Whether College Athletes Should Be Paid or Not
Every year, there is a big debate on whether or not college athletes should receive pay for their play. The reasons and rhetoric to why they should be paid are enticing; players are the ones who earn the money for the schools, playing a sport at a major Division 1 University has the effect of a full-time job, the players are treated as slaves by their schools’ sports program. Although they exist in great number, these reasons for “pay for play” are invalid and are outweighed by the opposing side of the argument.
In order to understand this controversy, a short lesson on key terms and concepts is necessary. First, the organization which this argument involves is called the NCAA, which stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is an athletic committee that manages and oversees three divisions of twenty-three sports played by approximately 400,000 college students in the United States. Second, each sport for each university is classified under one of these divisions based on a number of requirements, including the amount of financial aid available, the circulation of money, the number of players, the scheduling, and others (NCAA).
Now that the foundation is set, the major issue of whether or not college athletes should be paid can be discussed. As previously mentioned, several people believe players deserve to be compensated for their performance, however; there are a number of reasons why this should not be done, with the weightiest being education. One must not forget the primary objective for a college or university—to provide the students with a quality education that will prepare them to function in the world as self-sustaining individuals, and not professional athletes (Sturgill, Chen). With this being said, players who sign with major college or university sports teams receive this opportunity with little to no cost. Most student athletes receive a five, not four, year scholarship, and some are even given “full rides”, which mean all
In order to understand this controversy, a short lesson on key terms and concepts is necessary. First, the organization which this argument involves is called the NCAA, which stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is an athletic committee that manages and oversees three divisions of twenty-three sports played by approximately 400,000 college students in the United States. Second, each sport for each university is classified under one of these divisions based on a number of requirements, including the amount of financial aid available, the circulation of money, the number of players, the scheduling, and others (NCAA).
Now that the foundation is set, the major issue of whether or not college athletes should be paid can be discussed. As previously mentioned, several people believe players deserve to be compensated for their performance, however; there are a number of reasons why this should not be done, with the weightiest being education. One must not forget the primary objective for a college or university—to provide the students with a quality education that will prepare them to function in the world as self-sustaining individuals, and not professional athletes (Sturgill, Chen). With this being said, players who sign with major college or university sports teams receive this opportunity with little to no cost. Most student athletes receive a five, not four, year scholarship, and some are even given “full rides”, which mean all