Should Athletes Be Mandatory For College Athletes

Thousands of 18-21 year olds slave away for 60 hours or more every week. They are expected to work tirelessly hard to pass classes but at the same time dedicate most of their time to athletics. College athletes are used to create a billion dollar business, industries rely on them constantly working away and receive little to no compensation. College athletes should be compensated for being the working force behind a multi billion dollar industry and receive little to no payment for their time, while at the same time have to pass college classes.

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 ).

isn 't real necessary. Considering they no longer have to pay tuition and continue to pursue their childhood dream as a professional athlete. Some athletes do not even have a dream to be a professional athlete. Some student athletes have other aspirations; like being a Lawyer, Police Officer, Doctor, Nurse, Veterinarian, or even a fire fighter. So they use there god given talent as a entrance and walk way through

Schooling is very important to NBA athletes for numerous reasons. A degree could save an athlete from becoming bankrupt if he cannot become successful in the NBA. It would give that athlete the skills and knowledge to work another job. Another reason why an education could be important to any professional athlete is the knowledge to manage and spend their money correctly once they earn their big paychecks. The capricious management of money occurs far too often in professional basketball players. Former NBA all-star Shaquille O’Neal recalls spending “1 million in 30 minutes”, according to espn.go.com. O’Neal also agrees that college athletes should stay for at least three years in college, and that an education is the most important thing to

Secondly, there is a major difference between professional sports and college sports. “Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a career in sports. They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports...student athletes are amateurs who choose to participate in intercollegiate athletics as part of their educational experience, thus maintaining a distinction between student athletes who participate in the collegiate model and professional athletes who are also students” (Mitchell). The collegiate athletes’ incentive is the access to an outstanding education. College athletes playing a college sport is not a career or a profession. “The NCAA plays a critical role in the maintenance of a revered tradition of amateurism in college sports”(Ross). This quote is laudable because

Many people believe that the college athletes are just like the professionals because they train and work just as hard as hard as the pros. First of all college students are working and training so hard because they want to make it to the major-leagues some day. “Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a career in sports. They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports, for which they earn scholarships to pay tuition, fees, room and

The overarching reason for this ongoing debate for college athletes all relates to money. At 18 and 19 years old, most athletes do not have access to the amount of money they could potentially make in the NBA. Not only money, but also any sort of benefits that can be provided to them such housing, transportation or significant revenue that can improve the lives of not only themselves but their families. An article reviewing the NCAA business model and the paying of student athletes explains that:

Over the past decade, NCAA Men’s Basketball has gained an immense following; as a matter of fact, NCAA has reported record ratings in 5 of the past 10 Final Fours. College Basketball has gained what sports analyst over at ESPN, Stephen A. Smith has described as a “Cult Following”. Every year you see high school Phenom’s like: Ben Simmons (76ers - Pro), Jaylen Hands (UCLA – Collegiate), Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers - Pro), and Jahlil Okafor (76ers – Pro) attend these institutions; play a season of college basketball and then go straight to the Pro’s. So, why are these athletes attending college? Why spend 9 months at an institution playing for a team, all while not receiving compensation for your services; Risking injuries, and negative

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 is to provide you with education and to get you ready for the future. This goes to show you that student athletes are not professionals. The main idea of attending college is so that you can learn how life really works and how to get a professional job. The NCAA is a great experience to learn from especially for those students who hope to become a professional athlete. Athletes play in the NCAA and some of them will eventually take advantage of that experience in order to take the next step and get paid.

Rebecca Lobo once said“Athletes who take to the classroom naturally or are encouraged to focus on grades should be able to do well in the classroom. I believe the reason you go to college is to get your degree. It's not a minor league or an audition for the pros.” many athletes should read these and apply it to their life because college isn't about trying to play in the pros if you're an athlete sure you can have a dream, but you need to also get a degree that should be the main focus not getting a tryout or an audition for the pros. Every year around one hundred seventy-seven thousand athletic scholarships is given out to those that stood out in their sport, whether it was basketball, football, or even baseball. The kids receiving these scholarships are given a free

All the expenses that they have to acquire overwhelm many students that attend college. When this occurs, they tend to dropout, or struggle with taking on college courses and working. What is so amazing is that high school athletes think that is they attend college for a year or two, they can go on and make a career on a professional level. They do not understand that if they do go professional, it will not always last. They will eventually have to go to college anyway. So, why not go ahead, get a good education, and have a successful career.

Imagine making the decision to commit to the University of Oklahoma to play collegiate basketball at only 14 years old. Most kids your age only dream about having such an opportunity! Once the time finally comes to hit the court, you only play for a total of six minutes because you sustain a severe knee injury, putting your life and sports career to a complete halt.

In high school my coaches always preached, “Academics are a priority and athletics are a privilege.” I believe this statement is true from a high school standpoint, but from a college standpoint, that is absolutely wrong. The reason I say this is because here at Midland University, you acquire either an academic or athletic scholarship. If you only have an athletic scholarship, your main priority in college is your sport, right? This lead me to the question, “do I want to continue being a track athlete in two years?”

Should college athletes be allowed to skip classes? No, because they signed up to be a student athlete. Student athletes should be forced to go to all classes because they have to get the same work as everyone else in the class and the same education to get the same degree as the other non student athletes.It`s understood that they have very long nights and train for hours and hours a day just for sports, but they need to work just as hard if not harder on their studies.Student athlete`s can miss a practice because of school work , and education comes first no matter how good you are at the sport if you do not have the grades you do not play. but as an extra incentive to get players to class the universities pay other students to keep track of the athletes.