Amateurism is defined as one who engages in an art, science, study, or athletic activity as a pastime rather than as a profession. ("Definition of AMATEURISM", 2017). In sports terms, an amateur is an athlete who has never accepted money, or who accepts money under restrictions specified by a regulatory body, for participating in a competition. According to the NCAA, amateurism is the bedrock principle of college athletics and the NCAA. Maintaining amateurism is crucial to preserving an academic environment in which acquiring a quality education is the first priority. ("Amateurism", 2017). Though the argument on whether or not to pay student athletes is nothing new and has endured the test of time. The NCAA has remained strong in their …show more content…
Amateurism is set “to ensure the students priority remains on obtaining a quality educational experience and that all of student-athletes are competing equitably” (Clevens, 2013, Vol. 143, No. 4). The NCAA expects the athletes to uphold the amateur policy or their eligibility could be jeopardized. Athletes are aware of this prior to signing their letter of intent and must abide by this policy the entirety of their athletic college career.
Currently, a number of student athletes are of the opinion that they should receive additional monetary compensation for two reasons. First, they argue that due to their rigorous and demanding schedules they are unable to hold jobs to receive an income. Secondly, that they should receive payment because of the amount of revenue they bring into the university; whether that is through jersey sales, video game sales, or being a high profile athlete that increases ticket sales and exposure of the university. This is mainly referring to football and men’s basketball. The NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1, forbids “the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind” (Clevens, 2013, Vol. 143, No. 4). “It would be unfair to other students if the university paid athletes to play college sports, although many may disagree. Scholarships
The hot topic in amateur sports has been as to whether or not college athletes should be paid. The NCAA amateur rule states that an athlete in college sports cannot be paid other than their athletic scholarship. These athletes spend a tremendous amount of time at school practice and then working on schoolwork after practice. The NCAA is an organization that oversees all of the athletes that make up the basic unit of intercollegiate sports. The success of the NCAA whether it’s through the sale of merchandise, game day revenue or NCAA tournaments that each individual sports has, despite the absolute success of these tournaments these athletes receive any monetary compensation .Some of the main reasons why the NCAA lack of payments are that it wants to maintain its amateur status and
The NCAA has been around and evolved since the beginning of college sports. This organization is a non-profitable organization, but ironically makes more than millions of profit per year. Branch states “that money comes from a combination of ticket sales, concession sales, merchandise, licensing fees, and other sources—but the great bulk of it comes from television contract”(pg. 228). Meanwhile, the student-athletes do not receive any of this money. This is the start of an unsubstantial business between universities built around amateurism.
Actions towards paying athletes are being taken and according to the TCU Daily Skiff, “There’s a legislation being passed around in the Big 12 states to provide athletes with an extra stipend in addition to their all-expenses paid education. The idea is that these students are producing truckloads of revenue for the university and should see some of the fruits of their labor.” (Jennings, par. 2) Because athletes aren’t paid for producing such money, supporters feel some of the money made should go towards helping with extra expenses. An average student athlete has to pay for phone bills, transportation, entertainment, laundry, toiletries and other things. While the typical college student has the opportunity to work, athletes don’t. Some students in college receive academic full ride scholarships, which are the same as athletic full rides, but they have time to earn extra money on the side. If these students are receiving a full ride scholarship and have the opportunity to work then an athlete should be paid a compensation for his or her efforts on the playing field.
I believe that college sports should be considered a profession. Athletes deserve to be paid for their work. College athletics are a critical part of America’s culture and economy. At the present time, student-athletes are considered amateurs. College is a stepping-stone to
Student athletes at the college level are a term used for student who are amateurs, and involved in university level competitive sports and games. These sports require physical skill and rigorous training. The training is done to prepare athletes for competition, and hopefully in the future, the professional leagues. Student athletes that compete at the college level are known as amateurs, because they are not paid for any of their playing time, or any other business transactions that their name is used for. The NCAA was designed to
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
Not only do the players play hard for the school, but they also have the potential to earn money through commercial signings and endorsements by third party sponsors. The NCAA should lift the “Principle of Amateurism” and establish a newer one that resembles the one of the Olympics. The Olympics’ amateur model resembles the NCAA’s “Principle of Amateurism” except for the fact that they do not have restrictions on commercial opportunities such as
Secondly, there is a major difference between professional sports and college sports. “Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a career in sports. They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports...student athletes are amateurs who choose to participate in intercollegiate athletics as part of their educational experience, thus maintaining a distinction between student athletes who participate in the collegiate model and professional athletes who are also students” (Mitchell). The collegiate athletes’ incentive is the access to an outstanding education. College athletes playing a college sport is not a career or a profession. “The NCAA plays a critical role in the maintenance of a revered tradition of amateurism in college sports”(Ross). This quote is laudable because
We often forget that playing a sport is not the only way to earn a scholarship. Many students are accepted for exceptional grades, involvement in the band, clubs, or being well rounded. Most of these students just have to study to keep their scholarship, while the athletes have to work hard and be a student. In a competitive market, “workers” are paid according to the value of the output they produce (Heath). It does not seem right that the college journalist can sell their piece to a paper for extra cash, or the local band can play for a few dollars at the bar Saturday night, or the biology major that takes an internship at the school lab can be profitable yet college athletes cannot. Under the NCAA they are not allowed to make any money of their skill. Any college student should be able to endorse products (Wilbon). This is why the idea of going to school for free should not be an argument against paying athletes, because that is not the case and they have earned it.
I. (C)The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) defines amateurism as, “The conviction that people should participate in sports as a hobby (for the fun of it) rather than for money.” The NCAA mandates that all college athletes maintain this level of amateurism while in college, however, college sports have never been more of a
Yet the college athlete gets paid nothing to play the game that he or she loves. When students play a sport in college, they become a part of the National College Athletic Association, better known as the NCAA. Any athlete in the NCAA is considered an amateur athlete, which means they cannot make any money from their respective sport. If athletes get paid in any way, it becomes a very serious legal matter. Most often, these cases end with the student being expelled and the university being fined. The NCAA bans their athletes from receiving payment in any way, even when sports are not involved. When discussing this issue, Craig T. Greenlee states the case of Darnell Autry, “In the summer of ’96, Autry, a theatre major who also played football for Northwestern University, was prohibited by NCAA rules from getting paid to appear in a movie shot in Italy” (67). The NCAA does allow student athletes to make money in any way. A debate has ensued. One side says these rules are outdated and need to be changed. Should NCAA student athletes receive compensation for their contributions to their universities?
One of the most controversial subjects we as individuals hear about this day in age is whether or not college athletes deserve to be paid. Many people argue that these athletes do intact, deserve to be paid for their time and hard work. NCAA athletes create a name for themselves by playing and performing well on their college teams. The better these athletes perform, the more publicity the school revives. This then leads to higher ticket sales and stores around campus selling jerseys and other clothing items with athletes names and numbers on the back. NCAA schools have become comfortable with using athletes’ names to bring in a revenue for the school, and yet the athletes never see any of that money. On the other hand, many people believe that these athletes do not deserve, nor should they expect to receive payment in return. They believe that these scholarships and the education are payment in itself. Some even bring up the question on if it is affordable or even realistic to pay 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.
There has been amplified debate on the treatment, education, training of the college athlete. To avoid exploitation of athletes, “The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), formed in 1905, set bylaws requiring college student-athletes to be amateurs in order to be eligible for intercollegiate athletics competition” (Schneider n.p.). Intercollegiate athletics have dramatically changed over the last several decades. Currently, intercollegiate athletics generate tremendous amounts of revenue, remarkably in football and basketball. College sports in America is a
By eSports being considered a legitimate sport it allows colleges to give scholarships to the members of the school’s eSports team, with that it can allow some students to attend college and not have to worry about the cost of it all. It allows the students to do something they like to gain their scholarship, and for some students it can even open doors for them to go pro with eSports (Ravitz). Robert Morris University (RMU) was the first college in the US to have eSports as a varsity team and give scholarships for the team members (Gregory). ESports are not regulated by the NCAA, so they are not “bound by the rules of amateurism” (Gregory).The rules of amateurism simply is that the students on the team’s priority is on obtaining the quality