Should colleges pay athletes

[n2sooners]

There is simply no way they could pay all the athletes across the board. Football already supports many other sports, if those athletes had to be paid there is a good chance their sport could be dropped. Heck, they were ready to drop woman's basketball in the early 90s.

I think one way that could work would be booster support where boosters would put money into a fund that would be paid to the student athletes, but even that could have a backlash on the lesser sports if colleges with fewer sports programs could afford to 'pay' their athletes more and those with more decided that cutting sports programs was the best way to compete.

 

[AllOut]

I don't think that they should be payed while in school, but if someone wants to give them money I don't see anything wrong with it. I know it's a slippery slope but if a private person wants to support a college student its their money.

That's true. Sponsorships.
But that would be way to hard to keep track of and way too open to illegal activity...

 

[underpar]

25,000 other students at almost any university would love to have a $100,000+ full ride which includes room, board, travel, and the best health care offered at the University level. If the schools have to pay athletes, pull the scholarship and make them pay their way like every other student!

 

[AllOut]

25,000 other students at almost any university would love to have a $100,000+ full ride which includes room, board, travel, and the best health care offered at the University level. If the schools have to pay athletes, pull the scholarship and make them pay their way like every other student!

But how much $ do those other 25,000 student generate for the college?
What people need to remember, at a big University Football pays for everything. The football team doesn't get to keep all the money it generates. That money is split up among the rest of the school. Which means that nerdy kid that cant play a sport to save his life but got a full ride cause he is a Science or Math prodigy.... The $ money for his scholarship probably came from the Football team lol

 

[Blinocac200sx]

I see a guy like Carl Pendleton, and can't help but think that paying the players could do some good.

 

[Sanford]

No, colleges should not pay. Let professional sports organizations pay the bill for organized athletics throughout the educational system since they're the ones who ultimately profit from these kids' dedication and hard work.

 

[afs760bf]

I argue with myself on this issue, but when a kid gets a 35 on his SAT's, he can get a free ride to OU, and it includes a living stipend. So scholars get a better ride than athletes in that department. I think maybe it would be good to give the athletes the same type of deal. It really wouldn't cost much for the schools, and it would keep the NCAA investigators a little more at bay, perhaps. Kids need to have a few things, and they're putting in a lot of training hours to bring the school a good name, just like the scholars who bring no revenue to the school, but who are very important.

 

[criticalbass]

I have a young friend who will have major knee trouble the rest of his life from college football. He was on a scholarship, but lost it when he was disabled.

Colleges make a ton of money off these kids, and the kids make the occasional sacrifice of their health, and now and then their lives.

My take is that whatever revenue pie a given sport produces for a college, the players should get a fair slice. If volleyball brings in ten bucks, then the players should split two bucks amongst themselves. If football brings in a million bucks, the players should split 200K.

As it is now, players, especially in football, take high risks when some are only there for the game and what it might get them later.

 

[underpar]

But how much $ do those other 25,000 student generate for the college?
What people need to remember, at a big University Football pays for everything. The football team doesn't get to keep all the money it generates. That money is split up among the rest of the school. Which means that nerdy kid that cant play a sport to save his life but got a full ride cause he is a Science or Math prodigy.... The $ money for his scholarship probably came from the Football team lol

Seeing as how universities existed long before athletics, I would assume that the $12,000 avg tuition at OU multiplied by those 25,000 students would equal an annual budget of $300 million. Excluding the athletic department, stadiums, and athletic travel, I would feel confident in concluding that OU could remain open and functioning.

 

[beast1989]

I agree critical bass. Many people haven't seen what a football locker room looks like at the end of games with players beat up or having to watch your friends limping to class on crutches and barely able to walk. You can tell some of their bodies are so beat down that you feel sorry for them. Football at the collegiate level is no joke, one reason why I bowed out.