Should College Athletes get paid? (Merged)

[jlb1705]

Those people get paid too... They're called gradutate assistantships. They get (gasp!) tuition remission and a stipend.

[strohs]

Originally Posted by jlb1705

Those people get paid too... They're called gradutate assistantships. They get (gasp!) tuition remission and a stipend.

Good, they deserve it.
No one student should be given special treatment just becuase they can play a sport, period.

[Bucklion]

For most schools, the only sport that generates any positive revenue is football. A few (less than one might think) are also in the positive in basketball. So, do you only pay the players in revenue-generating sports? What about the women's fencing team...do they get paid as much as football players? I don't think there is an equitable way to do it, even if I agreed with it, which I don't. Revenue generated from football pays for all the scholarships and operating budgets of sports that don't gross dollar one. Likewise, the players can make millions of dollars if they are good enough to play professionally in football or basketball....and presumably they're the ones that are generating most of the revenue at the college level anyway. At Ohio State, for example, the players get the national exposure and chance to develop their skills, which directly leads to future earning potential. Take the most extreme example: Would Maurice Clarret even be under consideration of being drafted had he played a single year of football at Temple? Would anyone even know who he was?

The best players make millions professionally...the rest, who aren't professional caliber, get a chance to play and get for free what everyone else has to pay for...still seems like a pretty good deal to me.

[AJHawkfan]

Originally Posted by Bucklion

For most schools, the only sport that generates any positive revenue is football. So, do you only pay the players in revenue-generating sports? What about the women's fencing team...do they get paid as much as football players? I don't think there is an equitable way to do it, even if I agreed with it, which I don't. Revenue generated from football pays for all the scholarships and operating budgets of sports that don't gross dollar one.

Exactly Bucklion. If the University is "exploiting" these kids so horribly, the option is always there for the kid to transfer out or quit playing.

I put myself through college and am still paying for it, almost 9 years after I graduated. If I could've gotten a full ride playing ball, I would've been the first one in line to take it.

[Zurp]

Originally Posted by Bucklion

For most schools, the only sport that generates any positive revenue is football. A few (less than one might think) are also in the positive in basketball.

A majority of college football programs are also in the red. When you limit it to just DivIA, the numbers look much better, but many are still losing money. Do the players for those schools not get paid, while the big money-makers DO get paid? How are those smaller schools EVER going to compete for the big prospects?

[AKAKBUCK]

Originally Posted by Zurp

A majority of college football programs are also in the red. When you limit it to just DivIA, the numbers look much better, but many are still losing money. Do the players for those schools not get paid, while the big money-makers DO get paid? How are those smaller schools EVER going to compete for the big prospects?

Zurp makes a good point... which goes further to the idea that if you do pay athletes... its going to cause some schools to leave IA... (which they probably should anyway in some cases)... BUT then you are rewarding certain athletes by paying them twice (scholly and $) and taking the schollys away from other kids...

Hell... if you wanted to go back to "free for all"... Ohio State could probably raise the money to fund 200 schollies and pay them all a good amount of $. But what about Marshall or Rice or whoever... (Notice I didn't say Sun Belt because they should all just go to IAA anyhow.)...

Then if you only paid athletes in I-A... what are you saying about the schools who are I-A in Basketball and I-AA in Football...

Do you have to pay the Rifle team? Rowing? Soccer? Synchronized swimming?

[BB73]

Originally Posted by AKAKBUCK

Do you have to pay the Rifle team? Rowing? Soccer? Synchronized swimming?

Wouldn't have to pay the synchronized swimmers. We don't even get to count that team's twenty-some national titles as NCAA championships, which is really quite a shame.