Running head: SHOULD STUDENT ATHLETES GET PAID

Should Student Athletes Get Paid: A Review of Literature

Paula Rojo

University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract

The understanding of the dialogue regarding the debate over whether student athletes should be

paid continues. Some argue that the athletes receive a notably revenue portion of profits to the

athletic program and should be paid. As others argue that these athletes already receive benefits

from the scholarships they receive plus other profit. This literature review explores this issue. A

survey was conducted with 50 people to provide a glimpse into how the majority of people feel

about the issue. Through the exploration of these questions and the conduction of the survey, a

more informed opinion can be formed towards the topic and further research can be conducted,

ideally leading to agree upon action concerning whether student athletes should be paid.
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Should Student Athletes Get Paid: A Review of Literature

The University of Texas at Austin topped the charts in 2013 for the most revenue from

its athletic department with $165 million (USA TODAY, 2014). This type of information that

sparked heated arguments. Most will not discuss the fact that some colleges make big money

from their athletics programs. Where people will dispute, however, is how the universities use

this money, how much these universities actually make, and whether student athletes should

receive a cut. Neil Buchanan (2013), an economist and legal scholar states, “The problem is that

the standard story is based on a gross distortion of reality” (para. 4). He would argue that what

people seem to ignore is that student athletes are compensated through scholarships (Buchanan,

2013). Having argued the opposite, Tyson Hartnett (2013), from the Huffington Post, proposes

that the point is “that a scholarship doesn’t equal cash in a player’s pocket. Even with any type of

scholarship, college athletes are typically dead broke” (para. 9). There are very opposed

viewpoints regarding this topic. A few questions that must be considered when exploring this

issue are:

 Should athletes be paid?

 How do universities use the funds they generate from college sports programs?

 Would there be an impact on universities of paying college athletes?

 Where is the money supposed to come from to pay these athletes?

Exploring these questions will enable a greater understanding of the relationship between

college athletes and universities and how universities use athletic these funds. This
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understanding will allow for more well-equipped and informed decisions and conclusions about

the topic.

Should athletes be paid?

The relationship between athletes and universities is mutually beneficial both universities

and student athletes receive some benefits by coexisting together. Though this is the case, people

would argue about how they benefit. In his article for Forbes, Jeffrey Dorfman (2013) some of

the benefits college athletes receive, “student athletes on athletic scholarships are essentially paid

already because they receive free tuition, room, meal plans, and some money for books and

miscellaneous expenses” (para. 3). Dorfman (2013) he then adds on by stating that not all student

athletes receive scholarships including receiving full scholarships, but students that are in sports

make money through some compensation “educational benefits and living expenses”.

Scholarships received by athletes are not small benefits. Neil Buchanan (2013) says, “the

out-of-pocket cost of receiving what scholarship-holding athletes receive ranges from over

$80,000 to more than $230,000” (para. 14). Dorfman (2013) approximates that, “a student athlete

at a major conference school on full scholarship is likely receiving a package of education, room,

board, and coaching/training worth between $50,000 and $125,000 per year depending on their

sport and whether they attend a public or private university” (para. 4). These numbers may vary

from athlete to athlete and school to school, but the important thing remains the same,

scholarships that athletes receive.

Another benefit related to scholarships is that student athletes graduate with less debt than

regular students. In an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sander, Wolverton, and

Fuller (2011) discusses, “57 percent of college students who received athletic scholarships
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graduated with debt, compared with 65 percent of nonathlete students” (para. 4). The average

accumulative debt for student athletes was also smaller, with Sander, Wolverton, and Fuller

(2011) reporting that at graduation this debt was “$17,397 for recipients of athletic scholarships

compared with $23,173 for students who did not receive athletic scholarships” (para. 4). The fact

that most athletes do not end up going into professional sports allows them to graduate with less

debt which becomes beneficial in the future. College athletes also receive many other benefits

that are more difficult to measure such as grants and internships. Some of these added benefits

include free professional coaching, fitness training, support from athletic trainers and physical

therapists, as well as valuable publicity (Dorfman, 2013).

Major debate is the value of the scholarships these athletes receive. Regarding the

scholarships, John Acquaviva (2012), states that, “Today the ‘full ride’ scholarship can only

include tuition, fees, room, board, and books,” and that this, “does not cover the full cost of

attending college” (para. 23). This argues that student athletes need a little more cost of money.

Hartnett (2013) says, “If each athlete got $2000 paid over the course of the semester, this would

give them some spending cash and an opportunity to start managing money” (para. 16). This

very specific, and widely spoken of, number—$2000—likely comes from an approval in October

2011 by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors to make a change that would have provided

athletes with a stipend of $2000 for extra expenses (Pells & Armour, 2014). Which then later

lead to complaints from smaller schools. However, not all scholarships cover the full cost of

attending a university. A consideration as in to not all athletes receive the same value in

scholarships.
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How do universities and student athletes benefit from one another?

There is a currency in which that university athletics make money at a cost. Dorfman (2013),

“only 23 out of the 228 Division I athletic programs managed to run a surplus in 2012” (para.

7). In the revenue the schools adhere is what is used to cover the programs costs.

Another thing to take into consideration which is misinterpreted is that all college sports make

money. The top money makers would be men’s basketball and men’s football, while the rest

make little to no money at all. As the ones with less popularity, Hartnett (2013) says, “some less

popular teams like swimming, tennis, or volleyball don’t earn the university much money, and

the bigger sports like basketball and football make up for the lost difference” (para. 14).

As the graph “Highest-Paid Public Athletes” (Deadspin, 2013) demonstrates, the university

coaches are about the highest paid across the country in the athletic department. But as for shows

there are more expenses than there are revenues. Peale (2013) notes that, “NCAA data show that
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only 16.2 percent of the spending at Division I schools with football, such as Miami, goes to

student aid. The rest goes to salaries, game expenses and facilities” (para. 25).

Would there be an impact on universities of paying college athletes?

Although this is quite a topic of discussion, there isn’t an exact answer in to which how paying

student athletes will have an effect on university sports. Since there already is a misinterpretation

of these student athletes making a well amount of money. Cuts would have to be made on non-

revenue sports due to none well enough profit on their athletics, this can also lead to the removal

of some or maybe all non-revenue sports. Dorfman (2013) says that, “increasing pay to student

athletes could mean tuition increases at many colleges” (para. 8). The impact of paying student

athletes might take a toll on some depending on the income they bring to the athletic programs.

As for there are some colleges who are not going be affected by this there are also ones who will

be, which would lead them to make some sacrifices. The fact that there is going to be an impact

clarifies there are some who will benefit while others can’t bring in a higher income compared to

the bigger schools.

Where is the money supposed to come from to these athletes?

Scholarships play a big factor in these student athletes life, due to the fact it is part of their cost

of attendance. The money would range differently between the revenue sports and non-revenue

sports. For instance, having paid the student athletes in non-revenue sports would signify using

the money brought in from the money makers such as football and basketball. So, the money

would be coming in from whatever the amount of income a revenue or non-revenue sports.

Conclusion

The argument of whether to pay a student athlete has yet not come to an end. When

broken down the issue itself has many speculations as in which to follow through with, such as

what benefits do the athletes and students receive or what impacts could they both come across.
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As this argument is still under discussion a better understanding was delivered in which it can

give a better opinionated statement and be opened to different perspectives.

References
Buchanan, N. H. (2013). College athletes, full-ride scholarships, and anti-intellectualism.
Retrieved from http://verdict.justia.com/2013/12/05/college-athletes-full-ride-scholarships-anti-
intellectualism

Dorfman, J. (2013). Pay college athletes? they’re already paid up to $125,000 per year. Forbes.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2013/08/29/pay-college-athletes-
theyre-already-paid-up-to-125000year/

USA TODAY. (2014b). Ncaa finances. Retrieved

from http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/schools/finances/

Sander, L., Wolverton, B., & Fuller, A. (2011). NCAA grapples with covering cost of attendance

for athletes. Chronicle Of Higher Education, 58(11), A22.

U.S. Sports Academy. (2016, April 01). NCAA Division I Athletics: Amateurism and
Exploitation. Retrieved March 31, 2018

Schott, S. M. (1996). Give Them What They Deserve: Compensating the Student-Athlete for
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Participation in Intercollegiate Athletics. Sports Law. J., 3, 25.

Nestel, D. (1992). Athletic scholarships: An imbalance of power between the university and the

student-athlete. Ohio St. LJ, 53, 1401.

Parent, C. M. (2003). Forward Progress-An Analysis of Whether Student-Athletes Should Be

Paid. Va. Sports & Ent. LJ, 3, 226.

Hurst, T. R., & Pressly III, J. G. (2000). Payment of student-athletes: Legal & (and) practical

obstacles. Vill. Sports & Ent. LJ, 7, 55.

Strachan, M. (2017, December 07). NCAA Schools Can Absolutely Afford To Pay College

Athletes, Economists Say. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/ncaa-pay-student-athletes_n_6940836.html

Hartnett, T. (2014, January 23). Why College Athletes Should be Paid. Retrieved March 31,

2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tyson-hartnett/college-athletes-should-be-

paid_b_4133847.html
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