Following the NCAA’s revelations concerning the USC Trojans, sports society has found itself stuck at a crossroad between the old school and the new school with regards to the relationship between collegiate athletic department revenue and the financial incentives of the modern star scholarship athlete. Additionally, in many recent cases of NCAA violations by various programs, the star college athlete has become a cash cow for the numerous universities in question. Whether it’s in football or in softball, the scholarship athlete is often left in the precarious situation of being idolized by their peers while at the same time facing reality as financially stressed, persuadable college student. Without the benefit of proper family guidance, and the support of interested professors and coaches, it’s easy to see how a naïve star student athlete could seek outside help to uphold a certain image which they believe matches their popularity and stigma for an athlete of their stature. As has been the case in the recent past, should a star player desire to upgrade their property with the aid of “boosters” or non-existent jobs, some athletic directors have chosen to look the other way in the name of short term revenue, at the expense of their schools long term reputation and the NCAA rules governing agent and booster contact with athletes.
The argument against paying athletes centers on the powerful fact that those on scholarship are already getting their education plus room and board paid for, and that alone is payment enough. In theory, since the purpose of attending a university has traditionally been to learn first, play sports second, this argument has great weight on its own. But, when you consider that a star college football player in 2010 could net an athletic department hundreds of thousands to even millions of dollars in additional revenue, the argument begins to fall flat from a practical economic perspective. At what point does the athlete have the right to step in and say “wait a minute, don’t I deserve a piece of the pie I created for you?” In the case of USC, no doubt Reggie Bush felt this way, and his sense of entitlement, coupled with the ignorance of the athletic director and coach Pete Carroll, led to their current predicament. Think about the millions in revenue created by Reggie Bush for USC. Think about the millions generated by Vince Young for The University of Texas. Think about Tim Tebow at Florida. These guys are cash cows who literally skyrocketed their athletic programs to the stratosphere of college sports. Bottom line, without the star player, the university can’t fill the seats or entice deep pocketed sports boosters to write checks. Ultimately, the AD in 2010 must act as the CEO of a for profit sports organization where the athletes are merely actors in a greater game of who has the biggest revenue amongst elite schools.
Therefore, the time has now come to explore ideas that advocate for the rights of the student athlete. Ideas such as scholarship contracts for 5 star level, 4 star level, and 3 star level athletes. Similar to professional contracts but without signing bonuses, they could incentivize athletes to reach benchmarks or goals that would qualify them for additional scholarship money in the form of performance and revenue bonuses. If a player’s jersey or image is used for profit, and the revenue from sales reaches a certain breakpoint, there could be ways to provide royalties in the form of increased money for room and board, transportation, and additional expenses. This money could be issued in a controlled manner through the athletic departments of each school, under the oversight of the NCAA, and within the ethical guidelines determined in the implementation process. In addition, in order to become eligible for a scholarship contract, the student athlete would be required to enroll and participate in a money management class for potential pro athletes. This class would be administered by the NCAA through a participating universities business department, and would be aimed at easing the transition and fending off the temptations involved in the evolution from college star to pro athlete.
The reality is that today’s student athlete has grown up in a sports world where excellence on the field of play is expected to be repaid by both traditional praise and real or perceived material gain. The current scholarship system sets star athletes up to be pawns in a big money game run by powerful donors and financially driven AD’s. Despite the relative success of the traditional academic/sports scholarship, and the acceptability of the basic room and board set up provided to scholarship athletes, the time has come to explore a smarter system that retains the integrity of the scholar athlete while rewarding the exceptional money making star athlete with the kind of treatment worthy of their stature as a financial contributor to the university in question. Until then, we can expect more of the same kind of USC style violations and illegal, behind the scenes behavior that has become increasingly prevalent in the big money world of modern day college athletics.
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