Breaking the Mold: The Problems with College Athletics and Ideas for Reform
I love College Athletics. Its allure to me extends far beyond the confines of the playing field. It can teach invaluable lessons about teamwork, discipline, and perseverance. The athletes who embody school spirit become heroes and role models, inspiring us to strive for greatness in our own lives. The camaraderie forged in the crucible of competition transcends individual differences, fostering a sense of unity and pride that binds us together as a community. In the face of adversity, it showcases the resilience of the human spirit. The underdog stories, the nail-biting comebacks, and the triumphs against all odds are the narratives that fuel our aspirations. Its ability to kindle the flames of hope and determination is a testament to the transformative power of sports. But not just the wins and losses that make collegiate sports unique. It’s the shared moments of joy and heartbreak, the jubilation of a buzzer-beater, and the sad reflection after a defeat. The rituals, traditions, tailgates, and alma mater songs create a sense of belonging and pride in being part of something greater than ourselves.
This feeling that I have is not unique to me. In the United States, college sports have long been a source of pride and entertainment for sports enthusiasts, attracting millions of fans and generating significant revenue for universities. However, a persistent debate surrounds the issue of college athletics. This ranges from the compensation of athletes who dedicate countless hours to their sports while facing strict regulations that prevent them from receiving any form of payment to conferences and realignment. In this article, I plan to explore the reasons why college athletes should be paid for their contributions to the multi-billion-dollar industry of collegiate sports.
The most hotly contested problem in college sports is the issue of payment. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body for college sports, enforces rules prohibiting athletes from receiving compensation beyond scholarships. While scholarships cover tuition, room, and board, they often fall short of meeting the total cost of attendance. Meanwhile, universities and the NCAA reap substantial financial rewards from athletes’ performances, merchandise sales, and television deals. College athletes invest enormous time and effort in their respective sports, often dedicating as much time to training, competitions, and travel as full-time employees. The demands on their schedules can hinder their ability to pursue part-time employment to supplement their income.
Consequently, many athletes need help to meet basic needs such as food, transportation, and personal expenses. Economic disparities among different sports and schools exacerbate the financial burden on college athletes. This feels inherently exploitative when athletes in revenue-generating sports such as football and basketball contribute significantly to their universities’ coffers but receive the same scholarship benefits as athletes in less lucrative sports. This imbalance highlights the need for a fairer distribution of the wealth generated by college athletics.
This leads to another problem. College sports have evolved into a professionalized industry with coaches earning lucrative salaries, state-of-the-art facilities, and multi-million dollar television contracts. Meanwhile, the athletes at the heart of this industry are denied the opportunity to benefit financially from their skills and hard work. The notion of amateurism is increasingly outdated in the face of the commercialization of college sports. We see that with conference realignment. Staring in the 2024–2025 season, schools like the University of Southern California (USC) and University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) will be in the Big 10, a conference primarily made up of teams in the Midwest, such as Ohio State and Michigan. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) now features UC Berkley and Stamford, teams on the west coast. The long and storied legacy of the PAC 12 conference has now been whittled down to just two teams, Oregon State and Washington State. You may ask why this happened. The answer is deceptively simple: Money. The Pac-12 couldn’t get a lucrative enough TV deal, so the schools were set to lose the most money left for greener pastures. This is at the cost of student-athletes in less lucrative sports, such as lacrosse, who now have to travel across the country to compete in tournaments when before they only had to travel within a general geographic area. This shows just how little schools and the NCAA care about their athletes and how much they care about the money they can make.
Some reforms have been made, such as Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) deals. These deals are effectively sponsorships that offer athletes non-incentive-based money in exchange for a few commercials or endorsements or whatever the agreement requires of the athlete. The obvious drawback is that this deal is only offered to the biggest stars in college sports, such as Heisman-winning USC Quarterback Caleb Williams, who has made $2.7 million in NIL. While the money is not as good as the NFL (2021 NLF draft 1st overall pick Travon Walker signed a four-year, $37.3 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars), it is still enough to potentially give Williams second thoughts and keep playing in college to avoid being drafted by a team who isn’t advantageous to his career. Reforms to NIL are underway to allow schools to offer NIL deals. However, there are concerns over how this would affect Title Nine and smaller schools that do not have the same kind of money to provide student-athletes with. This system isn’t working. So, what is the alternative?
One bold proposal that UCLA head football coach Chip Kelly made was to separate football from the rest of college athletics and create a commissioner for college football. However, this would likely also necessitate splitting college basketball as they have similar problems with greed, compensating athletes, conference realignment, etc. Still, it is one that I would not be opposed to. We could maintain the sanctity of amateur athletics while recognizing that college football and basketball are so big that they must be treated separately. Another proposal that has been made has been a promotion and relegation system similar to FIFA. This way, there is more room for college football and basketball to grow, allowing smaller schools to compete at the highest possible level. Whatever reform is done, it will likely take some intervention from the government to smooth over the differences between schools, conferences, athletic departments, sponsors, and, most importantly, student-athletes.
The debate surrounding compensation for college athletes reflects the evolving landscape of collegiate sports. Ultimately, finding a balance between preserving the essence of amateur athletics and addressing the realities faced with ever-increasing professionalism and fiscal pressures of college athletics will require collaboration. The future of college sports hinges on the ability to strike this delicate balance, ensuring that the transformative power of sports continues to inspire while providing just compensation for the athletes at its core.
