The Blue and White Flash

Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Opinion

Greg Oden, J.J. Reddick, Vince Young, and Reggie Bush, are all names synonymous with college athletics. They have played for some of the top programs in the nation such as the University of Texas, Duke University, University of Southern California, and Ohio State.

These players are responsible for bringing millions of dollars to their particular school, but they will never see the fruits of their labors. This brings the question that many people want to know; should Division 1 college athletes get paid? My answer is yes.

It is a fact that NCAA major sports are million, even billion dollar industries and the players are directly responsible for this income. Many people I have talked to around campus feel that scholarships are enough for these athletes to get by. Although four or five years of free school is great, the fact is one or two games played by those few players who are on full scholarship will cover that cost no problem. Besides that fact, everyone who plays on the team is not on scholarship. A lot of the 50 plus players on a college football team and 15 plus on a college basketball team are not on full scholarships, and many of them are not on scholarship at all.

With all the time and work they put in, shouldn't they receive something? I don't think the average person truly understands the work required to be a Division 1 college athlete. These young men and women put in nearly the same work as professional athletes, as well as balancing class work, but many times see no rewards. There is only a small percentage of these elite athletes that will get a major payoff by playing on the professional level.

How is it fair that they put in all the risk, with no reward. It seems like the NCAA is prostituting these athletes for their talents and money. NCAA football brings in roughly half a billion dollars a year, not counting the $184 million payouts for bowl games. Why don't the people who make this possible get a piece of the action.

The NCAA often makes the argument that they want to keep the line between amateur sports and professionalism, but I find this a contradiction of how they market these players and games. If you go to your local sporting store or even Wal-mart, you can find college playerís jerseys right next to these professional ones, so how is this not capitalizing on the player's names. Is it fair that college coaches can sign million dollar contracts but the players who are out there everyday get absolutely nothing?

The fact of the matter is, these athletes are doing the school work, as well as performing physically at a high level, so some type of payment is only fair. Million dollar contracts are not what I mean, but $500 or $1,000 dollars a month, while they are in season is adequate for a college student to survive.

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