FREE ESSAY ON CHANGING THE RULES

CHANGING THE RULES

The chants grow louder, Dayne, Dayne, Dayne, its 4'Th and goal, the Badgers trail Michigan
by 5 with six seconds left. The winner takes home the title as the 1999 National
champions. The ball is snapped, Bollinger drops back, fakes the pass, and pitches it to
Dayne. He dodges a tackle, bounces off 2 blue jerseys, and stumbles in the end-zone for
the game winning TD. Dayne's hard work and perseverance paid off and led Wisconsin to a
victory.
But who really capitalizes when Ron Dayne leads his team to a National Championship? To
Dayne, Paid Off in no way means he will receive a check from the University of Wisconsin.
Under current NCAA regulations, all student athletes are prohibited from receiving any
payment for their efforts(1). Exploited athletes generate millions of dollars for their
schools, and never see a dime. Is this fair?
College sports are big business. Every single day, universities succeed in coaxing the
general public into believing that the kindred and pure spirit of amateur athletics
serves as the main catalyst for their respective universities desire to field a good
team. However, in reality the common motivation for these universities is nothing other
that the almighty dollar. For many universities, the athletic program serves as a
cash-generating machine. In terms of profit, if all ties with the university were
eliminated, an athletic program acting as its own separate entity could compete with some
fortune 500 companies. So, why do the vital pieces of the machine, (the players) fail to
receive any compensation for their performance? Certainly, a car engine is cared for and
maintained, the owner continually spending money to keep it up. The answer lies in the
money-hungry universities and their practice of hoarding all the revenue. 
Many student-athletes are actually business people, just like students attending business
schools and graduate schools. They are many times attending universities because it is a
stepping stone en route to a career as a professional athlete,(1) just like an accounting
major is studying in order to be recruited by an accounting firm. The lifestyle of a
student-athlete is quite different though. A student-athlete must attend practice for 10
to 20 hours per week, travel to games on most weekends during the season, and at the same
time, keep up with an academic workload comparable to that of a student without
commitment to athletics. But unlike ordinary students without athletics, student-athletes
must also many times care for families and spouses. Actually, approximately 24% of
student athletes are married, and of that 24%, about 62% have children(1) Of the students
without their own spouses or children, many must care for parents and siblings. 
The rules and regulations regarding the student-athlete are set forth by the NCAA, which
serves as the governing body over college athletics. Most college athletes are not
wealthy and among the many rules imposed for these privileged individuals, they are not
permitted to carry jobs, receive money, rewards, or any type of kickbacks from any
sources other than family.
The NCAA does not allow their athletes to hold jobs because the job issue has
ramifications on recruiting(1). The NCAA believes some schools would have an unfair
recruiting advantage over other schools. That one school could offer a recruit a better
job opportunity than another. There is an issue that jobs in different locations would
pay athletes different salaries. Walter Byers, who advocated an overhaul of college
sports, deregulating the system and treating athletes like other students says, The
reasoning behind this one is that an athlete at Alabama might not earn as much working in
a Tuscaloosa men's clothing store as a USC player could earn as an apprentice stagehand
in a Hollywood studio.(3)
But really, athletes should not have to work in the first place. While a car cannot run
without an engine, a sport cannot be played without athletes. 
The NCAA uses the name amateurism as the reason it doesn't pay student-athletes.
Opponents against paying student-athletes say that they should not be paid because
through scholarships, they're already being paid. A University education is priceless,
says Richard Jacoby, member of the NCAA committee. But that is only true if the
opportunity to get an education is taken advantage of(4). 
Yes, a scholarship is a form of payment. A scholarship is nice, but it is not enough. A
scholarship will not pay the bills. A scholarship will not feed a child. Life wouldn't be
so hard for many of the student-athletes if they were permitted to hold jobs. But the
NCAA does not permit scholarship players to be employed during the school year. During
the summer, these athletes are forced to train, practice, and compete in order to keep
their roster position. This leaves little time to earn money.
The truth is that the beginning of the end of amateurism came in 1952 when the NCAA
negotiated its first arrangement with network television. NBC paid $1,144,000 for the
right to televise NCAA football games(6). Today, networks and cable channels pay hundreds
of millions of dollars for the right to televise college football games. NCAA basketball,
which has its wildly popular March Madness, is currently in the middle of a contract that
pays almost $2 billion. The contract expires at the end of 2002(6). How much money will
the next contract be? Awkwardly enough, the money ends up in the pockets of the NCAA and
respective universities.
The NCAA does not pay either state or federal income taxes because it claims non-profit
status while working to maintain a balance between intercollegiate athletics and
academics(1) But statistics indicate that over the past 23 years, the NCAA's total
revenues have increased almost 8,000 percent and the NCAA's $1.7 billion contract with
CBS for rights to the NCAA Tournament is bigger than any single professional sports deal,
with any network(6).
According to research by Notre Dame economist Richard G. Sheehan, at least three-college
football teams; Michigan, Florida, and Notre Dame, are each worth more than the NFL's
Detroit Lions. Our Michigan Wolverines are worth an estimated $225 million. In 1997, when
the Wolverines earned a Rose Bowl bid, they were paid $15 million for participating in
the game, which was sponsored by AT&T(6). That is not including the money the university
profited by sales of tickets, tee shirts, and other souvenirs.
The NCAA does not follow the same regulations that universities are forced to follow. In
1997 when the NCAA was debating on moving their national headquarters, 72% of the NCAA's
250 employees voted to stay in the Kansas City area(1) Oddly enough, the NCAA accepted
Indianapolis' offer of about $50 million to move there. Money drives it, greed drives it,
says Tom McMillen a former college athlete, congressman and member of the Knight
Foundation Commission of Intercollegiate Athletics, which attempts to reform college
sports. 
Considering that the NCAA functions to make money, why not pay the player? In 1905, the
NCAA promised President Theodore Roosevelt, To keep college sports at an amateur level,
secondary to a good education(4). Last year, three Baylor University coaches were
convicted of wire fraud for filling out tests for star basketball players, to improve
their grades. United States District Judge, Walter S. Smith says, The evidence in this
makes it clear that Baylor, like probably the majority of NCAA colleges and universities,
is in the business of athletics, at least so far as basketball and football are
concerned, to make money. Well if the NCAA is in the business of making money, how are
they not going to compensate their workers?
Recently, Steve Spurrier, head football coach at the University of Florida, signed a
six-year contract that will pay him nearly $2 million per year. Plus his $2 million
annual salary, Spurrier received two new cars (one for him, one for his wife), a generous
clothing allowance and 24 fifty yard-line tickets for each Florida Gators home game. The
deal also includes incentives that would be paid when specific goals set forth in the
contract are achieved.
The incentive's portion of the contract says: Spurrier can earn $99,000 for winning
another national championship this year; he can earn the equivalent of one month of his
base salary for getting to the SEC championship game, two months equivalent for any bowl
game, two-and-a-half months for an Alliance bowl game, and lastly $50,000 for winning a
national championship any time throughout the contract(6)
Think about it, Spurrier can earn these bonuses only if his players perform at a
championship level. THE PLAYERS. They're the one's who have to sweat, work, and win.
These are the same employees who will not receive bonuses for reaching any of the goals
of Spurrier's contract. The ones who fill the stadiums full of fans, the ones who people
yell at when they drop a pass and the ones that people cheer for when they score the
game-winning touchdown. The same people who are forced to be content with what they have,
because they have no opportunity at this time to get more. 
Some people may ask why a man who merely coaches a collegiate football team deserved that
kind of money. Well, since big time college football brings in the kind of money that can
support that salary, so be it. Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said upon the signing,
Obviously, people are going to talk about the amount of money he's making, but he adds
tremendous value to this university(4)
But I ask what about those kids that he leads into battle each week. The same kids who
risk injury and failure. The same kids who work and run, not only during the season but
also during the preseason and offseason. It's about time that they reap the benefits of
their work. 
While student-athletes have no legal way to earn money, often they try to pursue their
careers elsewhere. An above-average division one college basketball player, such as
Michigan's Louis Bullock last season is offered the opportunity to go to the CBA or
another European League and make a good living. While the average graduation rate is
about 58 percent, basketball players have a 45 percent graduation rate, or 13 percentage
points lower(3) Though better than basketball players, football players are graduating at
52 percent, six percentage points lower than the average student is(3).
With giving student-athletes a small salary, such as the $5.40 an hour national minimum
wage, more athletes would not have to miss their chance of a college experience. These
people are not greedy; they are looking out for themselves. Though a college education is
important, the goal of college is to prepare yourself for your future profession.
Recently Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Shawn Kemp are examples of teens that decided to
skip college because of the necessity of money. Had they attended college, they would
have enjoyed four years of, well, being slaves.
It wouldn't hurt universities to give back a little. The average Division One school
profits $6 million per year on basketball and football alone(6). Consider that, some
universities such as University of Florida or U of M profit more than $10 million per
year on their respective athletic programs. Everywhere you look in Ann Arbor you see
Michigan Football merchandise. The amount of money and number of people the football
program brings into this city alone is tremendous. If every player were given a decent
salary, say $75 to $100 a week, it would make life a lot more livable for some athletes.
They should not struggle for food or money, considering that they are, in a sense,
keeping the town alive. What would Ann Arbor be without football? 
Much less lively and spirited, to say the least.