parents. So, even while being provided a scholarship, you still have other expenses (books/supplies which can be costly of course). And the end result was that I had litterally had no money in my pocket. My food choices were pretty much limited to what was being served in the cafeteria which was often an issue when practice/game schedules conflicted with the hours the cafe was open.

Above this, given the expectations of your time to the sport, you literally didn't have time to work. One off-season, I tried to find a part time job (just for spending money) but couldn't find employment given my requirements at school. Offseasons were bogged down with training/weights and study hall. Preseason was two-a-day practices, weights/training and study hall. In season was a mess of practices (on off days), weights and a rigorous travel schedule.

For many of these kids, they are litterally school poor. There is no money to take a girl out on a date. There is no money to eat off campus. There is no money to buy a new pair of jeans/shoes. And God forbid you push back on the sport and demand more time ......... then you run the risk of putting your scholarship at risk.

Keep in mind, while some kids have the ability to work/bank some money in the summer, for some, summers are tied up playing summer leagues where you are often away from home (living with a foster family) where you earn enough of a per diem to pay for your dinner.

Something needs to be done. I've always thought it should be proportional to the amount of time you are expected to provide to your team (inclusive of ALL activities). Pay could/should be minimal but it's not unreasonable to think that a kid should be able to have $20 in his pocket to pay for gas or to take his GF to dinner every now and again.

Aside from this, there ought to be some additional consideration for continued education. It is very tough to apply yourself on the education front (as you should) while being forced to apply yourself on the field at the same time.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a gift to be able to receive an education for a skillset/talent you are, in sense, born with (and isn't available to everyone); however, something needs to be done to suppliment people who are in this position. And the fact is, the NCAA makes a killing from these kids for services that aren't the most condusive to their education. It needs to be a bit more balanced.
 
Last edited:

Larry Gude

Strung Out
Don't get me wrong, it's still a gift to be able to receive an education for a skillset/talent you in sense with born with (and isn't available to everyone); however, something needs to be done to suppliment people who are in this position. And the fact is, the NCAA makes a killing from these kids and makes a killing from them. It needs to be a bit more balanced.

Good post. :buddies:
 

Hannibal

Active Member
Appreciate it. However, after reading the quoted portion, I realized that my brain was moving faster than my fingers so I needed to go back and correct some horrible grammar/missed words.
 

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
For the most part only football & men's basketball generate any revenue. Girls basketball may make some money at UConn where they always field a winning program.

I think the intent way back when was to have sports for the students. Now you have the football coach as the highest paid person in the school. Often times the athletes can't even read at a 3rd grade level. Then you have the illiterate college player like Dexter Manley. Kids are recruited for their skills not their SAT scores. Then the students are given classes that are little more than helpful to a student.

Many of the blue chip stud athletes are paid in the form of a donation from a school booster. Although it's against the rules, what kid is going to rat out someone willing to give them an envelope full of money.
 

Hannibal

Active Member
I do agree with the notion that many sport team carry players who otherwise would not be accepted to the place. That needs to stop. College is an earned venture and because you can break a tackle or shoot a 3-pointer shouldn't gain you access. I would support an idea stating you had to maintain a certain GPA, meet all acceptance requirements and carry a course load (both in numbers and difficulty) in order to be a scholarship candidate.
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out
I would support an idea stating you had to maintain a certain GPA, meet all acceptance requirements and carry a course load (both in numbers and difficulty) in order to be a scholarship candidate.

That's one of those "I can't drive 55" rules schools simply go about the steady business of violating from SMU to North Carolina to, now, it seems, Stanford. And it's one those things that makes the NCAA smirked at so often, like a Keystone Cop; scholastic requirements to provide the facade of 'student/athlete' for many the major sports and programs.

American's do not care as much about schooling or integrity or any of that stuff as we do our violence. We WANT our Gladiators just like sex and drugs and alcohol and the money is there so some way, somehow, the supply is going to be provided. So, as it is a simple business deal, what we're talking about is paying the market price and as long as the controls are in place on the supply, grades, pretense of being a student, all the business majors in these schools look on with impressed young eyes and minds; "So THAT is how you do it, huh?"
 

SG_Player1974

New Member
What I do not understand is that these "college-level" kids KNOW that they are signing up to play a sport and get a scholarship in exchange. They KNOW they will not have a lot of money (unless they or their parents are "wealthy") They KNOW that they will have to balance study and sports. They KNOW it is going to be hard.

All of this is already WELL KNOWN BEFORE they agree to play a sport and attend a major university YET... they complain about these very things and demand to be paid!

The way I look at it is... if you don't like it, feel free to drop out of the sport and pay your own tuition. :shrug:
 

Hannibal

Active Member
What I do not understand is that these "college-level" kids KNOW that they are signing up to play a sport and get a scholarship in exchange. They KNOW they will not have a lot of money (unless they or their parents are "wealthy") They KNOW that they will have to balance study and sports. They KNOW it is going to be hard.

All of this is already WELL KNOWN BEFORE they agree to play a sport and attend a major university YET... they complain about these very things and demand to be paid!

The way I look at it is... if you don't like it, feel free to drop out of the sport and pay your own tuition. :shrug:

Yes and No. To say kids KNOW these things isn't accurate. No kid is recruited by a school that says "We are going to occupy all of your time so you might as well not plan on having any down time." They might discuss practice philosophys and the coach might give them the standard allowances as mandated by NCAA. But that doesn't cover their "expectations" concerning weight room time. Doesn't cover the 2 hrs a night you are to be at study hall (keep in mind "studying" doesn't always pertain to the lessons you are being taught in class either, etc.). None of that is discussed.

They also don't elaborate on the fact that in season, you are travelling and away from your "home" three nights a week, not to mention the hours on the bus when you're the away team. And most kids think their time crunch is limited to the "in season."

Call it ignorance of youth or salesmanship of a coach. But that is reality in a lot of cases.

Above this, I think it's an unreasonable expectation that kids must accept this trade off as part of their commitment to a school. Should a kid accept the constraints to his/her education while fulfilling his/her obligations while under scholarship? Should the accept not being able to generate some spending money because they have no time available to them?

Also, keep in mind, the weight of a scholarship especially on a kid whose talent in borderline is HUGE especially if it's a reality that he/she couldn't pay their way otherwise.
 
Last edited:

Larry Gude

Strung Out
Yes and No. To say kids KNOW these things isn't accurate. No kid is recruited by a school that says "We are going to occupy all of your time so you might as well not plan on having any down time." They might discuss practice philosophys and the coach might give them the standard allowances as mandated by NCAA. But that doesn't cover their "expectations" concerning weight room time. Doesn't cover the 2 hrs a night you are to be at study hall (keep in mind "studying" doesn't always pertain to the lessons you are being taught in class either, etc.). None of that is discussed.

They also don't elaborate on the fact that in season, you are travelling and away from your "home" three nights a week, not to mention the hours on the bus when you're the away team. And most kids think their time crunch is limited to the "in season."

Call it ignorance of youth or salesmanship of a coach. But that is reality in a lot of cases.

Above this, I think it's an unreasonable expectation that kids must accept this trade off as part of their commitment to a school. Should a kid accept the constraints to his/her education while fulfilling his/her obligations while under scholarship? Should the accept not being able to generate some spending money because they have no time available to them?

Also, keep in mind, the weight of a scholarship especially on a kid whose talent in borderline is HUGE especially if it's a reality that he/she couldn't pay their way otherwise.

Dude, you are now in charge of the NCAA. :buddies:
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out
What I do not understand is that these "college-level" kids KNOW that they are signing up to play a sport and get a scholarship in exchange. They KNOW they will not have a lot of money (unless they or their parents are "wealthy") They KNOW that they will have to balance study and sports. They KNOW it is going to be hard.

All of this is already WELL KNOWN BEFORE they agree to play a sport and attend a major university YET... they complain about these very things and demand to be paid!

The way I look at it is... if you don't like it, feel free to drop out of the sport and pay your own tuition. :shrug:

I think you are currently in charge of the NCAA. :lol:
 
Top