Pay To Play?

A friend of mine and I got into a heated discussion over the weekend at a local coffeehouse. The topic was should college athletes on scholarship be paid to play. This is something that’s been talked about for years all over the country.

But this stemmed from an earlier conversation we had on my boy O.J. Mayo and the money he allegedly received while he was in high school and at USC.

My friend, a graphic designer for a large advertising firm in Los Angeles, believes that Mayo should not get in trouble and should be able to cash in on his name. After all, USC, the NCAA and the media are cashing in on it. (I noted that O.J. won’t get into any trouble, but USC and the other players will. We both agreed that’s another topic for another time).

My argument was that athletes like Mayo are already being paid to play with the free education they’re getting. We’re talking about thousands of dollars in tuition, books, and housing, ect. And many of these players get into some of the best colleges and universities with minimum grade requirements. How many students with stellar grade point averages can claim that?

Plus, athletes as talented as Mayo will make millions of dollars in salary and endorsements in the pro ranks without as much as an Associates degree from a junior college.

The average cost of college in the United States is $6,185 for public universities and $23,712 for private schools and it continues to rise according to www.collegeboard.com.

Here where I reside in California, the California State University system, which includes Division I basketball schools Fresno State, San Diego State and Long Beach State, and the University of California system that includes UCLA, California and UC Santa Barbara, tuition including housing, books, ect. range from $12,000 to $16,000 a year. This does not include the fee hike taking place next year.

For an athlete playing any sport that’s a lot of free money. And now they should get more?

My friend said every college athlete should be able to cash in on some of the billions of dollars the “non-profit” NCAA makes every year. They should be able to make as much money as they can because many of them will never make it to the professional level.

Plus, if coaches don’t really stress education or on any life skills to help prepare a player who might not make it to the pros, then shouldn’t they have the right to making some extra money on their own while in school? All the coaches want are for their players to have the minimum grade point averages.

This is ridiculous! That’s what counselors and advisors are for! We are not dealing with children here. These are adults. They made conscience decisions to attend a certain university because of its excellence in college basketball or that they could play basketball and go to school for free. And athletes who get good grade, but don’t make it to the pros usually get great jobs.

The next thing my friend pointed out was that many majors such as his and mine will let you work in your field and make money while in school and on scholarship as interns, part timers to gain valuable work experience. I did it working at a newspaper and interning at a radio and television station (I wasn’t on scholarship, but you get the point), so it’s something I had to concede to him. Some even go on to start small businesses.

I have no problem with college players getting jobs while on scholarship. It’s something that the NCAA frowns on, but come on, how do you expect some poor kid from the inner city attending the University of Florida or Colorado or any other school to survive?

Burt most athletes aren’t majoring in the NBA, NFL, NHL or MLB. Athletes usually have a declared major in something besides P.E.

“So it’s like having a double major then!” my friend countered. “Not only do they have to practice, study the playbook, travel and play games that can last well into midnight, do interviews for guys like you, they also have to study for the real major too.”

This went on for a good part of the afternoon with neither of us giving up our position. I still say that a college basketball player receiving a scholarship to play at some of the most prestigious schools in the country is already being paid for his services. It’s ultimately up to him on he uses it. I do agree that the NCAA needs to ease up a little and let players work and earn some money to get them through school.

Your thoughts please.