TOTALLY GEEKED!

Divine Geek · Guru

Should college athletes be paid?

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Yes. They should be paid. There are billions in tv contracts , merchandise, etc. Its cheap slave labor.

Blankie · Guru

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
Yes. They should be paid. There are billions in tv contracts , merchandise, etc. Its cheap slave labor.

I don't think they should be paid if it's by the college or university. Not if it would drive up the cost of education for everyone. Higher education is already way too expensive.

But I hear the slave labor thing. How about if the advertisers pay them? Or the TV networks?

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

No.

It's a game not slave labor.

Don't they have full ride scholarships? That's their pay.

I could see covering the travel expenses or even an allowance for daily living but I don't think paying them is the answer.

And really at that level they are playing more for the love of the game. It's a better game to watch.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Not all athletes are on a full ride. Just basketball and football. There are ONLY full rides in those sports. Other sports have partial scholarships.

If we pay athletes, then I think we need to pay other students who generate revenue for the school through their passions. Some college orchestras and choirs are world class and pack the house week after week as well as tour the country and charge people. They make quite a tidy sum. Students who do research at a university as a grad student - their research is property of the university. The student gets none of the proceeds.

I am not against paying some of the athletes. And I am against schools and video game makers making money off of a students jersey number or likeness. But if we pay athletes we need to start paying ALL students who generate revenue for the school. Not just the athletes.

Bonny22Pye · Guru

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
Yes. They should be paid. There are billions in tv contracts , merchandise, etc. Its cheap slave labor.

Agreed. They should especially get a cut of the merchandise.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Bonny22Pye wrote:
Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
Yes. They should be paid. There are billions in tv contracts , merchandise, etc. Its cheap slave labor.
Agreed. They should especially get a cut of the merchandise.

When it is their jersey number being sold then yes. I agree. If it's just generic university logo apparel then no. They should not. Lots of people buy university apparel for reasons that have nothing to do with sports.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

It is slave labor. They are over 18 and using their bodies in service if the school. Athletes have very limited time to earn a living. They are adults not kids. They should be paid. Lets stop the Farce of college sports.

Ohfour · Hooker

Stupidest thing I've ever heard. Some of these guys are getting over $100K education. Most would never be able to afford it.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Oh please. No one is forcing them to play. They are not owned by the school. They will not be beaten or sold or killed if they do something against the school. They may be suspended or lose their position on the team but it isn't slave labor.

Bonny22Pye · Guru

This week, college football players at Northwestern University petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to form a union. The NCAA disagrees with the petition, arguing that student-athletes are not “employees” under federal law.

There are many reasons why NCAA athletes should be treated like traditional employees.

1. The typical Division I college football player devotes 43.3 hours per week to his sport — 3.3 more hours than the typical American work week.

2. Although the NCAA claims college athletes are just students, the NCAA’s own tournament schedules require college athletes to miss classes for nationally televised games that bring in revenue.

3. Currently, the NCAA Division I football championship is played on a Monday night. This year, the national football championship game required Florida State football players to miss the first day of spring classes.

4. Meanwhile, the annual NCAA men’s basketball tournament affects more than six days of classes (truly “Madness” if the players aren’t “employees”).

5. At some schools, the road to the NCAA men’s basketball championship may require student-athletes to miss up to a quarter of all class days during their Spring semester.

6. At other schools, college coaches regulate student-athlete speech on Facebook and Twitter — even when their sport is not in session.

7. The NCAA currently produces nearly $11 Billion in annual revenue from college sports — more than the estimated total league revenues of both the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

8. This year, the University of Alabama reported $143.3 Million in athletic revenues — more than all 30 NHL teams and 25 of the 30 NBA teams.

9. Much of the huge revenues collected from college athletics do not go directly back into the classroom.

10. Instead, a substantial share of college sports’ revenues stay ”in the hands of a select few administrators, athletic directors, and coaches.”

11. When the NCAA was first founded in 1905, the opposition to paying student-athletes was akin to the opposition to paying coaches. (If you doubt this, research early criticism of Alonzo Stagg). But, coaches today get paid, and handsomely too

University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban today makes more than $7 million per year. However, in the early days of college sports paying coaches was as frowned upon as paying student-athletes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

12. Last year, the average salary for a BCS eligible football coach was $2.05 million.

13. The average salary for a premier NCAA Division I men’s basketball coach also exceeded $1 Million.

14. In 40 of the 50 U.S. states, the highest paid public official is currently the head coach of a state university’s football or men’s basketball team.

15. Meanwhile, Forbes reported in December thatUniversity of Alabama football coach Nick Saban’s new contract will pay him over $7 million per year from his university.

16. Success in college sports is also believed to improve the application rates and caliber of admitted students at certain universities.

17. The year that Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s outstanding college football player, Boston College’s undergraduate admissions increased by 25 points and its average SAT score of admitted freshmen skyrocketed by 110 points.

18. Meanwhile, Patrick Ewing’s basketball performance during the 1982-83 NCAA season helped generate a 47% increase in undergraduate applications and a forty-point rise in freshman SAT scores during the following admissions cycle at Georgetown University.

19. Of course, there are many colleges that use their athletes as core marketers of the university. If not for college basketball players, think about how much more money Gonzaga University would need to spend on building name recognition to prospective students not located on the West Coast.

20. If not for college football, think about Boise State’s challenges in national marketing.

21. With these factors in mind, Division I football and men’s basketball players do not merely play a sport of leisure. Rather, they are core members of their university’s marketing team, as well as the labor force behind a lucrative secondary industry in hosting organized sporting events.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Being paid to play a sport puts one into the Professional category. Pro sports players cannot play on college sports. Its the rule.

Bonny22Pye · Guru

I know what to do_sometimes wrote:
Being paid to play a sport puts one into the Professional category. Pro sports players cannot play on college sports. Its the rule.

Perhaps the rules should change.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

I kneveryone t to do_sometimes wrote:
Being paid to play a sport puts one into the Professional category. Pro sports players cannot play on college sports. Its the rule.

But everyone else can profit?

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Bonny22Pye wrote:
I know what to do_sometimes wrote:
Being paid to play a sport puts one into the Professional category. Pro sports players cannot play on college sports. Its the rule.
Perhaps the rules should change.

Then colleges would hire pro ball players instead of giving out scholarships to college age students, eliminating one form of free higher education.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
I kneveryone t to do_sometimes wrote:
Being paid to play a sport puts one into the Professional category. Pro sports players cannot play on college sports. Its the rule.
But everyone else can profit?

The players profit too, they get a free or reduced tuition rate and exposure to the media and pro teams. That is one sweet deal.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Whoopdedo. They do the work and get diddly.While the coaches make millions.

Ohfour · Hooker

They receive a free education. I would have LOVED that....

Divine Geek · Guru

They get access to state-of-the-art training facilities which are staffed with certified trainers.

Among other things

burns07 · Guru

Whoopdedo. They do the work and get diddly.While the coaches make millions.
________________________________________________________________

who cares what the coaches make ? they are adults WORKING for a living--paying college athletes above and beyond a free ride with perks is ridiculous--remember, the purpose of colleges and universities is to PROVIDE AN EDUCATION not to PAY you for playing some damned game and then rubber-stamping a diploma four ( or more ) years later

most of the coaches I've ever known ( have lived next door to one for years and my parents knew Royal well as they were both UT alums ) do the job because they love the sport and they love the school--and most of them are sure as hell not earning in the millions per year

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Colleges get tons of subsidized money. Sooooo I care.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

The point of collge is Academics. So let's stop the pretense when it really is a feeder program.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

The only coaches earning that kind of money are football and men's basketball coaches. Even women's basketball coaches make far less. And the other sports...you don't even want to know. For some of them, even though it is a year round job, it isn't a full time job. So they make very little. The golf coach for example is expected to be a former pro golfer, but the position is part time, year round. Who would want that?

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

I know. So MEN playing men's basketball should be paid commiserate with the revenue they generate.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Ohfour wrote:
They receive a free education. I would have LOVED that....

There are lots of other ways to get a free college education without being an athlete. Off the top of my head, I can think of full scholarships for orchestra, choir, artists, students who live out of state, students with good grades...there are plenty of ways to get free tuition from your talents.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Bonny22Pye wrote:

This week, college football players at Northwestern University petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to form a union. The NCAA disagrees with the petition, arguing that student-athletes are not “employees” under federal law.

There are many reasons why NCAA athletes should be treated like traditional employees.

6. At other schools, college coaches regulate student-athlete speech on Facebook and Twitter — even when their sport is not in session.

This tells half the story.

Yes, coaches do monitor Twitter and FB for their athletes. Because the NCAA can and will impose fines, restrictions, or impose penalties based on what the athletes post. If an underage athlete posts a picture drinking out of a red solo cup, the NCAA can and has suspended that athlete from competition. Even though the NCAA may not have proof of it being an alcoholic beverage in the cup.

Also, universities can and will fire a coach for things their student athletes post on social media. If your student athlete posts a pic of themselves totally drunk, the coach will be reprimanded. Even if the student is over the age of 21. Would you trust your job and your livelihood to a bunch of college kids? They don't make good decisions every single day. Some days they screw up and the coach has to catch these mistakes (mistakes ANY other student could make without repercussions) or the coach gets fired.

If you take a chemistry class and post a pic of you drinking from a red solo cup, the chemistry prof doesn't worry about his/her job. But the coach has to.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

burns07 wrote:

Whoopdedo. They do the work and get diddly.While the coaches make millions.
________________________________________________________________

who cares what the coaches make ? they are adults WORKING for a living--paying college athletes above and beyond a free ride with perks is ridiculous--remember, the purpose of colleges and universities is to PROVIDE AN EDUCATION not to PAY you for playing some damned game and then rubber-stamping a diploma four ( or more ) years later

most of the coaches I've ever known ( have lived next door to one for years and my parents knew Royal well as they were both UT alums ) do the job because they love the sport and they love the school--and most of them are sure as hell not earning in the millions per year

yep

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Divine Geek wrote:
They get access to state-of-the-art training facilities which are staffed with certified trainers.

Among other things

Not very facility is state of the art. Not even every division 1 facility is state of the art. And not all are staffed with certified trainers (and I have to wonder why you would need a trainer if you weren't playing a sport for your school?) A lot of schools sub contract the trainers from a local hospital. The trainers are only there for practices and games. They are not available 24/7. And, if you don't play football or basketball, there is no continuity of care. You could have a different trainer for each week.

I think we all need to take a step back and realize that what you see as excess in college athletics applies to only a small fraction of the athletes. Most athletes are not on a full scholarship, most don't play division 1, most play in facilities that are NOT state of the art, most do NOT turn pro, and most are there to get an education and move on. I won't even tell you how much most coaches make compared to how much they work. It's far less than minimum wage.

Do not lump all college athletes together. It isn't fair and it isnt close to accurate.

Divine Geek · Guru

My comment was in response to the athletes not getting anything from the money they bring in for the program. A program that is generating millions in sponsors and revenue is going to have state-of-the-art facilities that the athletes get to use.

As for the trainers, I can only use my own experience attending and working for a division 1 school. We had at least 4 full-time trainers on staff plus interns. Each team was assigned a trainer, and it was the same trainer all the time. We also had a strength and conditioning coach shared by all sports. Jason had a masters in exercise sciences (or something similar. I will admit, I don't remember his exact degree).

Now, we had plenty of sports that made us no money. But the success of our key program and the money it earned allowed all the athletes to have a better experience.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Divine Geek wrote:
My comment was in response to the athletes not getting anything from the money they bring in for the program. A program that is generating millions in sponsors and revenue is going to have state-of-the-art facilities that the athletes get to use.

As for the trainers, I can only use my own experience attending and working for a division 1 school. We had at least 4 full-time trainers on staff plus interns. Each team was assigned a trainer, and it was the same trainer all the time. We also had a strength and conditioning coach shared by all sports. Jason had a masters in exercise sciences (or something similar. I will admit, I don't remember his exact degree).

Now, we had plenty of sports that made us no money. But the success of our key program and the money it earned allowed all the athletes to have a better experience.

DH would have loved to have access to that many trainers. He coached at a division 1 school where the trainers were subcontracted from the local hospital. DH's sport was always given the youngest, newest trainers with little oversight from the hospital. So his team always had more injuries than neccessary. Plus, since the trainers were subcontracted from the local hospital, the hospital didn't care if they were not preventing injuries. They would get paid twice - once for the trainers services and once for repair of the injury. The trainers were not ever given a review of their work -- no one from the hospital ever gave them feedback. It was a nightmare.

But - that's my point. Not all athletes are in posh facilities with the best access to what they need. We shouldn't lump them all together.

Ohfour · Hooker

If college athletes are paid, then why shouldn't high school athletes. They "work" just as many hours as college players do, and they bring in a lot of money (in some markets). $35K a game in ticket sales alone is nothing to sneeze at...

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Ohfour wrote:
If college athletes are paid, then why shouldn't high school athletes. They "work" just as many hours as college players do, and they bring in a lot of money (in some markets). $35K a game in ticket sales alone is nothing to sneeze at...

Big difference. They are Kids. Minors. And, I don't see High School coaches being paid MILLIONS do you?

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

These athletes are 18. They are adults. They OWN their skill. They shouldn't have to give it to the plantation master to enrich him. Sheesh. It is THEIR bodies, their skill, their years of hard work honing their craft.

Ohfour · Hooker

Not always. Many seniors are 18 or 19.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Are High Schools making millions?

Ohfour · Hooker

Close...

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Just to be fair, I don't think pro players should be making millions either.

WYSIWYG · Guru

Pay them, and let them pay for their own education, or give them scholarships. Not both.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

lilyofcourse wrote:
Just to be fair, I don't think pro players should be making millions either.

Why not? It's no different than actors or some guy who makes the ShamWow and makes millions. If people are willing to pay, then they are willing to pay. People are willing to invest and pay big money into college sports. Look at the craziness of March Madness right now. Yet, the athletes who make it all happen get diddly squat in relation to the income they are generating. It's just wrong. Just because that is the way it always has been doesn't make it right. ANd, sports used to be side venture, an extracurricular, something to enrich your life. College was about going to college. Well, now that is just a farce. College teams are feeder teams for the pros.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

I don't think the athletes should be paid for playing school ball - that's what scholarships are for. HOWEVER, I don't think the schools should get to make money off the players' images and such for marketing and advertising. They should get paid for ads, commercials, etc. if their image is used. But they should be paid by the people who want their image, not the school.

Ohfour · Hooker

If college athletes are paid (and I don't think they should be), then high school players should be paid also. They are doing the exact same "job". What difference does it make if you are 16 or 20?

Bonny22Pye · Guru

Lawyerlady wrote:
I don't think the athletes should be paid for playing school ball - that's what scholarships are for. HOWEVER, I don't think the schools should get to make money off the players' images and such for marketing and advertising. They should get paid for ads, commercials, etc. if their image is used. But they should be paid by the people who want their image, not the school.

I think this is a very good point.