Essay about Athletic Scholarships; Pros and Cons

What most people don’t is that not all athletes get the full-ride scholarships that people think of. Most collegiate sports don’t even offer full-ride scholarships; instead they have a set amount of money that they can do whatever to give scholarships. According to a U.S. News article, “The average athletic scholarship is about $10,400. Only four sports offer full rides to all athletes who receive scholarships: football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball” (O'Shaughnessy). Just to put this into perspective, there are twenty-four total college sports, and only these 4 offer full scholarships. This showcases the rarity of a full-ride in college athletes. Looking into it even more, most of those college athletes come from low income families, “86 percent of college athletes come from below the poverty line” (Hayes 1). A college athlete's schedule is also very hectic. In an article showing the schedule of a football player, it lists, “6am-7am: Wake up,

Collegiate sports have turned into a billion dollar industry and are probably just as popular, if not more popular than professional sports. College athletes put their bodies on the line to play a sport they love, many with hopes and dreams to one day make it to the professional leagues. Athletic facilities are the major money makers for all universities. Colleges bring in billions of dollars in revenue annually, yet athletes do not get paid. Some fans believe athletes should not get paid due to their sports level being “amateurish.”; however, this is far from the truth. There is much more to being a college athlete than just practicing and playing games. These student-athletes must practice, weight lift, go to meetings, travel, go to tutoring and study groups, all the while maintaining sufficient grades. This is very tedious work and is very time consuming. College athletes have a high standard to live up to (Frederick Web; Huma Web; Patterson Web ).

The recruiting game is drastically different from what it was years ago, and the athletes who know that have an advantage over those who do not. Athletes in all sports can make a name for themselves during the offseason and catch the eye of college recruiters by attending camps and clinics, and by taking advantage of the internet. Having a realistic expectation with respect to athletic scholarship money is helpful. In addition to athletic scholarships, many colleges offer other types of financial assistance and the pool of available money to your child will be substantially increased with strong academic results.High school athletes regularly ask, "How do I get a college scholarship?" The answer, at first, seems simple: If you are good enough,

They house you, feed you, clothe you, educate you, give you a living stipend, and you get to travel the world. These opportunities are priceless”. Most scholarships to universities provide you with every necessity, if not more, so what else could you possibly need? The athletes obtain their compensation with the benefits they already received from the scholarship, so allowing the players to be paid more than what the scholarship contributes may lead to mismanagement and the students trying to negotiate separate deals with the NCAA.

The payment of college athletes will kill the principles of recruiting.High school students want to continue their sport at the collegiate level is for the increased level of play, competition, team bonding, and the college athlete experience. College recruiters love to offer an athlete the

In many American neighborhoods, while driving by, there are young children and adolescents playing outside, perhaps chasing a basketball or maybe each other. Maybe one of those children will be getting called out in to the starting line up on the massive screen at the Pepsi Center. For most this wont be the case, but for a bigger proportion of children will have the opportunity to play college sports and in some cases receive an athletic scholarship. Most importantly, these children will have the ability to pursue their dreams while doing the thing they love most. For most people, they don 't get to play past high school level, or at all. So what sets these children apart from the ones who don 't make it? How are they motivated? How do we keep our own athletic children engaged? Transitioning to examine the adolescent athlete, what can they do in order to perform at a higher level?

The ugly truth behind the money machine that is college sports is that, every year, college athletes are deceived by the institutions the compete for into making them millions of dollars, with relatively little in return. Athletes are said to be given a chance to attend college and to attain a free college degree. However, research has shown that this is not completely true for two reasons. For one, the student athlete will spend most of their time in preparation for competition. Secondly, what education the student athlete does receive hardly serves them outside of maintaining eligibility just so

Now, paying these athletes doesn’t have to be for everyone. Only the high caliber, D1 athletes. The D1 athletes put in all this time and effort to get a scholarship, but don’t see any money. Now that’s not right. These D1 caliber players don’t come around all the time. There are not many of them. Plus the schools that do have these players are super rich. “These teams not only provide their supporters with a steady source of entertainment, but their performance also helps bring notoriety and pride to the universities they represent. College athletics, especially the so-called "revenue sports" of men 's basketball and football, is now a multi-million dollar business that is marketed, packaged, and sold in the same manner as other commercial products” (Acain).

$9,139 is the average cost of college for a student to go attend an in-state four year public university (“College Costs”). This amount does not include housing, food, books, or supplies; this can end up totaling near $10,000, but imagine if both of these figures were paid for you. This would mean you would pay nothing to attend a four year college, and this is the reality for many individuals today; these people are commonly known as student-athletes. Many student-athletes receive full scholarships to schools covering their room, board, tuition, books and any other expenses they may incur because they are playing a sport at the institution. Not to mention many of these individuals will receive stipends to use at their own will. However, these same students feel like these benefits are not enough (“Here’s”). Some students feel like they are being cheated out of their talents because NCAA uses them in media and in other profitable ventures but they are not paid. Others just feel that the role of a college athlete should include receiving payment since they are like professional athletes and see their sport as their only profession. Student- athletes may have a similar role to professional athletes, but do not deserve the same compensation because they are receiving their payment through a school scholarship.

By only increasing the value of athletes’ scholarships you maintain the integrity of the game while not putting too much extra financial stress on schools. This extra cash also allows athletes to truly and fully have their college expenses taken care of.

There are many good athletes in professional sports today. There are many good athletes in college sports today also. Some of the biggest names in sports are Mark McGwire, Steve Young, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and so on. Now, imagine if all of those players never made it to the pros. What would happen to professional sports? Why are they in the pros now? To make it into professional sports you need more than just talent. You need opportunity. College scholarships not only give athletes the opportunity to reach the professional ranks, but also give the chance for many players to earn a degree in higher education.

College athletes generate millions of dollars for their schools each year, yet they are not allowed to be compensated beyond a scholarship due to being considered amateurs. College athletes are some of the hardest working people in the nation, having to focus on both school courses and sports. Because athletics take so much time, these student-athletes are always busy. College football and basketball are multi-billion dollar businesses. The NCAA does not want to pay the athletes beyond scholarships, and it would be tough to work a new compensation program into the NCAA and university budgets. College athletes should be compensated in some form because they put in so much time and effort, generating huge amounts of revenue.

Most student-athletes playing a sport in college are there on an athletic scholarship. The scholarship is granted to them by their respective schools and is worth anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000. According to Edelman, the football program alone at University of Alabama brought in roughly 143.3 million dollars of revenue. In perspective, that’s about 2 million per player. Even though Alabama is an elite program and brings in more than the average football program, the NCAA brought in nearly $845 billion in 2011 per Sonny. Now it is obvious there many ways a university brings in revenue, but it is safe to say that a player is worth more than that $100,000 scholarship. In fact, a substantial share of college sports’ revenues stay in the hands of a select few administrators, athletic directors, and coaches. Now think about what college athletics would be without the world class athletes it has today, or without any athletes at all. If a school didn’t “award” athletes these scholarships, there would be

College athletes don’t have to worry about paying for books, meals, or the sport equipment they use to work out with. They don’t need money to throw away on food because they possibly have a certain meal plan provided by their athletic trainers. College athletes still have time to get a job during the off-season. Many people have to pay for college and student athletes with scholarships are the lucky ones who

Student athletes commonly go to school for one reason: their love for the sport they participate in. These student athletes get scholarships from large Division 1 schools, which means things such as schooling, board, and food will be paid for by the school so the student athletes do not have to pay for these benefits themselves (Patterson). If college athletes are to be paid, it will cause unfair compensation between players who are valued or played more than others. When student athletes are rewarded with a scholarship, they have nothing school related that they would need to pay for. This can lead them to blow all of their income on unnecessary or dangerous things such as drugs and alcohol which could get them removed from the team they