Ethical Considerations of College Recruiting

In his article “The Shame of College Sports,” Taylor Branch (2011) describes how universities are focused on advancing and receiving money from major athletics and having star athletes, but how the universities are not caring for the “student athlete.” The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has made college sports into an unmerited business. However, as years progress more athletes are getting smart and are taking the NCAA to court. The more students that challenges the rules by the NCAA and take them to court, the secrets and undermining values of the NCAA come out and the closer the NCAA comes to an end.

Their fellow sports personnel gets to indulge in this gargantuan amount of money made off them, while they do not even get a minuscule percent of it. According to Stanley Eitzen, in his article “College Athletes Should be Paid,” in the year 2000, some football coaches were paid a minimum of 1,000,000 dollars in compensation. Considering this staggering figure, it is almost impossible to fathom why athletes are not being compensated something, out of all the money they generate. As a result of this deprivation of financial support, some athletes end up violating school policies. There were reports of athletes who have accepted improper benefits from coaches, fans and “boosters.” According to Dan Wetzel, in his article “Chris Webber deserves apology from Michigan, NCAA for disassociation treatment,” Former Michigan State basketball player Chris Webber, accepted money from “team booster” Ed Martin which resulted in a “humiliating 10 year disassociation penalty.” There have even been instances when athletes sold their jerseys and championship rings. These incidents resulted in suspension and expulsion of student athletes and the firing of coaches. Most, if not all of these cases, could have been prevented if universities have stepped in, and provided the financial help their athletes needed.

In 1995, several years after he stepped down as the NCAA’s executive director of 36 years, Walter Byers published Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes. The title didn’t belie the book’s content. Among Byers’ confessions was the deception he sought in coining the well-worn phrase “student-athlete” to describe college athletes.

It is the NCAA’s policy that no student athlete shall receive any special benefits or compensation in regard to their status as an athlete of a university. This basically means that no player can accept gifts or services with any special benefits from school or athletic personnel, or receive any benefits for outside entrepreneurship for reasons regarding their play. For example, a student athlete cannot sign a jersey with their number on it and exchange it for any type of compensation. However, over the past few years, many scandalous conspiracies of soliciting services to athletes for their commitment and play have surfaced. Due to the NCAA’s stance on this issue many of these violations have left athletics programs with sanctions that in reality are very unnecessary and hardly ever punish those who initially violated the rules. The fact is that the college athletics generates on average 10.5 billion dollars of revenue annually, and the NCAA organization alone, about 720 million annually. Of that 720 million that the NCAA accounts for, only 60 percent of that is returned to the Division I universities whose athletics accounted for almost all of it. The rest is dispersed into other funds such as championship games and the national office services, with a small amount being paid to division II and III schools. However, of that 60 percent paid back to the Division I schools, which amounts to approximately 430 million dollars, the majority is spent by the University on

“College Athletes for Hire, The Evolution and Legacy of the NCAA’s Amateur Myth” written by Allen L. Sack and Ellen J. Staurowsky. In their book, the authors enlighten the reader on such issues as athletic scholarships, professionalism in college sports, and favoritism for athletes as well as many more important legal, and ethical issues that we as a country need to address. In this paper I will not do a standard book report by simply regurgitating the information I read in their book.

This paper explores the novel Tainted Glory: Marshall University, the NCAA, and One Man’s Fight for Justice written by B. David Ridpath, who published the novel in March 2012. This novel is about how Ridpath began working in compliance in intercollegiate athletics and his struggles while trying to create a strong and effective program. Under his program, he worked to make sure that the coaches and athletes at Marshall University would follow the compliance rules, but later he learned that many coaches and athletes did not understand or want to follow the rules of the NCAA. This novel recounts the struggles that Ridpath had to endure as he attempted to educate the coaches and athletes about the rules and regulations, but it also shows that some

Colleges bring an incredible amount of money by their sport teams alones. According to John Brill, a sports journalist writer, “College football and basketball generate more than the National Basketball Association, a total of more than $6 billion yearly.” The money made from these sporting events are not being used correctly which is frustrating many college athletes. The money that is being

Cheating scandals in collegiate athletics have been happening since the beginning of the NCAA, ranging from paying players to play, recruiting violations and other cases of academic cheating. One of the greatest scandals of all time was when the Southern Methodist University football team was sentenced to the athletic program’s “death penalty” (termination of the program) for paying athletes to play football for their school (Ribock, 2012). Louisville’s case of recruiting violations has been the most recent. The Cardinals (Louisville) were found to have had athlete-held parties with drugs, alcohol and strippers that were paid over $10,000 in the time period of 2010 to 2014 by former Assistant Coach Andre McGee, who left after the case opened in 2014. These outrageous parties were held to persuade the new basketball recruits to attend their school. This case came to a close in

During the early and mid-1900s student, athletes were routinely recruited and compensated through a pay-to-play effort. History shows that in some instances individuals representing the not necessarily enrolled as students at the colleges they were representing, according to (Johnson & Acquaviva, 2012). In an effort to win the game, colleges and universities were focused on the human muscle factor versus the mental factor. It was during this era, the marriage of collegiate sports and academia was created. Realizing that not all schools were fiscally postured to entice athletically inclined students, policies and governance was introduced. In an effort to ensure the integrity of college sports programs and to protect student athletes, the National Collegiate Athletic Associated has established strict guidelines, particularly when it comes to student athletes receiving compensation (Johnson and Acquavia,

In The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent fall of the NCAA, Taylor Branch is piecing together pieces of evidence and information about scandals that arose both the NCAA’s perspective as well as his own perspective to show contrast in the controversial findings within the NCAA concerning athletes and leadership. Throughout the entirety of the book, the picture that is being painted by Branch is that the NCAA as well as the institutions are reaping the benefits of intercollegiate athletics. While the "big men” are reaping the benefits of the skill and hard work of the college athletes. The information in Branch’s work not only presents the documents of scandals, but also presents his argument and proof for greed that is overtaking humanity, as well as athletics. The main focus is on the underlying theme of greed.

"College Athletes for Hire, The Evolution and Legacy of the NCAA's Amateur Myth" written by Allen L. Sack and Ellen J. Staurowsky. In their book, the authors enlighten the reader on such issues as athletic scholarships, professionalism in college sports, and favoritism for athletes as well as many more important legal, and ethical issues that we as a country need to address. In this paper I will not do a standard book report by simply regurgitating the information I read in their

“From 1992 to 1996 the University of Michigan had a group of five young men known as the “Fab Five”, and their star player was Chris Webber. Throughout all four years they made millions of dollars for their athletic department as well as for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), but while doing so they somehow seemed to be making a large amount of money themselves. The public did not want to believe they could be taking part in gambling as Chris Webber would talk about how he did not have enough money to buy even a Big Mac from the dollar menu at McDonalds, so when the “Fab Five” would show up to practice in their new cars, fancy clothes, and gaudy jewelry, the public would not take notice. Because the public tends to take pity on the poor college athlete struggling to pay for food they instead took his side and agreed college athletes should somehow be reimbursed believing they had done nothing wrong. Eventually the truth came out that Chris Webber and his teammates had received thousands from Ed Martin, a big gambler in Michigan who made thousands, and he was arrested for money laundering. Along with that came speculation that Webber and his teammates had also taken place in “point shaving”, although never proven it was never forgotten. (Torr, 64-65) The NCAAs’ reasons for not paying athletes are as followed, the NCAA feels college athletes are still considered amateurs, athletes number one priority on college should be focusing on his or

There is blatant, inarguable proof that the players and their talents are being exploited. These athletes are the draw to the games. They are the reason people watch and cheer on their teams. The amount of money given as a “full” scholarship is a marginal benefit only a drop in the bucket when compared to the market value of a player’s talent and skills. Athletic scholarships, as will be explained later, is indeed financial assistance but still leaves the student athlete living below, or at best slightly above, the poverty line. The NCAA and the respective universities has a duty to be concerned with the overall well-being of its players, not just whether or not an injury would keep their star player from playing in the upcoming game. The NCAA ought to consider the social responsibility of meeting the needs of its players, subsequently initiating a reformation of the NCAA bylaws concerning paying college athletes.

Salaries, wages, and compensations have always been major and generally controversial topics in democratic America. And, with the rising popularity of college athletics, particularly football, compensation (or lack thereof) for college athletes has recently been a hot topic in American sports. While some of the debate stems from the similarity between responsibilities college athletes have to their programs and those of professionals, most of the issue involves the principles of amateurism. Recent “scandals” involving college athletes such as Terrelle Pryor, Johnny Manziel, and Todd Gurley have raised questions about the ethics of amateurism, particularly with regard to the NCAA organization. The issue is found in a very gray area, where there is most likely no definitive one-size-fits-all solution, but the resolution of this issue is one that will change and shape the future of college athletics across the national landscape.

A few years ago, there was much discussion relating to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and those units responsible for instituting student-athlete and athletic department policy. This purpose of this paper is to discuss the ethical misconduct that occurred at Penn State, Ohio State and the University of Arkansas, and how the NCAA played a role in the wrongdoing. Coaches, players, and administrators face mounting pressures brought on by the need to sell seats and win games. In response, this type of pressure creates opportunities for offenses to take place. The first component of the paper will be to determine the fundamental ways in which the ethics programs of the NCAA failed to prevent the scandals at Penn State, Ohio State, and the University of Arkansas. Once those measures are identified and discussed, the ways the NCAA leadership contributed to the ethical violations of these schools will be discussed. The next element of the paper will predict the key differences in the scandals that occurred at each school if an effective ethics program was implemented. Next, the paper will suggest actions that the NCAA leadership should take to regain the trust and confidence of the students and stakeholders. The last section will identify measures that HR departments of