Collegiate Athletes: Not to Be Paid

Bekah Dahlman

Professor Murray

SOC 4961

March 5, 2016

Collegiate Athletes: Not to be Paid

        Day after day, week after week, year after year, division I athletes have been putting their heart and soul into a sport. All their hard work for the love of the game has lead them to a University where they can showcase their skills and talent. At the division I level, it is a business where athletes contribute to bringing in profit, and by doing this athletes have to perform well and win games to encourage more attendance. The common, controversial question that many people have asked is, should college athletes get paid? Since collegiate athletics are within an educational setting, they should not receive pay for their athletic contribution. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA, is an enterprise and requires no amateur athlete to be paid. Athletes are given their fair share benefits as being apart of a team, which could include food, clothes, or even receiving financial help through athletic scholarships, etc. Student athletes being paid would only create an ongoing problem and argument for other athletes, students and universities.

        As a division I college athlete, I can personally relate to this topic. To play at the collegiate level is something all athletes dream of and should not be taken for granted. Through years of hard work and dedication, we have developed an emotion of achievement after winning and proudly representing our team and community. In the moment nothing else matters but the win, no thought of money or revenue running through your mind. It is through the mind of an athlete that only joy and excitement of all the hard work you put into your sport has paid off. It is a privilege to get the opportunity to play at the collegiate level, let alone be awarded an athletic scholarship, education, opportunities, and friendships that will last a lifetime. A scholarship can be applied towards tuition, books, food, housing and other useful benefits such as tutors, trainers, facility access, equipment, and clothing.

College athletes hold a strong and influential reputation by receiving tremendous publicity and often times in the spotlight as a representation of the university or college. Class-consciousness has even broke out into this topic, which is “recognizing that the key relationship between two classes is their different interests and conditions of living”(Lanning 2007). In results college athletes are becoming much more vocal in asking for a bigger slice of the pie during their needs at college. This could include of athletes just speaking up and using their voice or players band together to fight for what they believe in. Recently found in the media, former University of Connecticut men’s basketball star, Shabazz Napier, made the statement of going to bed starving. His claim was that student athletes did not receive enough aid or benefits at the level in which they perform and succeed. He brought up the topic of social mobility and how a lot of athletes are from lower class levels and do not have extra money to be spending for food, clothes, etc. According to the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, “social mobility is defended as the movement of individuals, families, and groups from one social position to another and relates to a present to a past position”. This topic brought light to the subject of where is the line drawn for athletes in terms of the benefits, compensation, and system an athlete is to receive. These so called benefits are however given to majority of athletes, especially at a high level. Thousands of dollars are invested towards athletic programs each year, to help and provide for student athletes nationwide. There is still an ongoing argument within NCAA rules and regulations that players are not getting compensated enough for all the revenue they bring in.