The National Collegiate Athletic Association is the organization utilized by many colleges and universities across the nation to direct their athletics programs.
Founded in 1905, the association has grown and evolved to include a well-organized system of bylaws, a plethora of statistics and records, and numerous resources for student athletes and program directors alike.
One of the more controversial of the NCAA’s policies has been the mandate that student athletes not be reimbursed for their participation in athletics.
It’s no secret that successful athletic programs rake in millions of dollars, and many individuals draw on these numbers as reason why student athletes ought to be paid.
Not only are student athletes bringing home the bacon, but there is plenty of it to go around.
Or so you may think.
According to the NCAA, more than 90 percent of schools actually lose money on their athletics programs.
Allowing colleges and universities to pay their athletes would only make this problem worse for the majority of schools, and would diminish the success of their programs as the best athletes would flock to the schools offering compensation.
It is also important to correct the misconception that sports revenues go to shareholders or even college campus — most of the time, these funds are redirected back into college athletics, according to the NCAA.
Reimbursement could also possibly violate Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 — legislation that attempts to maintain fairness in education programs like athletics.
Title IX requires that female and male student athletes receive proportionally equal scholarship dollars, which may make payment of athletes impractical, or even impossible, as funds would have to be doled out to the non-revenue-making realm of women’s sports.
Still, the most compelling reason why student athletes should not be paid may be that student athletes are students first and not university employees.
Many argue that student athletes bring enormous value to the colleges and universities they play for — in this case in the form of dollars — and thus they should see some portion of that value returned to them.
But the fact is, a student athlete brings value to a school just like the star of the debate team or the president of the community service club.
The student working tirelessly in the biology lab is contributing to the millions of dollars ASU is awarded each year in federal research grants just as those talented in painting or sculpture are part of what makes ASU so well-rounded, creatively charged, and diverse.
The football stars’ contribution to the athletic program and to school spirit is nothing different.
The privilege to participate in collegiate sports affords these students a great number of opportunities, including a higher graduation rate than the rest of the student body, according to the NCAA. Moreover, colleges and universities hand out $1.5 billion each year in athletic scholarships according to the NCAA.
What could be a better reward than a free college diploma and the honor of donning your school’s football jersey?
Let’s keep the playing field level.
Reach Kristen at kckelle2@asu.edu
