Term Paper on "NCAA Division I College Male Football"

Term Paper 11 pages (2999 words) Sources: 1+ Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

NCAA Division I College Male Football and Basketball Players Receiving Financial Compensation for Playing in Games

Much controversy and disagreement surrounds pay for play for football and basketball players in the NCAA Division I of college sports. And while it does at first thought appear to be something that would not be in the opinion of most intelligent individuals to be what would be called 'best practice' upon conduction of research one finds that there are very good reasons for college players to receive pay for play. One reason is based on the fact that, these players, unlike other scholarship players do not have time for part-time jobs due to the stringent demands placed upon them in relation to training and practice and not to even mention academic requirements. Also stated is that many times there is a gap between the scholarship provisions and the cost of school. The questions which arise when conducting research of what do the young men from low-income families do for their spending money and how do those who are not eligible for loans pay for the costs that are not covered in the scholarship provisions? The argument from both sides of this debate have valid points for consideration and there are several ways of looking at or perceiving this topic. This work in research attempts to present each side of the debate as to whether college student-athletes in the NCAA Division I should be entitled to receive pay for play.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

There is plenty of evidence available to support college student athletes receiving pay or compensation due to the many hours that they are tied up with training, practice, review of games, and the actual playing of college sports however, just as many valid arguments it seems exist are the basis or reason that these college student-athletes should not receive compensation including the complications that would inherently exist when Title IX is considered. The monies are readily available to provide these college student-athletes with some type of compensation if nothing other than filling in the gap between scholarship provisions and the actual costs of attending college and it is certain that the NCAA must critically address some of these financial problems that exist for the college student-athletes and it is just as certain that with a 300% increase in revenue over the past decade that the colleges have the means to assist these young college student-athletes. The debate is an intense one and supported on both sides with rational and cognitive thinking concerning the issue and yet, the issue remains unsolved.

TERMS

NCAA - National College Association of Athletes

Title IX - Legislation that forbids discrimination in college sports based on the gender of a player.

Pay-for-Play- Compensation paid to a college student-athlete for playing college sports.

NFL - National Football League

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study encompasses a review of all available literature containing facts relating to this study that has been published in newspapers (both online and offline) journal articles, special reports, sports reports and any literature that is from a valid and respected source which relates to the debate of whether NCAA college student-athletes should receive 'pay-for-play' or compensation for playing college sports.

LIMITATIONS

This study is limited only in that there may be literature not readily available for the review of the researcher due to limitations of time and limitations in access to certain information or publications at this time unknown to the researcher.

ASSUMPTIONS

All Division I colleges have the money to pay Division I football and Basketball players if they budget properly and cut programs.

JUSTIFICATIONS

All information reviewed in this study is from reliable sources and it is the actual belief of the researcher in this study that college student-athletes should receive compensation for playing college sports due to the demands upon the athletes in terms of the expenditure of time required.

HISTORY OF TOPIC

Studies previously conducted in this area that examine the revenue of NCAA colleges suggest that there is more than enough money to pay the Division I football and basketball players.

THE EFFECT OF NCAA DIVISION I COLLEGE MALE FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL PLAYERS RECEIVING FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FOR PLAYING IN GAMES

CHAPTER TWO

METHODOLOGY

The methodology of this research is one of a qualitative nature. Qualitative research is investigative and interpretive research and is considered a valid form of research for a study that seeks to examine social phenomena such as is illustrated in the debate surrounding 'pay-for-play' for college student-athletes.

RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY

Over the past few years the issue of compensation or 'pay-for-play' has generated quite a debate and yet with no solution. It is believed that this study will add to previous research conducted in this subject area.

METHODOLOGY USE STATEMENT

The instrument used in this research initiative is that of a review of literature. The research was conducted through the search engine 'Google' and with the search terms inclusive of the following phrases:

Pay-for-play

Compensation

College student-athletes

NCAA Division I

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Many of the college student-athletes attending colleges across the country and participating in sports are attending college on scholarships that do not completely pay for the costs in attending the college. The college student-athlete, if allowed to do so, does not have the time available to work even part-time in combination with their academic requirements and athletic demands. Some believe that college student-athletes should receive compensation or 'pay-for-play' while other vehemently believe that these college student-athletes should not receive any compensation whatsoever for the time expended practicing, training, and playing college sports.

THE EFFECT OF NCAA DIVISION I COLLEGE MALE FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL PLAYERS RECEIVING FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FOR PLAYING IN GAMES

CHAPTER THREE

FINDINGS

The work of Carolton Weatherby and Macharia Edmonds entitled: "Student Athletes: America's Unpaid WorkForce" states that: "For the student athlete in America, life in college is not easy at all. As a matter of fact, referring to the life of a collegiate student-athlete as difficult would be an absolute understatement. In addition to the everyday struggles of the average student, whom does not represent their university in intercollegiate athletics, the student-athlete must fulfill a major commitment to the sports team he or she represents for the good of the institution. With the constant academic commitment to lectures, sections, papers, problem sets, office hours, programs midterms, finals, and other strenuous curricular responsibilities expected of today's standard college students, the student-athlete engages in additional arduous athletic obligations such as training, traveling, meeting, practicing and playing with their respected teams. This coupled commitment makes the life of a student-athlete very stressful, tiring and sometimes impossible to the point where you must pick one or the other. " (nd) This work goes on to relate the fact that the sport is equivalent to a full-time job for these athletes who spend countless hours in training instead of doing what other college students do in their free time. Many times these athletes are not free to spend holidays at home due to games or tournaments that are scheduled closely around the holidays. Weatherby and Edmonds state that "...there is no question that more time is spent on the field or court than in the classroom. Studies have estimated that student-athletes in the revenue-generating sports of college athletics spend approximately forty hours per week in preparation for their respective sports, which is an incredible amount of time towards work considering that simultaneously a great deal of time is required for attending class and class preparation. In truth, athletics have a clear dominance of priority over academics in the life of the student-athlete. A student must make sincere effort and take the initiative toward finding time available for academics." (nd) Weatherby and Edmonds severely question the policy of colleges in not paying their college athletes by stating that "...it is pretty commonly accepted that the U.S. is a capitalistic society. Many people argue every day for getting 'their fair share' or 'what they deserve' through their labor." (nd) Therefore the work of Weatherby and Edmonds examine is the "revenues of the college athletics departments and compare those to the amount of financial aid athletes receive" (nd) The following chart labeled Figure 1 in this study shows the Men's program revenues in Football and Basketball as cited by Weatherby and Edmonds (nd).

Revenues by Athletics Program Division I-A

Fiscal Years 1989, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001

Dollars in Thousands)

Source: Weatherby & Edmonds (nd)

As seen in the above chart the sports of football and basketball generate large revenues and have almost tripled their revenues between the years of 1989 and 2001. The following chart labeled Figure 2 illustrates the 'largest reported revenues by sport' in Division I -- A for football and men's basketball.

Largest Reported Revenues by Sport

Division I-A

Dollars in Thousands)

Weatherby & Edmonds (nd)

The foregoing chart illustrates the fact that "top programs are able to generate extremely large revenues each year and again, the revenues are… READ MORE

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