College Student-Athletes: Paid to Play?

By Isabella Santoro
Stonehill College News Blog Journalist

EASTON- As a student-athlete and rising senior at Stonehill College, Grace Carter’s busy schedule with both school and basketball leaves her with no time to make money.

“I face challenges with keeping up with school work when we miss class for away games and I always have busy schedules with practice,” said Carter, a political science major on Stonehill women’s basketball team.

Intercollegiate athletics participation has become so time-consuming that some coaches, athletes and others think student-athletes should be treated as employees and get paid.

“It has always been an issue and some athletes have always received illegal payments – going back to the very beginnings of college sports,” said John Wolohan, an attorney and professor of Sports Law in the Syracuse University Sport Management program.

It’s a debate that has been going on since the early 1900’s. The amount of money involved in college sports is the reason this debate has surfaced in sports news.

On top of that, the NBA passed the one and done rule, where intercollegiate athletes are able to enter the draft after one year of participation. Many college athletes leave after one year so they can make money.

For example, according to Wolohan, CBS pays the NCAA a billion dollars a year to broadcast the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament and in return the players don’t get any of the money but, get an experience of a lifetime.

“There are at least five schools in the country that generate over $100 million in athletes, not to mention that football and basketball coaches are making millions of dollars a year too,” said Wolohan.

With all this money flowing into college sports, the players (and others) are questioning how the NCAA can justify the current model of amateurism.

The biggest struggle student-athletes face is making money. Although, the NBA passed the one and done rule to help college athletes make a living, the new rule has also made the argument to pay these athletes worse. The one and done rule allows a college athlete to enter professional drafts after participating one year for their college team and receive a contract and payment right away.

“Yes, I believe that the one and done has made the issue worse. First, those athletes who come to school for one year have no real interest in an education. They are there to prepare for the NBA draft and the millions of dollars they expect to receive. This rule therefore makes a joke out of the NCAA’s argument that the educations provided to the students is worth the time/effort they give to athletics,” said Wolohan.

College basketball had traditionally been a place where athletes stayed 3 or 4 years and made a name for themselves before moving to the NBA. However, if college athletics were to pay every athlete, it could become a bigger problem than what it is now.

“For example, take Syracuse University, we spend about $70 million on athletics. If we were to pay our athletes, the university would probably be forced to cut various non-revenue sports. So, sports like women’s ice hockey, men’s crew, men’s tennis, men’s track and field would potentially be cut to pay the athletes that remained. But, is that any better?” Wolohan said.

Carter thinks athletes like herself should be paid at least the bare minimum when it comes to time and commitment.  

“I say this because college athletes make millions of dollars for their schools but in return, yes they do get free tuition and media coverage that leads them to make millions of dollars in the future, but some of them need to pay for things or send money home if they needed to,” she said.

College Students' Perceptions on The Payment of Intercollegiate Student Athletes, a study conducted by Raymond G. Schneider, an assistant professor at Bowling Green State University, surveyed college student’s perceptions at the university in 2001.

Published in the Student College Journal, the study found that in 54% of all respondents believed student-athletes should be paid for intercollegiate athletics participation. 

The respondents also said if the NCAA were to allow payment, college students most frequently believed the additional money should come from the athletics department (56%) and additional revenue generating contracts such a shoe deal and television contracts.

“If the NCAA would allow athletes to sell their images to sponsors – it would solve the question of how to pay athletes – the market would decide their value and it would solve some of the other problems too,” John Wolohan said.

But, well-known college athletes like Zion Williamson are forced to wear certain brands to help benefit the companies without a cent in return. Whether Duke University is sponsored by Nike or Texas Tech is sponsored by Under Armor, popular college athletes help promote their school’s brand who sponsors them with no payment in return.

For example, Zion Williamson, famous college athlete at Duke wears only Nike sneakers because Duke’s athletics program is sponsored by Nike. Yet, the college athletes don’t get paid for wearing the brands while they play.

“When all is said and done, it is up to the athletes, themselves, to stand up and make a change. If the players for Virginia University and Texas tech refused to play in the NCAA championship this year and protested this issue, the NCAA would have to investigate this controversial topic and hopefully have ends meet,” said Wolohan.

 “A student athlete is a student athlete, they choose to spend their time playing the sport they love for that school but, the least they could get is paid minimum wage for their hours and commitment they put in every day,” said Carter.