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Should Student-Athletes Get Paid

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Should Student-Athletes Get Paid
Should Student-Athletes Get Paid
Wilson Hinds
Professor Dorothy Valentine, Strayer University
5 December 2012

Abstract
For many students, the college experience is measured by the success of their NCAA-sanctioned athletic programs. Without the experience and athletic performance the student athlete brings, most colleges would not reap the benefit of these significant revenue-generating activities. At best, current NCAA regulations need to be revisited to ensure all avenues are addressed to enable the success of athletic students both in the classroom and on the field or court of play. As stated previously, even though students receive full and partial scholarships determined by their athletic performance, in both instances financial hardship is still experienced by many. Since the various professional sports’ programs reap the conditioning and experience of college student athletes, sponsorship initiatives should be pursued to allow student athletes some form of payment without creating additional outlays for colleges and universities.

Introduction
The notion of paying college athletes has been an ongoing and controversial debate for student-athletes, coaches, schools, media and most certainly the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Many would argue that playing major college sports is more like a job versus an extracurricular activity. As with the majority of many student athletes, some attend college with the aspiration of becoming professional players thereby college is seen as a means to end. Although student-athletes already receive compensation via full and partial scholarships to participate at the college level, passionate conversations will continue to be a topic of debate because of the enormous revenue generated by college sports. The student athlete is the primary source of income yet this same student is not adequately compensated above the traditional scholarship vehicle. Because of the financial disparity, I



References: Adelman, C. (1990). Light and shadows on college athletes. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. Chartrand, J. M., & Lent, R. W. (1987), Sports Counseling: Enhancing the Development of the Student-Athlete. Journal of Counseling & Development, 66: 164–167. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.1987.tb00837.x Danish, S Dudley, B. S., & and, O. (1997). Using Cooperative Learning to Enhance the Academic and Social Experiences of Freshman Student Athletes. Journal of Social Psychology, 137(4), 449-59. Emmert, M “HERE’S HOW TO PAY UP NOW.” New York Times Magazine. 01 Jan. 2012. Johnson, D. A., & Acquaviva, J. (2012). Point/Counterpoint: Paying College Athletes. United States Sport Academy - “America’s Sports University” The Sport Journal- ISSN: 1543- 9518. Lee, C Murphy, S., & Pace, J. (1994). A plan for compensating student-athletes. Brigham Young University Education & Law Journal, (1), 167. National Collegiate Athletic Association (2011). Why students-athletes are not paid to play. Retrieved from www.ncaa.org. The Price of Poverty in Big Time College Sport. National College Players Association (2012). Retrieved from http://assets.usw.org/ncpa/The-Price-of-Poverty-in- Big-Time-College-Sport.pdf U

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