Michigan Women's Gymnastics Big Ten Champions 5-Peat
The topic of Football and Basketball players needing to be paid because they generate so much money always irritates me. First and foremost because if the market could sustain a professional minor league, then it would. Baseball and Hockey don't seem to have problems doing this and co-existing with College Amateur Sports.
The student athletes of the lesser revenue generating kind put in just as much work for their scholarships as the football and basketball players. They just aren't blessed by an abundant TV audience to generate insane amounts of revenue. But go take a look at all the facilities on Michigan's campus. Swimming pools, baseball fields, indoor and outdoor track, etc. they are world class and continually being updated. Paid for by the revenue generated from things like basketball jersey sales.
The other reason this discussion irritates me is because it's conducted by people who will also bring up Bo's "The Team The Team The Team" speech. Clearly they've never listened to this speech, because there is a large section where Bo talks about the special and irreplaceable 4 years that are a gift to any student athlete. Those 4 years are a time when student athletes compete for the pure joy of the sport, of their teammates, without any distractions of contracts, sponsorships, and in general the downside of money.
Accepting a scholarship is a choice and a privilege. You can enter the NBA from high school if you are good enough. It won't teach you to be an adult, but you will be paid if your talent is sufficient.
That is a choice.
The players choose schollies because they are the best deal out there, and they are supposed to follow the rules. But that doesn't mean they don't deserve to be paid. Shamateurism is a myth, and the NCAA makes sure they control all of the money they possibly can by perpetuating it.
Why shouldn't a kid be allowed to take money from a booster or a local businessman? Obviously, because of the rule, but why does the rule have to be there in the first place? All the current system does is force clean programs like Michigan to compete on a "tipped" playing field against teams that cheat, like OSU, USC, and most of the SEC.
The NCAA is greedy, they want all of the money for themselves, and that is why it is illegal for a kid to take $100 from a "friend." Meanwhile, those jersey sales go into the school's and NCAA's pocket. I don't agree with anyone cheating and taking the money against the rules, but I do think it is time for the rules to be changed.
Maybe the players should unionize.