Student Athletes are Still Students

  Student Athletes are Still Students

The sports industry brings in one of the largest revenues in the country. College level sports are growing in revenue, now that it consists of the rounds playoff games. This means more ticket sales, merchandise sales, more opportunities for making money. Yet, fans forget these athletes are also students. They advertise their athletic statistics, but what about their grades? College student athletes, particularly those who play football, are given unfair advantages over those who do not play sports because of the revenue the institutions receive from their programs.

Student athletes receiving special treatment from educational institutions has been an issue for well over 30 years. The non-athlete students are not the only people being affected by the disadvantages.  In the mid-1980s, a female professor, at the University of Georgia was fired because she noticed a student’s grade was changed in one of her classes. He was a football player. The professor later filed a lawsuit; the institution claimed to have changed the player’s grade so he was able to compete in a game. An attorney representing the University of Georgia had agreed with Mrs.Kemp’s focus of the suit, that athletes get special treatment. According to a quote taken from his opening statement, he said, ''We may not make a university student out of him, but if we can teach him to read and write, maybe he can work at the post office rather than as a garbage man when he gets through with his athletic career.” There is evidence that the academic institution is more concerned with how the student athletes will make more money after their college career, than how well his education is furthered. Thus, if their athletes go on to be professional players, that may entail that they will possibly donate back to the school that helped reach that career goal. College football programs make up to tens of millions of dollars in donations each year. The number one, top ranked football program, the University of Alabama, made $123,769, 841. The lowest ranked team, the University of Arkansas, made $8,392,852. (ESPN)

Most high school students in their academic career think at least once about college and whether all that money and debt is worth it in the end. With scholarship and financial aid opportunities dwindling, they also wonder could they actually pay for their education. While athletes already have zero debt, and no money coming out of their own pockets for their education and athletic expenses, they are also getting paid for being there. According to reports done by both CBS Sports and Forbes, the universities actually want to pay their football players even more; some universities already pay their players up to $125,000 a year. This includes the cost of their tuition, their room and board fees, their meals, and their coaching/training expenses. This is all considered “payment,” and with major universities with successful football programs considering to play their player even more, this could mean further disadvantages for their other athletic and educational programs. By contrast, most research done in university programs by students are funded by grants. These grants are usually from non-profit organizations wrestling the same cause, alumni from their specific field, etc. While students are struggling to find money to fund their research, education, and tuition, football players are receiving up to six figure salaries. For instance, the University of Michigan receives over 1,000,000 dollars from outside resources for students research; only about $100,000 comes from businesses, non-profits, etc. While, the university can afford to pay the new coach’s $40 million dollar salary, the player’s equipment fees, etc.

Friday Night Lights, the infamous movie and television series, was based on a nonfiction book that  follow a high school football coach in Texas, and his team as they all struggle with their performance in the games and in their lives. Buzz Bissinger, the author of the book, continues to put forth his opinion about the sport of football. Most recently, he wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal commenting on how banning football would allow academic institutions to thrive more. He highlighted an example from the University of Maryland. “The president [of the university], Wallace D. Loh, late last year announced that eight varsity programs would be cut in order to produce a leaner athletic budget, a kindly way of saying that the school would rather save struggling football and basketball programs than keep varsity sports such as track and swimming, in which the vast majority of participants graduate.” This is just further proof of the treatment college level football players receive. So much that, the university is willing to cancel other varsity sports. This could potentially mean that these athletes will lose their athletic full or partial scholarships, if they received one. Therefore, other student athletes from other sports are being affected and cut off, just to fund football players.

College institutions have always posed physical, emotional, and academic challenges to their students. Yet, student athletes who play football only overcome their physical performance obstacles. With their grades being changed by coaches, up to six figure salaries, varsity sports getting cut to fund their program even more, it is clear that there is no limit to the special treatment these student athletes receive. Yet, throughout all of this we can look up their on the field statistics, but what about their off the field statistics from their classes? Student athletes are still students, but to major universities they are only money bags.

Works Cited:

ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.

<http://espn.go.com/ncaa/revenue>.

"Players about to Get Paid as Money Changes Game in College Athletics." CBSSports.com. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/25083726/players-about-to-get-paid-as-money-changes-game-in-college-athletics>.

Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/leighsteinberg/2013/09/06/time-to-treat-college-athletes-fairly/>.

Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2013/08/29/pay-college-athletes-theyre-already-paid-up-to-125000year/>.

Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/05/07/would-banning-college-football-actually-help-academics/>.

"8 Things You Should Know about Sports Scholarships." CBSNews. CBS Interactive. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-sports-scholarships/>.

"Why College Football Should Be Banned." WSJ. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304743704577382292376194220>.

 "The 50 Colleges Spending the Most on Research & Development in 2015." Best Colleges. Web. 7 Nov. 2015.  <http://www.bestcolleges.com/features/colleges-with-highest-research-and-development-expenditures/  >

Schmidt, William. "BENDING THE RULES FOR STUDENT ATHLETES." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Jan. 1986. Web. 7 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/14/science/education-bending-the-rules-for-student-athletes.html>