I perked up just a little to hear Dick Vitale, now an analyst with ESPN but also a former basketball coach expressing his views on whether or not college athletes should be paid. Dick was responding to the recent decision made by Glen Robinson, a basketball player who left Purdue University before completing the undergraduate program to go to the pros. Robinson asked for a one hundred million dollar contract. Now, it’s just common sense that a player who could ask and receive such a vast amount of money in the pros, certainly played a substantial enough role in the financial growth of the college that he should have received a percentage. Do Athletes contribute to the financial growth of colleges and universities? If so, why should college athletes not receive payment for play?

It seems these days everyone has an opinion on the perks that college athletes receive mainly in the football and basketball arena. These two arenas have traditionally, and continue to bring the most money to colleges and universities as well as carrying the load for other arenas. The University of Michigan, home of Chris Webber and the Fab Five, “thi

“The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) supports nearly 1200 member schools and organizations. This organization makes millions of dollars from gate receipts of games and television revenue” (Jones). The college athlete does not receive any of the money earned from such sales. College athletes also create revenue for the coaches. “The average salary for a coach in a Division I school is over a million dollars. The Head Coach for the University of Kentucky is reported to earn over two million dollars a year” (Whitlock). What about schools that profit from outside entities such as television networks? “Notre Dame is paid fifty million dollars a year for broadcasting rights to their football games by CBS according to an ESPN reporter”(Whitlock). It seems everyone is being paid except to athlete. Even when companies like Nike and Reebok contract to coaches directly a large sum of money for letting their players wear their brand of shoes, why not cut the athlete a slice of that pie, after-all the school takes a slice?

We have to have an understanding about the politics of college sports. The players are supposed to be protected from exploitation. The NCAA is set up to protect the player, but “the NCAA receives money from the sponsors, broadcasters, boosters and ticket sales” (Jones). The coaches instruct players how best to perform on the field and execute plays. “The coaches receive money from such companies as Nike, Reebok and Puma. The coaches also receive money from equipment manufactures and the beverage industries” (Jones). The colleges and Universities receive money from player paraphernalia such as jerseys, coffee mugs, t-shirts and hats and the players receive zip. The players can receive none of the proceeds from any of the contracts mentioned. Where else in America does anyone work

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