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The argumentative essay is one of the most frequently assigned types of essays in both high school and college writing-based courses. Instructors often ask students to write argumentative essays over topics that have “real-world relevance.” The question, “Should college athletes be paid?” is one of these real-world relevant topics that can make a great essay subject! 

In this article, we’ll give you all the tools you need to write a solid essay arguing why college athletes should be paid and why college athletes should not be paid. We'll provide:

• An explanation of the NCAA and what role it plays in the lives of student athletes
• A summary of the pro side of the argument that's in favor of college athletes being paid
• A summary of the con side of the argument that believes college athletes shouldn't be paid
• Five tips that will help you write an argumentative essay that answers the question "Should college athletes be paid?" 

The NCAA is the organization that oversees and regulates collegiate athletics. 

What Is the NCAA? 

In order to understand the context surrounding the question, “Should student athletes be paid?”, you have to understand what the NCAA is and how it relates to student-athletes. 

NCAA stands for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (but people usually just call it the “N-C-double-A”). The NCAA is a nonprofit organization that serves as the national governing body for collegiate athletics. 

The NCAA specifically regulates collegiate student athletes at the organization’s 1,098 “member schools.” Student-athletes at these member schools are required to follow the rules set by the NCAA for their academic performance and progress while in college and playing sports. Additionally, the NCAA sets the rules for each of their recognized sports to ensure everyone is playing by the same rules. ( They also change these rules occasionally, which can be pretty controversial! ) 

The NCAA website states that the organization is “dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college athletes” and prioritizes their well-being in academics, on the field, and in life beyond college sports. That means the NCAA sets some pretty strict guidelines about what their athletes can and can't do. And of course, right now, college athletes can't be paid for playing their sport. 

As it stands, NCAA athletes are allowed to receive scholarships that cover their college tuition and related school expenses. But historically, they haven't been allowed to receive additional compensation. That meant athletes couldn't receive direct payment for their participation in sports in any form, including endorsement deals, product sponsorships, or gifts.  

Athletes who violated the NCAA’s rules about compensation could be suspended from participating in college sports or kicked out of their athletic program altogether. 

The Problem: Should College Athletes Be Paid? 

You know now that one of the most well-known functions of the NCAA is regulating and limiting the compensation that student-athletes are able to receive. While many people might not question this policy, the question of why college athletes should be paid or shouldn't be paid has actually been a hot-button topic for several years.

The fact that people keep asking the question, “Should student athletes be paid?” indicates that there’s some heat out there surrounding this topic. The issue is frequently debated on sports talk shows , in the news media , and on social media . Most recently, the topic re-emerged in public discourse in the U.S. because of legislation that was passed by the state of California in 2019.

In September 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that allowed college athletes in California to strike endorsement deals. An endorsement deal allows athletes to be paid for endorsing a product, like wearing a specific brand of shoes or appearing in an advertisement for a product.

In other words, endorsement deals allow athletes to receive compensation from companies and organizations because of their athletic talent. That means Governor Newsom’s bill explicitly contradicts the NCAA’s rules and regulations for financial compensation for student-athletes at member schools.

But why would Governor Newsom go against the NCAA? Here’s why: the California governor believes that it's unethical for the NCAA to make money based on the unpaid labor of its athletes . And the NCAA definitely makes money: each year, the NCAA upwards of a billion dollars in revenue as a result of its student-athlete talent, but the organization bans those same athletes from earning any money for their talent themselves. With the new California law, athletes would be able to book sponsorships and use agents to earn money, if they choose to do so. 

The NCAA’s initial response to California’s new law was to push back hard. But after more states introduced similar legislation , the NCAA changed its tune. In October 2019, the NCAA pledged to pass new regulations when the board voted unanimously to allow student athletes to receive compensation for use of their name, image, and likeness. 

Simply put: student athletes can now get paid through endorsement deals. 

In the midst of new state legislation and the NCAA’s response, the ongoing debate about paying college athletes has returned to the spotlight. Everyone from politicians, to sports analysts, to college students are arguing about it. There are strong opinions on both sides of the issue, so we’ll look at how some of those opinions can serve as key points in an argumentative essay.

Let's take a look at the arguments in favor of paying student athletes!

The Pros: Why College Athletes Should B e Paid

Since the argument about whether college athletes should be paid has gotten a lot of public attention, there are some lines of reasoning that are frequently called upon to support the claim that college athletes should be paid. 

In this section, we'll look at the three biggest arguments in favor of why college athletes should be paid. We'll also give you some ideas on how you can support these arguments in an argumentative essay.

Argument 1: The Talent Should Receive Some of the Profits

This argument on why college athletes should be paid is probably the one people cite the most. It’s also the easiest one to support with facts and evidence. 

Essentially, this argument states that the NCAA makes millions of dollars because people pay to watch college athletes compete, and it isn’t fair that the athletes don't get a share of the profits

Without the student athletes, the NCAA wouldn’t earn over a billion dollars in annual revenue , and college and university athletic programs wouldn’t receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from the NCAA each year. In fact, without student athletes, the NCAA wouldn’t exist at all. 

Because student athletes are the ones who generate all this revenue, people in favor of paying college athletes argue they deserve to receive some of it back. Otherwise, t he NCAA and other organizations (like media companies, colleges, and universities) are exploiting a bunch of talented young people for their own financial gain.

To support this argument in favor of paying college athletes, you should include specific data and revenue numbers that show how much money the NCAA makes (and what portion of that actually goes to student athletes). For example, they might point out the fact that the schools that make the most money in college sports only spend around 10% of their tens of millions in athletics revenue on scholarships for student-athletes. Analyzing the spending practices of the NCAA and its member institutions could serve as strong evidence to support this argument in a “why college athletes should be paid” essay. 

I've you've ever been a college athlete, then you know how hard you have to train in order to compete. It can feel like a part-time job...which is why some people believe athletes should be paid for their work!

Argument 2: College Athletes Don’t Have Time to Work Other Jobs

People sometimes casually refer to being a student-athlete as a “full-time job.” For many student athletes, this is literally true. The demands on a student-athlete’s time are intense. Their days are often scheduled down to the minute, from early in the morning until late at night. 

One thing there typically isn’t time for in a student-athlete’s schedule? Working an actual job. 

Sports programs can imply that student-athletes should treat their sport like a full-time job as well. This can be problematic for many student-athletes, who may not have any financial resources to cover their education. (Not all NCAA athletes receive full, or even partial, scholarships!) While it may not be expressly forbidden for student-athletes to get a part-time job, the pressure to go all-in for your team while still maintaining your eligibility can be tremendous. 

In addition to being a financial burden, the inability to work a real job as a student-athlete can have consequences for their professional future. Other college students get internships or other career-specific experience during college—opportunities that student-athletes rarely have time for. When they graduate, proponents of this stance argue, student-athletes are under-experienced and may face challenges with starting a career outside of the sports world.

Because of these factors, some argue that if people are going to refer to being a student-athlete as a “full-time job,” then student-athletes should be paid for doing that job.  

To support an argument of this nature, you can offer real-life examples of a student-athlete’s daily or weekly schedule to show that student-athletes have to treat their sport as a full-time job. For instance, this Twitter thread includes a range of responses from real student-athletes to an NCAA video portraying a rose-colored interpretation of a day in the life of a student-athlete. 

Presenting the Twitter thread as one form of evidence in an essay would provide effective support for the claim that college athletes should be paid as if their sport is a “full-time job.” You might also take this stance in order to claim that if student-athletes aren’t getting paid, we must adjust our demands on their time and behavior.

Argument 3: Only Some Student Athletes Should Be Paid

This take on the question, “Should student athletes be paid?” sits in the middle ground between the more extreme stances on the issue. There are those who argue that only the student athletes who are big money-makers for their university and the NCAA should be paid.  

The reasoning behind this argument? That’s just how capitalism works. There are always going to be student-athletes who are more talented and who have more media-magnetizing personalities. They’re the ones who are going to be the face of athletic programs, who lead their teams to playoffs and conference victories, and who are approached for endorsement opportunities. 

Additionally, some sports don't make money for their schools. Many of these sports fall under Title IX, which states that no one can be excluded from participation in a federally-funded program (including sports) because of their gender or sex. Unfortunately, many of these programs aren't popular with the public , which means they don't make the same revenue as high-dollar sports like football or basketball . 

In this line of thinking, since there isn’t realistically enough revenue to pay every single college athlete in every single sport, the ones who generate the most revenue are the only ones who should get a piece of the pie. 

To prove this point, you can look at revenue numbers as well. For instance, the womens' basketball team at the University of Louisville lost $3.8 million dollars in revenue during the 2017-2018 season. In fact, the team generated less money than they pay for their coaching staff. In instances like these, you might argue that it makes less sense to pay athletes than it might in other situations (like for University of Alabama football, which rakes in over $110 million dollars a year .) 

There are many people who think it's a bad idea to pay college athletes, too. Let's take a look at the opposing arguments. 

The Cons: Why College Athletes Shouldn't Be Paid

People also have some pretty strong opinions about why college athletes shouldn't be paid. These arguments can make for a pretty compelling essay, too! 

In this section, we'll look at the three biggest arguments against paying college athletes. We'll also talk about how you can support each of these claims in an essay. 

Argument 1: College Athletes Already Get Paid

On this side of the fence, the most common reason given for why college athletes should not be paid is that they already get paid: they receive free tuition and, in some cases, additional funding to cover their room, board, and miscellaneous educational expenses. 

Proponents of this argument state that free tuition and covered educational expenses is compensation enough for student-athletes. While this money may not go straight into a college athlete's pocket, it's still a valuable resource . Considering most students graduate with nearly $30,000 in student loan debt , an athletic scholarship can have a huge impact when it comes to making college affordable . 

Evidence for this argument might look at the financial support that student-athletes receive for their education, and compare those numbers to the financial support that non-athlete students receive for their schooling. You can also cite data that shows the real value of a college tuition at certain schools. For example, student athletes on scholarship at Duke may be "earning" over $200,000 over the course of their collegiate careers. 

This argument works to highlight the ways in which student-athletes are compensated in financial and in non-financial ways during college , essentially arguing that the special treatment they often receive during college combined with their tuition-free ride is all the compensation they have earned.

Some people who are against paying athletes believe that compensating athletes will lead to amateur athletes being treated like professionals. Many believe this is unfair and will lead to more exploitation, not less. 

Argument 2: Paying College Athletes Would Side-Step the Real Problem

Another argument against paying student athletes is that college sports are not professional sports , and treating student athletes like professionals exploits them and takes away the spirit of amateurism from college sports . 

This stance may sound idealistic, but those who take this line of reasoning typically do so with the goal of protecting both student-athletes and the tradition of “amateurism” in college sports. This argument is built on the idea that the current system of college sports is problematic and needs to change, but that paying student-athletes is not the right solution. 

Instead, this argument would claim that there is an even better way to fix the corrupt system of NCAA sports than just giving student-athletes a paycheck. To support such an argument, you might turn to the same evidence that’s cited in this NPR interview : the European model of supporting a true minor league system for most sports is effective, so the U.S. should implement a similar model. 

In short: creating a minor league can ensure athletes who want a career in their sport get paid, while not putting the burden of paying all collegiate athletes on a university. 

Creating and supporting a true professional minor league would allow the students who want to make money playing sports to do so. Universities could then confidently put earned revenue from sports back into the university, and student-athletes wouldn’t view their college sports as the best and only path to a career as a professional athlete. Those interested in playing professionally would be able to pursue this dream through the minor leagues instead, and student athletes could just be student athletes. 

The goal of this argument is to sort of achieve a “best of both worlds” solution: with the development and support of a true minor league system, student-athletes would be able to focus on the foremost goal of getting an education, and those who want to get paid for their sport can do so through the minor league. Through this model, student-athletes’ pursuit of their education is protected, and college sports aren’t bogged down in ethical issues and logistical hang-ups. 

Argument 3: It Would Be a Logistical Nightmare

This argument against paying student athletes takes a stance on the basis of logistics. Essentially, this argument states that while the current system is flawed, paying student athletes is just going to make the system worse. So until someone can prove that paying collegiate athletes will fix the system, it's better to maintain the status quo. 

Formulating an argument around this perspective basically involves presenting the different proposals for how to go about paying college athletes, then poking holes in each proposed approach. Such an argument would probably culminate in stating that the challenges to implementing pay for college athletes are reason enough to abandon the idea altogether. 

Here's what we mean. One popular proposed approach to paying college athletes is the notion of “pay-for-play.” In this scenario, all college athletes would receive the same weekly stipend to play their sport . 

In this type of argument, you might explain the pay-for-play solution, then pose some questions toward the approach that expose its weaknesses, such as: Where would the money to pay athletes come from? How could you pay athletes who play certain sports, but not others? How would you avoid Title IX violations? Because there are no easy answers to these questions, you could argue that paying college athletes would just create more problems for the world of college sports to deal with.

Posing these difficult questions may persuade a reader that attempting to pay college athletes would cause too many issues and lead them to agree with the stance that college athletes should not be paid. 

5 Tips for Writing About Paying College Athletes

If you’re assigned the prompt “Should college athletes be paid," don't panic. There are several steps you can take to write an amazing argumentative essay about the topic! We've broken our advice into five helpful tips that you can use to persuade your readers (and ace your assignment).

Tip 1: Plan Out a Logical Structure for Your Essay

In order to write a logical, well-organized argumentative essay, one of the first things you need to do is plan out a structure for your argument. Using a bare-bones argumentative outline for a “why college athletes should be paid” essay is a good place to start. 

Check out our example of an argumentative essay outline for this topic below: 

• The thesis statement must communicate the topic of the essay: Whether college athletes should be paid, and 
• Convey a position on that topic: That college athletes should/ should not be paid, and 
• State a couple of defendable, supportable reasons why college athletes should be paid (or vice versa).
• Support Point #1 with evidence
• Explain/interpret the evidence with your own, original commentary 
• Support Point #2 with evidence
• Explain/interpret the evidence with your own, original commentary
• Support Point #3 with evidence
• New body paragraph addressing opposing viewpoints
• Concluding paragraph

This outline does a few things right. First, it makes sure you have a strong thesis statement. Second, it helps you break your argument down into main points (that support your thesis, of course). Lastly, it reminds you that you need to both include evidence and explain your evidence for each of your argumentative points. 

While you can go off-book once you start drafting if you feel like you need to, having an outline to start with can help you visualize how many argumentative points you have, how much evidence you need, and where you should insert your own commentary throughout your essay. 

Remember: the best argumentative essays are organized ones! 

Tip 2: Create a Strong Thesis 

T he most important part of the introduction to an argumentative essay claiming that college athletes should/should not be paid is the thesis statement. You can think of a thesis like a backbone: your thesis ties all of your essay parts together so your paper can stand on its own two feet! 

So what does a good thesis look like? A solid thesis statement in this type of argumentative essay will convey your stance on the topic (“Should college athletes be paid?”) and present one or more supportable reasons why you’re making this argument. 

With these goals in mind, here’s an example of a thesis statement that includes clear reasons that support the stance that college athletes should be paid: 

Because the names, image, and talents of college athletes are used for massive financial gain, college athletes should be able to benefit from their athletic career in the same way that their universities do by getting endorsements. 

Here's a thesis statement that takes the opposite stance--that college athletes shouldn’t be paid --and includes a reason supporting that stance: 

In order to keep college athletics from becoming over-professionalized, compensation for college athletes should be restricted to covering college tuition and related educational expenses.

Both of these sample thesis statements make it clear that your essay is going to be dedicated to making an argument: either that college athletes should be paid, or that college athletes shouldn’t be paid. They both convey some reasons why you’re making this argument that can also be supported with evidence. 

Your thesis statement gives your argumentative essay direction . Instead of ranting about why college athletes should/shouldn’t be paid in the remainder of your essay, you’ll find sources that help you explain the specific claim you made in your thesis statement. And a well-organized, adequately supported argument is the kind that readers will find persuasive!

Tip 3: Find Credible Sources That Support Your Thesis

In an argumentative essay, your commentary on the issue you’re arguing about is obviously going to be the most fun part to write. But great essays will cite outside sources and other facts to help substantiate their argumentative points. That's going to involve—you guessed it!—research. 

For this particular topic, the issue of whether student athletes should be paid has been widely discussed in the news media (think The New York Times , NPR , or ESPN ). 

For example, this data reported by the NCAA shows a breakdown of the gender and racial demographics of member-school administration, coaching staff, and student athletes. These are hard numbers that you could interpret and pair with the well-reasoned arguments of news media writers to support a particular point you’re making in your argument. 

Though this may seem like a topic that wouldn’t generate much scholarly research, it’s worth a shot to check your library database for peer-reviewed studies of student athletes’ experiences in college to see if anything related to paying student athletes pops up. Scholarly research is the holy grail of evidence, so try to find relevant articles if you can. 

Ultimately, if you can incorporate a mix of mainstream sources, quantitative or statistical evidence, and scholarly, peer-reviewed sources, you’ll be on-track to building an excellent argument in response to the question, “Should student athletes be paid?”

Having multiple argumentative points in your essay helps you support your thesis.

Tip 4: Develop and Support Multiple Points

We’ve reviewed how to write an intro and thesis statement addressing the issue of paying college athletes, so let’s talk next about the meat and potatoes of your argumentative essay: the body paragraphs. 

The body paragraphs that are sandwiched between your intro paragraph and concluding paragraph are where you build and explain your argument. Generally speaking, each body paragraph should do the following: 

• Start with a topic sentence that presents a point that supports your stance and that can be debated, 
• Present summaries, paraphrases, or quotes from credible sources--evidence, in other words--that supports the point stated in the topic sentence, and
• Explain and interpret the evidence presented with your own, original commentary. 

In an argumentative essay on why college athletes should be paid, for example, a body paragraph might look like this: 

Thesis Statement : College athletes should not be paid because it would be a logistical nightmare for colleges and universities and ultimately cause negative consequences for college sports. 

Body Paragraph #1: While the notion of paying college athletes is nice in theory, a major consequence of doing so would be the financial burden this decision would place on individual college sports programs. A recent study cited by the NCAA showed that only about 20 college athletic programs consistently operate in the black at the present time. If the NCAA allows student-athletes at all colleges and universities to be paid, the majority of athletic programs would not even have the funds to afford salaries for their players anyway. This would mean that the select few athletic programs that can afford to pay their athletes’ salaries would easily recruit the most talented players and, thus, have the tools to put together teams that destroy their competition. Though individual athletes would benefit from the NCAA allowing compensation for student-athletes, most athletic programs would suffer, and so would the spirit of healthy competition that college sports are known for. 

If you read the example body paragraph above closely, you’ll notice that there’s a topic sentence that supports the claim made in the thesis statement. There’s also evidence given to support the claim made in the topic sentence--a recent study by the NCAA. Following the evidence, the writer interprets the evidence for the reader to show how it supports their opinion. 

Following this topic sentence/evidence/explanation structure will help you construct a well-supported and developed argument that shows your readers that you’ve done your research and given your stance a lot of thought. And that's a key step in making sure you get an excellent grade on your essay! 

Tip 5: Keep the Reader Thinking

The best argumentative essay conclusions reinterpret your thesis statement based on the evidence and explanations you provided throughout your essay. You would also make it clear why the argument about paying college athletes even matters in the first place. 

There are several different approaches you can take to recap your argument and get your reader thinking in your conclusion paragraph. In addition to restating your topic and why it’s important, other effective ways to approach an argumentative essay conclusion could include one or more of the following: 

While you don’t want to get too wordy in your conclusion or present new claims that you didn’t bring up in the body of your essay, you can write an effective conclusion and make all of the moves suggested in the bulleted list above. 

Here’s an example conclusion for an argumentative essay on paying college athletes using approaches we just talked about:

Though it’s true that scholarships and financial aid are a form of compensation for college athletes, it’s also true that the current system of college sports places a lot of pressure on college athletes to behave like professional athletes in every way except getting paid. Future research should turn its attention to the various inequities within college sports and look at the long-term economic outcomes of these athletes. While college athletes aren't paid right now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a paycheck is the best solution to the problem. To avoid the possibility of making the college athletics system even worse, people must consider the ramifications of paying college students and ensure that paying athletes doesn't create more harm than good.

This conclusion restates the argument of the essay (that college athletes shouldn't be paid and why), then uses the "Future Research" tactic to make the reader think more deeply about the topic. 

If your conclusion sums up your thesis and keeps the reader thinking, you’ll make sure that your essay sticks in your readers' minds.

Should College Athletes Be Paid: Next Steps 

Writing an argumentative essay can seem tough, but with a little expert guidance, you'll be well on your way to turning in a great paper . Our complete, expert guide to argumentative essays can give you the extra boost you need to ace your assignment!

Perhaps college athletics isn't your cup of tea. That's okay: there are tons of topics you can write about in an argumentative paper. We've compiled 113 amazing argumentative essay topics so that you're practically guaranteed to find an idea that resonates with you.

If you're not a super confident essay writer, it can be helpful to look at examples of what others have written. Our experts have broken down three real-life argumentative essays to show you what you should and shouldn't do in your own writing.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Home / Blog

Should College Athletes Be Paid? Reasons Why or Why Not

January 3, 2022 

Tables of Contents

Why are college athletes not getting paid by their schools?

How do student athlete scholarships work, what are the pros and cons of compensation for college athletes, keeping education at the center of college sports.

Since its inception in 1906, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has governed intercollegiate sports and enforced a rule prohibiting college athletes to be paid. Football, basketball, and a handful of other college sports began to generate tremendous revenue for many schools in the mid-20th century, yet the NCAA continued to prohibit payments to athletes. The NCAA justified the restriction by claiming it was necessary to  protect amateurism  and distinguish “student athletes” from professionals.

The question of whether college athletes should be paid was answered in part by the Supreme Court’s June 21, 2021, ruling in  National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston, et. al.  The decision affirmed a lower court’s ruling that blocked the NCAA from enforcing its rules restricting the compensation that college athletes may receive.

• As a result of the NCAA v. Alston ruling, college athletes now have the right to profit from their  name, image, and likeness  (NIL) while retaining the right to participate in their sport at the college level. (The prohibition against schools paying athletes directly remains in effect.)
• Several states have passed laws  that allow such compensation. Colleges and universities in those states must abide by these new laws when devising and implementing their own policies toward NIL compensation for college athletes.

Participating in sports benefits students in many ways: It helps them focus, provides motivation, builds resilience, and develops other skills that serve students in their careers and in their lives. The vast majority of college athletes will never become professional athletes and are happy to receive a full or partial scholarship that covers tuition and education expenses as their only compensation for playing sports.

Athletes playing Division I football, basketball, baseball, and other sports generate revenue for their schools and for third parties such as video game manufacturers and media companies. Many of these athletes believe it’s unfair for schools and businesses to profit from their hard work and talent without sharing the profits with them. They also point out that playing sports entails physical risk in addition to a considerable investment in time and effort.

This guide considers the reasons for and against paying college athletes, and the implications of recent court rulings and legislation on college athletes, their schools, their sports, and the role of the NCAA in the modern sports environment.

Back To Top

The reasons why college athletes aren’t paid go back to the first organized sports competitions between colleges and universities in the late 19th century. Amateurism in college sports reflects the “ aristocratic amateurism ” of sports played in Europe at the time, even though most of the athletes at U.S. colleges had working-class backgrounds.

By the early 20th century, college football had gained a reputation for rowdiness and violence, much of which was attributed to the teams’ use of professional athletes. This led to the creation of the NCAA, which prohibited professionalism in college sports and enforced rules restricting compensation for college athletes. The rules are intended to preserve the amateurism of student participants. The NCAA justified the rules on two grounds:

• Fans would lose interest in the games if the players were professional athletes.
• Limiting compensation to capped scholarships ensures that college athletes remain part of the college community.

NCAA rules also prohibited college athletes from receiving payment to “ advertise, recommend, or promote ” any commercial product or service. Athletes were barred from participating in sports if they signed a contract to be represented by an agent as well. As a result of the NIL court decision, the NCAA will no longer enforce its rule relating to compensation for NIL activities and will allow athletes to sign contracts with agents.

Major college sports now generate billions in revenue for their schools each year

For decades, colleges and universities have operated under the assumption that  scholarships are sufficient compensation  for college athletes. Nearly all college sports cost more for the schools to operate than they generate in revenue for the institution, and scholarships are all that participants expect.

But while most sports don’t generate revenue, a handful, notably football and men’s and women’s basketball, stand out as significant exceptions to the rule:

• Many schools that field teams in the NCAA’s Division I football tier  regularly earn tens of millions of dollars  each year from the sport.
• The NCAA tournaments for men’s and women’s Division I basketball championships  generated more than $1 billion in 2019 .

Many major colleges and universities generate a considerable amount of money from their athletic teams:

• The Power Five college sports conferences — the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, and Southeastern Conference (SEC) —  generated more than $2.9 billion  in revenue from sports in fiscal 2020, according to federal tax records reported by  USA Today .
• This figure represents an increase of $11 million from 2019, a total that was reduced because of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In the six years prior to 2020, the conferences recorded collective annual revenue increases averaging about $252 million.

What are name, image, likeness agreements for student athletes?

In recent years some college athletes at schools that field teams in the NCAA’s highest divisions have protested the restrictions placed on their ability to be compensated for third parties’ use of their name, image, and likeness. During the 2021 NCAA Division I basketball tournament known familiarly as March Madness, several players wore shirts bearing the hashtag “ #NotNCAAProperty ” to call attention to their objections.

Following the decision in NCAA v. Alston, the NCAA  enacted a temporary policy  allowing college athletes to enter into NIL agreements and other endorsements. The interim policy will be in place until federal legislation is enacted or new NCAA rules are created governing NIL contracts for college athletes.

• Student athletes are now able to sign endorsement deals, profit from their use of social media, and receive compensation for personal appearances and signing autographs.
• If they attend a school located in a state that has enacted NIL legislation, they are subject to any restrictions present in those state laws. As of mid-August 2021,  40 states had enacted laws  governing NIL contracts for college athletes.
• If their school is in a state without such a law, the college or university will determine its own NIL policies, although the NCAA prohibits pay-for-play and improper recruiting inducements.
• Student athletes are allowed to sign with sports agents and enter into agreements with school boosters so long as the deals abide by state laws and school policies.

Within weeks of the NCAA policy change, premier college athletes began signing NIL agreements with the potential to  earn them hundreds of thousands of dollars .

• Bryce Young, a sophomore quarterback for the University of Alabama, has nearly $1 million in endorsement deals.
• Quarterback Quinn Ewers decided to skip his last year of high school and enroll early at Ohio State University so he could make money from endorsements.
• A booster for the University of Miami pledged to pay each member of the school’s football team $500 for endorsing his business.

How will the change affect college athletes and their schools?

The  repercussions of court decisions and state laws  that allow college athletes to sign NIL agreements continue to be felt at campuses across the country, even though schools and athletes have received little guidance on how to manage the process.

• The top high school athletes in football, basketball, and other revenue-generating college sports will consider their potential for endorsement earnings while being recruited by various schools.
• The first NIL agreements highlight the disparity between what elite college athletes can expect to earn and what other athletes may realize. On one NIL platform, the average amount earned by Division I athletes was $471, yet one athlete made $210,000 in July alone.
• Most NIL deals at present are for small amounts, typically about $100 in free apparel, in exchange for endorsing a product on social media.

The presidents and other leaders of colleges and universities that field Division I sports have not yet responded to the changes in college athlete compensation other than to reiterate that they do not operate for-profit sports franchises. However, the NCAA requires that  Division I sports programs  be self-supporting, in contrast to sports programs at Division II and III institutions, which receive funding directly from their schools.

Many members of the Power 5 sports conferences have reported shortfalls in their operations, leading analysts to anticipate  major structural reforms  in the governing of college sports in the near future. The recent changes have also caused some people to believe the  NCAA is no longer relevant  or necessary.

How do highly competitive athletic scholarships work? According to the NCAA and Next College Student Athlete: $3.6 billion+ in athletic scholarships are awarded annually, and 180,000+ student athletes receive scholarships every year. Additionally, about 2% of athletes win a sports scholarship; college coaches award scholarships based on athletic ability; full scholarships are given for the top six college sports categories; and athletic scholarships are renewable each year.

The primary financial compensation student athletes receive is a scholarship that pays all or part of their tuition and other college-related expenses. Other forms of financial assistance available to student athletes include  grants, loans, and merit aid .

• Grants  are also called “gift aid,” because students are not expected to pay them back (with some exceptions, such as failing to complete the course of study for which the grant was awarded). Grants are awarded based on a student’s financial need. The  four types of grants  awarded by the U.S. Department of Education are  Federal Pell Grants ,  Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants ,  Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants , and  Teacher Education Assistance for College or Higher Education (TEACH) Grants .
• Loans  are available to cover education expenses from government agencies and private banks. Students must pay the loans back over a specified period after graduating from or leaving school, including interest charges. EducationData.org estimates that as of 2020, the  average amount of school-related debt  owed by college graduates was $37,693.
• Merit aid  is awarded based on the student’s academic, athletic, artistic, and other achievements.  Athletic scholarships  are a form of merit aid that typically cover one academic year at a time and are renewable each year, although some are awarded for up to four years.

Full athletic scholarships vs. partial scholarships

When most people think of a student athlete scholarship, they have in mind a  full-ride scholarship  that covers nearly all college-related expenses. However, most student athletes receive partial scholarships that may pay tuition but not college fees and living expenses, for example.

A student athlete scholarship is a nonguaranteed financial agreement between the school and the student. The NCAA refers to full-ride scholarships awarded to student athletes entering certain Division I sports programs as  head count scholarships  because they are awarded per athlete. Conversely, equivalency sports divide scholarships among multiple athletes, some of whom may receive a full scholarship and some a partial scholarship. Equivalency awards are divided among a team’s athletes at the discretion of the coaches, as long as they do not exceed the allowed scholarships for their sport.

These Division I sports distribute scholarships per head count:

• Men’s football
• Men’s basketball
• Women’s basketball
• Women’s volleyball
• Women’s gymnastics
• Women’s tennis

These are among the Division I equivalency sports for men:

• Track and field
• Cross-country

These are the Division I equivalency sports for women:

• Field hockey

All Division II and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) sports programs distribute scholarships on an equivalency basis. Division III sports programs do not award sports scholarships, although other forms of financial aid are available to student athletes at these schools.

How college athletic scholarships are awarded

In most cases, the coaching staff of a team determines which students will receive scholarships after spending time scouting and recruiting. The NCAA imposes  strict rules for recruiting student athletes  and provides a guide to help students  determine their eligibility  to play college sports.

Once a student has received a scholarship offer from a college or university, the person may sign a national letter of intent (NLI), which is a voluntary, legally binding contract between an athlete and the school committing the student to enroll and play the designated sport for that school only. The school agrees to provide financial aid for one academic year as long as the student is admitted and eligible to receive the aid.

After the student signs an NLI, other schools are prohibited from recruiting them. Students who have signed an NLI may ask the school to release them from the commitment; if a student attends a school other than the one with which they have an NLI agreement, they lose one full year of eligibility and must complete a full academic year at the new school before they can compete in their sport.

Very few student athletes are awarded a full scholarship, and even a “full” scholarship may not pay for all of a student’s college and living expenses. The  average Division I sports scholarship  in the 2019-20 fiscal year was about $18,000, according to figures compiled by ScholarshipStats.com, although some private universities had average scholarship awards that were more than twice that amount. However, EducationData.org estimates that the  average cost of one year of college  in the U.S. is $35,720. They estimate the following costs by type of school.

• The average annual cost for an in-state student attending a public four-year college or university is $25,615.
• Average in-state tuition for one year is $9,580, and out-of-state tuition costs an average of $27,437.
• The average cost at a private university is $53,949 per academic year, about $37,200 of which is tuition and fees.

Student athlete scholarship resources

• College Finance, “Full-Ride vs. Partial-Ride Athletic Scholarships”  — The college expenses covered by full athletic scholarships, how to qualify for partial athletic scholarships, and alternatives to scholarships for paying college expenses
• Student First Educational Consulting, “Athletic Scholarship Issues for 2021-2022 and Beyond”  — A discussion of the decline in the number of college athletic scholarships as schools drop athletic programs, and changes to the rules for college athletes transferring to new schools

According to College Strategic, Fansided, and Future of Working, reasons why paying college athletes is fair include: 1. Playing sports resembles a full-time job. 2. Sports take time away from studies. 3. Sports generate corporate profits. 4. Pay minimizes athlete corruption. 5. Pay provides spending money. 6. Playing sports creates injury risk. 7. Sports elevate school brands. 8. Pay motivates performance. 9. Scholarships reduce poverty.

There are many reasons why student athletes should be paid, but there are also valid reasons why student athletes should not be paid in certain circumstances. The lifting of NCAA restrictions on NIL agreements for college athletes has altered the landscape of major college sports but will likely have little or no impact on the majority of student athletes, who will continue to compete as true amateurs.

Reasons why student athletes should be paid

The argument raised most often in favor of allowing college athletes to receive compensation is that  colleges and universities profit  from the sports they play but do not share the proceeds with the athletes who are the ultimate source of that profit.

• In 2017 (the most recent year for which figures are available), the NCAA recorded $1.07 billion in revenue. The organization’s president earned $2.7 million in 2018, and nine other NCAA executives had salaries greater than $500,000 that year.
• Elite college coaches earn millions of dollars a year in salary, topped by University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban’s $9.3 million annual salary.
• Many of the athletes at leading football and basketball programs are from low-income families, and the majority will not become professional athletes.
• College athletes take great physical risks to play their sports and put their future earning potential at risk. In school they may be directed toward nonchallenging courses, which denies them the education their fellow students receive.

Reasons why student athletes should not be paid

Opponents to paying college athletes rebut these arguments by pointing to the primary role of colleges and universities: to provide students with a rewarding educational experience that prepares them for their professional careers. These are among the reasons they give for not paying student athletes.

• Scholarships are the fairest form of compensation for student athletes considering the financial strain that college athletic departments are under. Most schools in Division I, II, and III spend more money on athletics than they receive in revenue from the sports.
• College athletes who receive scholarships are presented with an opportunity to earn a valuable education that will increase their earning power throughout their career outside of sports. A Gallup survey of NCAA athletes found that  70% graduate in four years or fewer , compared to 65% of all undergraduate students.
• Paying college athletes will “ diminish the spirit of amateurism ” that distinguishes college sports from their professional counterparts. Limiting compensation for playing a sport to the cost of attending school avoids creating a separate class of students who are profiting from their time in school.

According to Best Colleges, Salarship, and CollegeVine, reasons why paying college athletes is less than ideal include: 1. Money may harm students. 2. Pay diminishes love of the game. 3. Pay deemphasizes academic purpose. 4. Secondary sports struggle. 5. Rich schools monopolize talent. 6. The financial benefit is marginal. 7. Setting salaries can be messy. 8. Academic requirements are substandard. 9. Other program budgets are reduced.

How do college athlete endorsements work?

Soon after the Supreme Court released its decision in NCAA v. Alston, the NCAA issued  guidelines for schools  that allow college athletes to make money from product endorsements, social media accounts, autographs, and other uses of their name, image, or likeness. This counters the NCAA’s longstanding opposition to student athletes profiting from endorsements. At present, implementation of the guidelines varies from school to school and state to state, which means athletes at some institutions may benefit more from NIL agreements than those attending other schools.

Several  NIL consultancy firms  are actively soliciting endorsements from college athletes in the aftermath of the rule change.

• Highly touted 19-year-old basketball recruit Hercy Miller, who joined the Tennessee State University basketball team in 2021, signed a $2 million endorsement deal with Web Apps America.
• University of Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara has entered into an endorsement deal with cryptocurrency company More Management that will  pay him in cryptocurrency .
• Twin sisters Haley and Hanna Cavinder of the Fresno State University basketball team have  marketing agreements  to promote Boost Mobile and Six Star Pro Nutrition to the 3.3 million followers of their TikTok account.
• Gable Steveson, a wrestler for the University of Minnesota, entered into an endorsement deal with the delivery service Gopuff; Steveson has 245,000 followers on Instagram and 30,000 on Twitter.

Despite the rush of high-profile college athletes signing endorsement deals, some educators and analysts express concern about the  impact of the endorsements  on schools, athletes, and college sports.

• Schools with more favorable endorsement rules may entice student athletes away from the schools they are currently attending.
• Likewise, states that have enacted endorsement laws that provide more earning potential for college athletes may see more top recruits choosing to attend schools in those states.
• The time college athletes spend meeting the requirements of their endorsement contracts could detract from study and practice time. This can have an adverse effect on their education and athletic careers — if they are unable to maintain grade requirements, for example, they may be disqualified from playing.
• If a college athlete’s performance in the sport declines, they may be less likely to attract and retain endorsement deals. While the NCAA has banned NIL agreements based on the athlete meeting specific performance criteria, the group acknowledges that a student’s athletic performance  may enhance their NIL value .
• Because of complicated contracts and tax laws, student athletes will have to rely on agents, advisers, and managers, which may leave them vulnerable to exploitation.

From the onset of intercollegiate sports, students have benefited from their participation by learning dedication to their sport, building relationships, and being part of a team. Sports allow students to acquire many important values, such as fair competition and physical and mental health. Education should remain at the forefront of all aspects of college, including sports, whether or not collegiate athletes are paid.

Infographic Source

Best Colleges, “Should College Athletes Be Paid?”

College Strategic, “Why College Athletes Should Be Paid”

CollegeVine, “Should College Athletes Be Paid? Pros and Cons”

Fansided, “64 Reasons College Athletes Need to Be Paid”

Future of Working, “17 Advantages and Disadvantages of Paying College Athletes”

NCAA, “Scholarships”

Next College Student Athlete, “What Are the Different Types of Offers I Could Get?”

Salarship, “Should College Athletes Be Paid: Pros and Cons”

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Guest Essay

At Notre Dame, We Believe ‘Student’ Should Come First in ‘Student-Athlete’

By John I. Jenkins

Father Jenkins is the president of the University of Notre Dame.

We college presidents have learned to tread lightly when it comes to the passions of alumni and other fans for our athletic teams, whether it is one competing for a national championship or a less heralded group playing a rivalry game.

Recently, though, we have seen passions aroused in other quarters, as state legislatures have passed bills enabling our student-athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness (often referred to as “N.I.L.”). Now, the N.C.A.A. has approved a historic change to allow student-athletes to be compensated for use of their N.I.L., with schools and conferences allowed to adopt their own additional policies. The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling against N.C.A.A. regulations limiting education-related funds a school can provide to its student-athletes. Such developments will undoubtedly, in the short term at least, create disruption and uncertainty for college sports.

Rather than treading lightly around this situation, we should seize the opportunity for reform and improvement. As we consider the shape of such reform, I propose the following as a guiding principle: Any changes adopted should support and strengthen the educational purpose central to our institutions, and enhance the educational outcomes for our student-athletes.

In an interview with The Times six years ago, I expressed support for relaxing prohibitions against student-athletes profiting from use of their own names, images and likenesses for one simple reason — other students are allowed to do so. For example, a student writing a popular fashion blog may earn money by endorsing a product, or another in a rock band may try to profit from a poster with his or her image. We should allow our student-athletes similar opportunities. Certainly, there is potential for abuse here. Institutions or their boosters may offer what are actually recruiting or other enticements under the guise of payments for the use of N.I.L. We must fashion regulations to prevent such abuses, while still allowing student-athletes to earn fair market value for the use of their N.I.L. I believe that regulations currently under consideration by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation are on the right track.

There are other steps the N.C.A.A. and its member institutions should take to enhance the educational experience for and well-being of our students who play on athletic teams.

A disturbing disparity exists in the graduation rates from sport to sport, and too often the sports with lower graduation rates are those, such as football and basketball, with a high number of Black student-athletes. The most regrettable exploitation occurs when a student plays her or his sport for the full extent of eligibility and then leaves the institution without a college degree. We must take all reasonable steps to ensure that student-athletes, at the end of their college career, leave with a degree.

To that end I believe — and our practices at Notre Dame reflect this — that once a scholarship is granted, it should stay with the student through graduation, regardless of injuries or performance on the field. Furthermore, if grant-in-aid student-athletes in good standing interrupt their education to go professional or for other reasons, we will cover their tuition at any time should they return to college to complete their degrees. Such guarantee of educational benefits should be standard at all of the N.C.A.A.’s colleges and universities. Doing so would keep the education of our student-athletes front and center.

Additionally, a national policy should be established to limit the number of days during any academic term in which an institution may require its students to be away from campus for athletic purposes. This is necessary because there are schools where classes are made available online for student-athletes, or class schedules are arranged so that a student-athlete attends classes, for example, only two days a week. In-person engagement with faculty members and fellow students on a regular basis is an essential part of the college experience. Competition schedules and off-campus practice trips that make students miss much of the academic term cheat those young people of a genuine college experience.

For similar reasons, universities should be prohibited from concentrating student-athletes in so-called athletic dorms (which the N.C.A.A. banned in the 1990 s but still endure in various forms at some schools ) and instead include them in the general student housing population. If students’ interactions and relationships are predominantly defined by their athletic programs, they are not receiving the educational experience they deserve.

For the well-being of our student-athletes, health care coverage for athletic injuries should be extended. Currently, the N.C.A.A. requires universities to extend health care coverage for any injuries to student-athletes for two years after they exhaust their eligibility. At Notre Dame, we provide coverage for 10 years after the injuries occur. We should extend the provision of coverage for athletic injuries to student-athletes across the nation, and find ways for schools with more limited resources to cover these added costs.

Some have called for compensating student-athletes for their athletic performance in college — sometimes called the “pay-for-play” model. I oppose this course. If we take it, our relationship to these young people will be that of an employer to an employee paid for services rendered, rather than to a student for whose education we, the institution, are responsible. There can be no doubt that our student-athletes — whether the star quarterback on our football team or the backup goalie on our women’s soccer team — receive something extremely valuable. They have their tuition, room and board underwritten, giving them the chance to earn a bachelor’s degree, which economists estimate is worth about $1 million in average earnings over the course of a lifetime. More than that, they can enjoy the many ways in which education can enhance one’s life that are not measured by greater earning power.

Of course, talented athletes who want to play professionally should not be forced to go to college to develop their talents in their sport. Every professional sport should create a minor or development league open to athletes with high potential. Professional baseball, hockey, basketball and many Olympic sports have systems in place that allow athletes to become professional while forgoing the opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Perhaps it is time for football to develop one as well. Young athletes would then have a choice: They could either sign up with a development league, or they could attend college and pursue a degree, while playing the sport they love.

Cynicism about college athletics is abundant and perhaps understandable, because some of its practices have given observers good reasons to be cynical. Still, I have spoken to many alumni who say the challenge of competing in their sport at a high level while attending college taught them invaluable lessons for their personal and professional lives. There is still reason to pursue that ideal of college sports, without making them into a semi-pro league.

Let’s seize the opportunity for reform, while focusing on the work that is at the heart of our mission: the education of young people.

John I. Jenkins is the president of the University of Notre Dame.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Should College Athletes Be Paid? Pros and Cons

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What’s Covered:

History of the debate: should college athletes be paid, why college athletes should be paid.

• Why College Athletes Shouldn’t Be Paid
• Where To Get Your Essay Edited For Free

College athletics provide big benefits for many schools: they increase their profile, generate millions of dollars in revenue, and have led to one of the most contentious questions in sports— should college athletes be paid? Like other difficult questions, there are good arguments on both sides of the issue of paying college athletes. 

Historically, the debates over paying college athletes have only led to more questions, which is why it’s raged on for more than a century. Perhaps the earliest group to examine the quandary was Andrew Carnegie’s Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which produced a mammoth study in 1929 of amateur athletes and the profits they generate for their universities. You don’t have to get past the preface to find questions that feel at home in today’s world:

• “What relation has this astonishing athletic display to the work of an intelligence agency like a university?”
• “How do students, devoted to study, find either the time or the money to stage so costly a performance?” 

Many of the questions asked way back in 1929 continue to resurface today, and many of them have eventually ended up seeking answers in court. The first case of note came in the 1950s, when the widow of Fort Lewis football player Ray Dennison took the college all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court in an effort to collect a death benefit after he was killed playing football. She lost the case, but future generations would have more success and have slowly whittled away at arguments against paying athletes. 

The most noticeable victory for athletes occurred in 2019, when California Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed legislation effectively allowing college athletes in the state to earn compensation for the use of their likeness, sign endorsement deals, and hire agents to represent them.

The court fights between college athletes and the NCAA continue today—while not exactly about payment, a case regarding whether or not schools can offer athletes tens of thousands of dollars in education benefits such as computers, graduate scholarships, tutoring, study abroad, and internships was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2021. A decision is expected in June 2021. 

There are a number of great reasons to pay college athletes, many of which will not only improve the lives of student-athletes, but also improve the product on the field and in the arena. 

College Athletes Deserve to Get Paid

In 2019, the NCAA reported $18.9 billion in total athletics revenue. This money is used to finance a variety of paid positions that support athletics at colleges and universities, including administrators, directors, coaches, and staff, along with other employment less directly tied to sports, such as those in marketing and media. The only people not receiving a paycheck are the stars of the show: the athletes. 

A testament to the disparate allocation of funds generated by college sports, of the $18.9 billion in athletics revenue in 2019, $3.6 billion went toward financial aid for student-athletes, and $3.7 billion was used for coaches’ compensation. A February 2020 USA Today article found that the average total pay for Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football head coaches in 2020-21 was $2.7 million. The highest-paid college football coach—the University of Alabama’s Nick Saban—earns $9.3 million a year and is the highest-paid public employee in the country. He is not alone, college coaches dominate the list of public employees with the largest salaries. 

If there’s money to provide college coaches with lavish seven-figure salaries (especially at public institutions), why shouldn’t there be funds to pay college athletes? 

Vital Support for Athletes 

A 2011 study published by the National College Players Association (NCPA) found that an overwhelming number of students on full athletics scholarships live below the federal poverty line—85% of athletes who live on campus and 86% athletes who live off-campus. “Full scholarship” itself is a misnomer; the same study found that the average annual scholarship for FBS athletes on “full” scholarships was actually $3,222. Find out more information about athletic scholarships . 

Paying student-athletes would help eliminate the need for these student-athletes to take out loans, burden their families for monetary support, or add employment to their already busy schedules. The NCAA limits in-season practice time to 20 hours a week, but a 2008 NCAA report shows that in-season student-athletes commonly spent upward of 30 and 40 hours a week engaged in “athletic activities.” 

Encouraged to Stay in College Longer

A report produced by the NCPA and Drexel University estimated the average annual fair market value of big-time college football and men’s basketball players between 2011 and 2015 was $137,357 and $289,031, respectively, and concluded that football players only receive about 17% of their fair market value, while men’s basketball players receive approximately 8% of theirs.

If colleges paid athletes even close to their worth, they would provide an incentive for the athletes to stay in college and earn degrees, rather than leaving college for a paycheck. This would also help keep top talents playing for college teams, improve the level of competition, and potentially lead to even higher revenue. On a side note, this would incentivize athletes to complete their degree, making them more employable after the end of their athletic career. 

Limit Corruption 

Just because there are rules prohibiting the compensation of college athletes doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, and over the years there have been numerous scandals. For example, in 2009, six ex-University of Toledo players were indicted in a point-shaving scheme , and in 2010, Reggie Bush returned his Heisman Trophy after allegations that he was given hundreds of thousands of dollars from sports agents while he played for USC.  

Paying college athletes will likely not totally eliminate corruption from college sports, but putting athletes in a less-precarious financial position would be a good step toward avoiding external influence, especially when you consider some of the players involved in the University of Toledo point-shaving scandal were paid as little as $500. 

It’s a Job (and a Dangerous One) 

As mentioned before, college athletes can put in upward of 40 hours a week practicing, training, and competing—being a “student-athlete” is a challenge when you’re devoting full-time hours to athletics. A New York Times study found a 0.20-point difference in average GPA between recruited male athletes and non-athletes. The difference is less pronounced among females, with non-athletes averaging a 3.24 GPA and recruited women athletes at 3.18.

It’s not just the time commitment that playing college athletics puts on student-athletes, it’s the risk to their health. A 2009-2010 CDC report found that more than 210,000 injuries are sustained by NCAA student-athletes each year. Full athletic scholarships are only guaranteed a year at a time, meaning student-athletes are one catastrophic injury away from potentially losing their scholarship. That is to say nothing of the lasting effects of an injury, like head traumas , which made up 7.4% of all injuries in college football players between 2004 and 2009.

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Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid

There are a lot of great reasons why college athletes should be paid, but there are also some compelling reasons why college athletes should not be paid—and why not paying athletes is actually good for both the institutions and athletes. 

Compensation Conundrum 

One of the most common reasons cited against paying college players is compensation. Will all college athletes get compensated equally? For example, will the star quarterback receive the same amount as the backup catcher on the softball team? A 2014 CNBC article estimated that Andrew Wiggins, a University of Kansas forward (and soon-to-be first-overall draft pick), had a fair market value of around $1.6 million.

Similarly, will compensation take into account talent? Will the All-American point guard get the same amount as the captain of the swim team? In all likelihood, paying college athletes will benefit big-time, revenue-generating sports and hurt less popular sports. 

Eliminate Competitive Balance 

According to the NCAA , in 2019, the 65 Power Five schools exceeded revenue by $7 million, while all other Division I colleges had a $23 million deficit between expenses and revenue. If college athletes were to get paid, then large, well-funded schools such as those of the Power Five would be best positioned to acquire top talent and gain a competitive advantage. 

From a student’s point of view, paying college athletes will alter their college experience. No longer would fit, college, university reputation, and values factor into their college decisions—rather, choices would be made simply based on who was offering the most money. 

Professionalism vs. the Classroom

There’s a feeling that paying college athletes sends the wrong message and incentivizes them to focus on athletics instead of academics, when the reality is that very few college athletes will go on to play sports professionally. Just 1.6% of college football players will take an NFL field. NCAA men’s basketball players have even slimmer odds of playing in a major professional league ( 1.2% ), while the chances of a professional career are particularly grim for women basketball players, at a mere 0.8% . 

Although the odds of a college athlete turning pro are low, the probability of them earning a degree is high, thanks in part to the academic support athletes are given. According to data released by the NCAA, 90% of Division I athletes enrolled in 2013 earned a degree within six years. 

It Will End Less-Popular, Unprofitable Sports 

If colleges and universities pay their athletes, there is a fear that resources will only go to popular, revenue-generating sports. Programs like football and men’s basketball would likely benefit greatly, but smaller, unprofitable sports such as gymnastics, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling could find themselves at best cash-strapped and, at the worst, cut altogether. 

It’s just not less-popular sports that paying athletes could threaten—women’s programs could also find themselves in the crosshairs of budget-conscious administrators. Keep in mind, it was just in March 2021 that the NCAA made national news for its unequal treatment of the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. 

Financial Irresponsibility 

Former ESPN, and current FOX Sports, personality Colin Cowherd made news in 2014 when he voiced a popular argument against paying college athletes: financial irresponsibility. In Cowherd’s words:

“I don’t think paying all college athletes is great… Not every college is loaded, and most 19-year-olds [are] gonna spend it—and let’s be honest, they’re gonna spend it on weed and kicks! And spare me the ‘they’re being extorted’ thing. Listen, 90 percent of these college guys are gonna spend it on tats, weed, kicks, Xboxes, beer and swag. They are, get over it!”

A look at the professional ranks bolsters Cowherd’s argument about athletes’ frivolous spending. According to CNBC , 60% of NBA players go broke within five years of departing the league and 78% of former NFL players experience financial distress two years after retirement.

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Looking for more debate, speech, or essay topics? Check out these other CollegeVine articles for ideas: 

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• 🙅 Essay Example #2

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There are a lot of benefits of doing sports in college, for everyone except the athletes themselves. Surely, your sports achievements can get you recognition and respect. But the issue here is not being paid at all.

You see, sport is arduous labor. And any labor, according to common sense, must be rewarded with a salary. On the other hand, doing sports for the sake of sports can also be justified. There is no clear answer for “Should college athletes be paid?”. Writing an essay, though, can help you find it.

⚖️ Should College Athletes Be Paid: Pros and Cons

This matter is very recent. Therefore, there is a lot of space for discussion here. Some may say that athletes are paid. They actually get scholarships for their work.

Others may argue that only 1% of all the sportspeople get the full amount of money. Both statements are true, and the correct answer doesn’t really exist. To help you form your own opinion on the topic, here are some pros and cons:

• It would be fair to pay sportspeople for their hard work.
• The sport takes a lot of time from studies, and it must be compensated.
• The health risk is very high, and the reward for it is a must.
• The sport would become an excellent alternative for a work-study job.
• Many athletes’ families require monetary support, which athlete payments can give.
• A lot more people would be attracted to doing sports.
• The athletes already enjoy enough compensations.
• The amount of actual future sports pros is depressing.
• It can undermine the overall studying experience.
• Most of the sports programs cannot afford salaries.
• It would create room for inequity.
• Mixing studying and sports would become even more difficult due to increased demand.
• The concept of playing for the love of sports would cease to exist.

We will look into them deeper in the next section.

👍 Paying College Athletes: Advantages

• It is simply fair to pay athletes for their endeavors. A single sportsperson can generate millions of dollars for their college. It would be only fair if the stars themselves got at least some of this money.
• It is a great way to compensate for taking away from studies. Sport is a time-consuming activity. And time is a valuable thing when you are a student. Let’s not forget that college athletes also need time to study. Or at least compensation for the time they put into the sport.
• The money would at least partially make up for possible injuries. While health is priceless, risking it must be rewarded properly. And that’s exactly what college athletes do. They put their well-being on the line for their universities. Unfortunately, universities don’t seem to give the favor back.
• It would be a great way to substitute work. An average athlete puts 40 hours a week into doing sports for his college. You can easily compare this amount of time to a generic work-study job. The only difference is the latter brings you money, and the former does not.
• It’s a great way to motivate athletes to continue their sports careers. After graduation, the majority of college athletes will stop playing for their team. They are far more likely to simply find a job and get a steady income. Paying them would make a choice between sports and career not that obvious.
• It would support a lot of students’ families. While college sportspeople bath in success, their families often suffer financially. Sustaining a starting athlete can be really costly at times. That’s where a salary would be a saving grace for struggling families.
• It is a great motivation for more students to pursue a sports career. The possibility of making money will attract more people into playing for a sports team. And that brings a better chance to find young talent.

👎 Paying College Athletes: Disadvantages

• The athletes already have their compensations. The coach’s advice, the medical treatment, the strength training. All of these cost money. But the athletes don’t have to pay a single cent for these and many other services. They are provided for free as compensation already.
• Not a lot of athletes will actually become professionals. Out of all college athletes, a mere 2% go pro as a result. Most of them see doing sports as a way to receive education and nothing more.
• It can harm other colleges’ programs. Since the salary would come from the college budget, there would be inevitable cutbacks. As a result, every student in the institution suffers.
• There are not many sports that make a profit. More often than not, sport doesn’t bring a lot of money. Exceptions are basketball and football. Should football players make more money than, for example, swimmers? Here’s where the next issue occurs.
• Possible inequity. You see, if some students participate in a sport that has no profit, then why pay them? As a result of such logic, whole college teams will cease to exist.
• Possible study problems. With the appearance of salaries, the expectations from the players will rise. Attending training sessions and games will become a definite must. No skips would be allowed. In this case, ping-ponging your priorities from sports to studies is much more difficult.
• The love for the game would go away. College students play sports mostly because they want to do what they love. Paying them might destroy the compassion for doing sport. The amateur leagues will be filled with players who are in it for the money and nothing else.

💡 Should College Athletes Be Paid Essay Topics

• Balancing college sports and academic mission .
• Payments to collegiate athletes .
• Top college athletes are worth six figures.
• Title IX in the female sports development .
• Kids and sports: Lack of professional sports guides .
• College athletes do not deserve the degrees they’re studying for.
• Steroid abuse in the world of sports .
• Shortage of officials at the high school sports level .
• College sports should be made professional.
• Steroid use effects on professional young athletes .
• Is it justified for college athletes to be paid ?
• College sports should not require missing classes.
• Professional athletes allowed to use steroids.
• Paying college athletes: Reinforcing privilege or promoting growth ?
• If colleges pay college athletes, it would increase the disparity between small and bigger college teams.
• School athletes and drug tests.
• Arguments for adequate remuneration for college athletes .
• The NCAA definition of college athletes as amateurs is outdated.
• Sports-related problems and conflicts.
• African American studies. Negro baseball league.
• The moral side: “A gentlemen never competes for money” (Walter Camp).
• Running injuries, workout and controversies.
• Should college athletes be paid ?
• Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit: Using athletes’ images in video games.
• Does youth sports play a part in character formation?
• Children participation in sports .
• Where does college sports money go?
• Sports analysis: steroids and HGH in sports.
• Steroid usage in professional sports.
• College athletes work as marketers for their college, as their success in sports improves admission rates.
• Physical activity and sports team participation.
• Using performance-enhancing drugs and in the world of sport .
• Research handbook of employment relations in sport .
• Successfully luring college athletes .
• College athletes should be paid .

Haven’t found anything inspiring in the list above? Try using our topic-generating tool !

📑 Should College Athletes Be Paid Essay Outline

Before writing your work, the first thing you want to do is outline. An argumentative-style essay would be perfect for writing on our topic.

We will go with a generic 5-paragraph format :

• Hook. A flashy sentence or two to evoke interest in your work. A joke or a shocking fact, for example.
• Background information. General info that the reader needs to know before going deeper into the essay.
• Thesis statement. It is a sentence that reflects the main idea of the further text. It leaves room for debate and briefly showcases the arguments you will discuss further.
• Body. The body is the biggest part of your work. In our case, it will be three paragraphs long. Each paragraph names and explains the argument you want to make.
• Conclusion. The end of your essay. Nothing new should be added. Just restate your thesis, summarize the points you made in the body, and be done with it.

💸 Why College Athletes Should Be Paid Essay Example

In 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) made over $1.04 billion in revenue. None of the college athletes have seen any part of this sum. A survey made the same year showed 60% of the sportspeople to be satisfied with the scholarship-only payments. The situation, however, has drastically changed over the years. The same 60% now agree that college athletes need monetary compensation. While college athletes' payments are a controversial topic, their hard work and health must be fairly compensated no matter what, and a salary seems to be the best way for it.

It is no surprise that doing sports consumes a solid number of things. Time is one of them. An average college student puts in their sports activities 35 hours a week. It can be compared to having a generic work-study job. The only difference is the job brings you money as any hard labor should. However, in the case of college sport, it seems to profit anyone but the athletes themselves. While the NCAA executives make six-figure salaries, the players, the actual stars of the competition, have the status of the unpaid workforce.

Another thing consumed by sports activities is health. In 2017 over 60% of all Division I players were reported to suffer a major injury. Although, this phenomenal danger to athletes' well-being seems to go unnoticed as well. The only "compensation" provided to people who risk their soundness for the sake of university is education itself. Usually, the health risk is considered a reason for a salary raise. Unfortunately, in our case, there is nothing to give a raise to.

Putting yourself to the fullest in any activity must be rewarded. And the sportspeople truly give it their best. Time, passion, health, everything is given. And for now, everything they give is given for nothing.

🙅 College Athletes Should Not Be Paid Essay Example

There are hundreds of sports college athletes do. Only two of them bring the college profit. The issue of paying the students involved with the college sports activities has been around for a while. Some are satisfied with their scholarship and the possibility to get an education. Others, however, demand more tangible rewards for their achievements. While payments may seem justified, the fact that the athletes already receive enough compensation for their work via scholarship and education is often overlooked.

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reports more than $3.6 billion in athletic scholarships to be provided annually to more than 180,000 student-athletes. A simple calculation shows $20.000 a year for each athlete. This sum is more than enough to cover the average cost of an academic year of $17,797.

Furthermore, most college athletic programs make barely enough money to sustain themselves, not to mention paying salaries. The only two kinds of sport that make enough profit to afford salaries are football and basketball. Others, sadly, do not. And this fact creates a significant equity problem. Do we pay all players equally? And if not, who do we pay more? All these questions remain unanswered.

While it seems just, creating salaries brings more problems than solves. The extent of the compensation necessary is, of course, negotiable. But all efforts made by college athletes are compensated in some way. That is a fact.

We hope that this info helped you with your assignment. Make sure to let us know what part you’ve found the most useful in the comments. And also, check out our title page maker . And good luck with your studies!

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An Argument For Not Allowing College Athletes To Earn Compensation

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Ekow Yankah, author of The New Yorker essay, "Why N.C.A.A. Athletes Shouldn't Be Paid," about the NCAA's decision to allow college athletes to earn compensation.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The NCAA makes close to a billion dollars in revenue each school year, but college players see none of that money. Now that might change. Yesterday, the NCAA's Board of Governors voted to permit student-athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness. Now, some see this as addressing an unfair practice of exploitative behavior by the NCAA. Others see this as a lousy idea.

Here to discuss is Ekow Yankah. He's a professor at Cardozo School of Law. He has written about this, an essay in The New Yorker back in 2015 titled "Why NCAA Athletes Shouldn't Be Paid." He joins me now from London.

Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

EKOW YANKAH: Thank you for having me.

KELLY: What did you make of this announcement yesterday?

YANKAH: Like most people, we're all sort of waiting to see what the announcement means. The NCAA often tries to do the vaguely right thing when it has absolutely no other choice. So I take it that this is a capitulation of what they see coming down the pike in terms of a slew of laws that are passing from state to state and threatened federal action.

KELLY: But I gather you think this is a lousy idea. You're in the lousy idea camp. How come?

YANKAH: Well, I'm torn about the name and likeness issue, which is slightly different than paying the athletes. But at bottom, the reason I'm concerned is because I think this will be awfully hard to distinguish from salaries. I consistently worry about the continued professionalization of college athletics.

Look; there's no question that the current system is deeply exploitative and deeply problematic. I guess my baseline worry is many people - I think people in good faith - see the exploitation, and they say the answer is to pay these young athletes some amount of money while they're playing football or basketball. I look, and I say the answer is to make sure that these young men - and with the revenue generated in sports, it's typically young men - that they get the thing that they were promised that was of value. That is to say they get a college degree that was of value.

And one of the things I worry about is how many of, at least the listeners to NPR, those who have opportunity and resources - how many of them would trade a college degree for their child for three years of their child being paid in college? I doubt that's a trade that your listeners would make. Those are not the dreams I have for my children.

KELLY: So in your view, should anything change in the current system?

YANKAH: Yeah. I think everybody agrees that the current system needs to be changed and that the corruption of the current system is untenable and, indeed, deeply racially scarred. I'm not interested in whether or not even my beloved Wolverines crank out three or four professionals a year. I'm interested in universities that can crank out generations of black lawyers and doctors and engineers.

It seems to me that the best way to make sure that we are actually serving these young men is to do our best to support and create a true minor league system.

KELLY: Similar to the way it works in Europe already.

YANKAH: Similar to the way it works in Europe. Young kids who want to play for Manchester United are playing in soccer camps from when they're young. Every year, they get cut down. But the ones who dream of playing on the big stage pursue through the minor league system - and similar to the way it works in baseball and, by the way, similar to the way it works in hockey in the United States.

KELLY: I want to make this personal. You played soccer a little bit in college. New college athlete - would you have wanted to get paid?

YANKAH: Maybe in this way I'm a little bit pushed the other way. I played very briefly when Michigan was a club team. In order to keep playing, I would've had to pay money to play. I was working a full-time job in college on top of scholarships. I would've been thrilled to be able to play, just not to pay. And so in this way, I am one of the people who truly thinks that sports are actually a part of an education. You know, we don't think of the dancers as not students, and we don't think of the chess players as not students.

KELLY: The chess team isn't bringing in a billion dollars every year, though.

YANKAH: No, that's true. That's absolutely right. And I think, you know, that's a concern. On the other hand, if there was a true professional league where the students who wanted to make their money could go make their money, then the university could look the student-athletes in the eye and be quite clear that the revenue generation was more about the university than any particular student-athlete. That is to say if your skills are the kind for which you can get paid, you can go to the minor league and get paid.

KELLY: That's Ekow Yankah. He is a professor at Cardozo School of Law, and he wrote an essay for The New Yorker titled "Why NCAA Athletes Shouldn't Be Paid."

Ekow Yankah, thanks.

YANKAH: Thank you for having me.

Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Why should College Athletes be Paid

This essay about why college athletes should be paid argues for compensation based on the significant economic benefits they bring to their institutions and the intense commitment required of them. It highlights the massive revenues generated from college sports, emphasizing that athletes are at the center of this financial ecosystem yet receive none of the profits. The piece also tackles the argument that scholarships suffice as compensation, pointing out the professional-level demands placed on student-athletes that limit their ability to work or enjoy typical college experiences. Furthermore, it addresses recent changes allowing athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL), but stresses this doesn’t cover direct compensation for their sports participation. The essay counters concerns about damaging the purity of amateur sports and financial imbalance, suggesting that structured compensation systems can be developed. Ultimately, it champions paying college athletes as a matter of fairness and equity, reflecting the commercialized reality of modern college sports.

How it works

For ages, the heated debate on whether college athletes should pocket some cash for their sweat and talent has raged on. It’s a conversation that’s echoed in dorm rooms, lit up sports forums, and even found its way to the higher echelons of justice. Strip it down to its basics, and you’ve got a classic tug-of-war between the love of the game and the hard, cold reality of economics. Here’s why tipping the scales in favor of paying these athletes isn’t just good sense—it’s downright necessary.

Let’s lay it out straight: college sports isn’t a quaint little side hustle. It’s a juggernaut industry that rakes in cash by the boatloads, especially when you look at the big guns like football and basketball. These programs aren’t just playing for trophies; they’re playing in a market where broadcasting rights, merch, and tickets translate to big bucks. Yet, while the cash flow turns universities into economic powerhouses, the athletes at the heart of this frenzy see none of it. Talk about a raw deal.

These student-athletes are doing way more than just juggling coursework and practice. They’re putting in hours that would make a pro athlete nod in respect, all while being expected to keep up academically and somehow manage to not be broke. The usual argument that scholarships are pay enough doesn’t cut it when you consider the personal and physical toll these athletes endure. It’s like saying, “Thanks for all the revenue and the national attention, here’s your textbook.” Hardly seems fair, right?

And yes, the winds of change are blowing with the NCAA cracking open the door for athletes to earn from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). It’s a step in the right direction but doesn’t quite tackle the elephant in the room: getting paid for the game itself. Creating a system where athletes get a slice of the revenue pie is about acknowledging their role in this multi-million dollar dance.

Now, there’s the chorus of naysayers warning that paying athletes will tarnish the purity of college sports or upset the financial apple cart among schools. But let’s be real—the sheen of amateurism got smudged the minute big money entered the chat. And as for financial fairness, well, professional leagues have been balancing those books with salary caps and shared revenues for years. It’s about time college sports figured out its version.

In essence, making sure college athletes get paid is about leveling the playing field and recognizing the blood, sweat, and tears they pour into their sports. It’s about transforming an industry that profits from their talents into one that also respects their contribution. This isn’t just about sports; it’s about fairness, equity, and maybe, just maybe, bringing a bit more honesty to the game.

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Should College Athletes Be Paid Essay: Useful Arguments and Sources

Did you know that college sports generate billions of dollars in revenue each year? Yet, the athletes who dedicate countless hours to their craft often receive no financial compensation for their efforts. This has sparked a heated debate on whether college athletes should be paid for their contributions to their respective sports programs. Writing a Should College Athletes Be Paid essay is a good way to delve into the controversial topic and explore the various arguments surrounding this issue.

Arguments in Favor of Paying College Athletes

Here are three most compelling arguments to support the idea of paying for playing:

• The time commitment and sacrifices made by athletes . College athletes dedicate countless hours to their sport, often sacrificing their personal lives and academic pursuits. They endure grueling training sessions, travel extensively for competitions, and face immense pressure to perform at their best. These commitments can significantly impact their ability to excel academically and enjoy a well-rounded college experience.
• The financial benefits colleges and universities reap from athletics. Colleges and universities generate substantial revenue from their athletic programs. Ticket sales, merchandise, and television contracts contribute to the financial success of these institutions. Without the talent and hard work of the athletes, the financial gains enjoyed by colleges and universities would not be possible.
• The potential for exploitation and unfair treatment of athletes. College athletes may be required to sign contracts that limit their rights and control their image, preventing them from profiting from their own success. Additionally, the intense physical demands can lead to injuries that may have long-term consequences, without adequate compensation or support.

Other arguments to support this idea is a strong public support and the fact that colleges get not only financial benefits, but also use sports to attract non-athlete students and donors.

Counter Arguments Against Paying College Athletes

Below are the counterarguments against paying college athletes, which can be useful for writing your essay:

• The value of a college education and scholarships. First, the value of a college education and scholarships is a crucial point to consider. Many argue that the opportunity to receive a free education and valuable scholarships is already a form of compensation for athletes.
• The potential impact on college athletes’ motivation to study . If college athletes are approached as employees who are paid to play, their academic obligations may be taken less seriously.
• The potential financial strain on smaller athletic programs . These programs often operate on limited budgets and rely heavily on revenue generated by larger sports programs. Introducing payment for athletes would require additional funds to be allocated towards compensating these individuals, which could result in reduced resources for other aspects of the athletic program.

Alternative Solutions and Compromises

An interesting angle for a Should College Students Be Paid essay is to refuse from YES/NO stances and suggest alternative policies that will account for the associated shortcomings and risks. Four potential solutions that been discussed as a good alternative, and some of these have already been implemented:

• Allowing athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (the right eventually granted to college athletes in 2021 );
• Enhanced scholarship opportunities for athletes, including improved healthcare, academic support, and career development programs (In the same year of 2021, NCAA was prohibited to limit education-related compensation that colleges offer athletes, including computers and internships)
• Implementing revenue-sharing models that will distribute a portion of the profits generated by college sports programs to student-athletes;
• Establishing trust funds to provide financial support to athletes after their college careers, ensuring long-term benefits.

This alternative approach acknowledges the dedication and hard work of athletes and enables profit-generating opportunities, while maintaining the distinction between amateur and professional sports.

How to Write a Should College Athletes Be Paid Essay

Here is how to write a good essay on the topic Should College Athletes Be Paid step by step:

1. Find Credible Sources and Know Your Stance

Look for credible sources discussing pros and cons of paying college athletes and/or presenting other relevant facts to decide what your personal attitude to the topic is and have quality sources that will help you support your argument.

Here are some great sources to start with:

Why The Public Strongly Supports Paying College Athletes

Britannica: Pro and Con: Paying College Athletes

At Risk: Are Unpaid College Athletes Exploited While Others Reap Millions?

College athletes are unpaid. What if injury ruins their chance of turning pro?

Google Scholar database search for the latest studies related to the topic

2. Write an Introduction

Write an engaging essay introduction paragraph . It is good to start with background information about the NCAA and its regulations and the financial landscape of college sports. You appeal to readers’ emotions and thus make your essay more persuasive by starting an essay with a personal story of a sportsman.

Mind that you’ll need to use a different story, depending on what side you’re on. If you suggest that college students should be paid, look for the stories of injuries that didn’t let a promising college athlete excel in sports and get a well-deserved revenue after graduating from the college. If your main argument is that the opportunity to receive a free education and valuable scholarships is already a good form of compensation, tell a story of an athlete from a low-income background who received a good education thanks to achievements in sports but chose not to pursue a career as a sportsman.

3. Write a Strong Thesis Statement

Your introduction paragraph should finish with a thesis statement – a sentence that shows your position on the controversial topic and gives a roadmap to your argument.

For example, good thesis statements for an essay advocating that college athletes should be paid would be:

“College athletes deserve to be compensated for their dedication, talent, and the immense revenue they generate for their institutions.”

“College athletes should be compensated for their participation in collegiate sports due to the high probability of injury and the substantial revenues generated for colleges.”

A strong thesis statement arguing against paying college athletes that presents three key arguments may be:

“While college athletes contribute greatly to the success and revenue generation of their respective institutions, they should not be paid due to the potential negative consequences it may have on the integrity of collegiate sports, the educational priorities of student-athletes, and the financial stability of smaller athletic programs.”

4. Write the Body of Your Essay

Now, develop each of your arguments in a separate paragraph. Begin a paragraph with a topical sentence presenting this argument. Then, develop the idea, presenting quotes from the sources and explaining their relevance in your own words. Restate what readers learnt in this paragraph and how it supports your general argument (thesis statement).

5. Write a Concluding Paragraph

Round up your essay by restating your arguments and showing the impact of following the route you have suggested. For example,

In conclusion, paying college athletes is a topic that warrants serious consideration. The time commitment and sacrifices made by athletes, the financial benefits colleges and universities receive from athletics, and the potential for exploitation and unfair treatment all highlight the need for a fair compensation system. By acknowledging the contributions and challenges faced by college athletes, NCAA and colleges can work towards creating a more equitable and supportive environment for these dedicated individuals.

All in all, whether you are a sports enthusiast, a student-athlete, or simply interested in the intersection of sports and academia, Should College Athletes be Paid is a great topic to choose for an essay. Examining the current state of college athletics, exploring arguments both for and against paying college athletes, and considering alternative solutions will help you be well-informed about the ongoing debate.

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College Athletics for Mental and Physical Health Argumentative Essay

College years are associated with an increased risk of both mental and physical health complications. This is because of decreased sports participation in college when compared to high school. It is anticipated that there is a correlation between the decline of vigorous physical activity and mental and physical complications.

Even though measures call for increased participation of college students in sports activities, there are concerns that athletics’ spending in colleges is increasing faster than academic spending (Downs and Ashton pg 1).

Colleges are charged with the responsibility of imparting knowledge on the students and they are the main gatekeepers for success in any career. But financial strains are experienced frequently on these institutions. These threaten the existence of these institutions. The financial strains have forced these colleges to explore innovative ideas of raising finances for the smooth running of college activities (Simplicio pg 1).

Growing concern has been focused on the observation that there is a consistent tendency of college athletes to underperform relative to the other college students (Shulman & Bowen pg 658).

There are potential risks that college students are exposed to as a result of reduced sports participation, which may vary from increased risk of mental health problems to development of physical health issues. Studies indicate that a substantial number of students become overweight in the course of their college studies.

This condition is contributed by a number of factors which include poor dietary choices and reduced exercise activities. This raises concern because when these overweight college students leave college, there are high chances that they will become obese. This exposes them to the consequences of obesity which in most cases are negative and long term (Downs & Ashton pg 1).

The recent economic crisis has witnessed a rise in tuition fees in most colleges as well as formulation strategies to reduce spending through the reduction of staff members. This growing need for finances has forced colleges to establish alternative measures of increasing sources of funding. These measures in most cases may not be academic related but are from different areas. The most common of these alternative sources of funding are big time sports program and research grant programs.

Sports programs that are successful, in most cases those that create national championship, are crucial in that they produce millions of dollars to the institution. A great portion of the money is in most cases used in the development of the university but some portion of it is used to offer scholarships, mostly to the college athletes (Simplicio pg 3).

College athletics are important because they not only promote the physical and emotional health of the college students but also offer an alternative source of income to reduce the financial strains that threaten the smooth running of institutions. Thus, it is important that higher learning institutions should embrace college athletics. A college athletics program with a rationale of furthering the development of the student’s physical fitness is called for.

Colleges attempt to find a fine balance between the financing initiatives and academic practices. College participation in athletics has a greater impact that goes way beyond the college. The criteria used in admitting students to colleges, in most cases, depend on high academic excellence, and in some cases athletic talent is also considered. The high school fraternity which is composed of students, teachers and parents is always on the lookout for these signals from colleges.

When leading learning institutions indicate that academic prowess can be used as entry criteria, the potential applicants will place more emphasis on these activities. The rewards offered because of accomplishments in sports validate the notion that sporting activities is the road to opportunity (Shulman & Bowen pg 659).

If unchecked, pupils and students alike are likely to get the message that success is not brought about by focus on academics but rather on development of athletic prowess (Wilkinson pg 1). The consequence of unchecked intensification of athletics programs is the possibility of college athletics losing less relevance to educational experiences and in the long run contradicting the mission of the institution.

A lot of consideration should be aimed at the way admissions office focus on the athletic side of the admission process. Single minded focus on a particular sport should be placed lower on the priority list when conducting the admission process (Shulman & Bowen pg 666).

Colleges that prosper in sports in most cases recruit athletes who are gifted so that they can raise their chances of increased success in the sports arena. It is believed that success produces more success, and this success is converted into financial stability. This has gone to the extremes of finding head coaches who are paid more than the university presidents.

In the U.S. the university presidents in the public sector are paid $436,111 and their counterparts in the private sector are paid $358,746. These values diminish when compared to the $2.8 million guaranteed annual contract that Jeff Tedford who is the football coach in the University of California is paid.

In the top 120 schools alone, the average salary of a football coach is estimated at $1.36 million. To emphasize this point, it is important to note that while the average salary of a university president went up by about 2.3%, the average salary of a coach in a major school went up by about 28% in 2009 alone.

Since 2007, coaches’ salaries have increased by 46%. Focus is also drawn to the comparison of the coaches’ salary when compared with those of full professors with doctorate degrees. These differences are due to the fact that coaches when compared to the faculty and the presidents bring in relatively more money and as such substantial rewarding is justifiable (Simplicio pg 3).

Despite the fact that college sports present the potential to college athletes to develop a career, college sports also present the risk of chronic injuries that the athletes endure throughout their careers. Athletes in most college sports will in most cases participate in one particular sporting activity.

Thus, injuries that they incur in the course of the sport will be concentrated in one particular region of the body. A steady rise in the injuries has been reported by the NCAA athletic department and has been linked to single sporting activity.

In the past five years, the number of injury treatments in the Montclair state university in New Jersey has doubled annually with 4,713 in the previous year. Recent years have witnessed a shift from the habit of limiting practices to seasons of about three to four months to continuous year-round training. This has seen an increase in the athletic trainer requirements to include not only early morning and late night practices but also record keeping of athletes’ medical history and treatment.

These injuries which normally lead to complicated medical histories in many instances demand the intensive care of athletic trainers and physicians. This requires a lot of money and the colleges have to dig deep in their pockets for treatment and hire of additional staff members (Libby pg 1).

Overuse is injury which occurs from sports that require the use of a particular muscle leading to repeated injuries to a specific part of the body. Overuse and the complications that come with it require individualized attention. For example, at the University of Georgia, injured athletes have to undertake different steps in an attempt to establish the cause of injury. The steps include; a blood test to establish indications of vitamin deficiency, a bone scan, and other diagnostic tests like MRI.

It becomes part of the responsibility of the trainer to create preventive strategies to stop the re-occurrence of the injury. Having determined the source of the injury, the athletic trainers are tasked with the role of deciding the course of treatment as well as finding out how best to keep the athletes in shape without causing any further aggravation on the injury.

Athletics in college are important for both the students who are considering a career in athletics and those pursuing careers in other sectors. It is the duty of the college to find a balance of academic excellence as well as accommodate the students who are pursuing athletic related careers. The college should preferably be a non-profit generating organization, so that if the sporting activity is in any way used to generate finances it should not compromise the academic objectives of the institutions.

Works Cited

Downs, Andrew and Ashton Jennifer. “Vigorous physical activity, sports participation, and athletic identity: implications for mental and physical health in college students.” Journal of Sport Behavior 34.3 (2011): 228-249.

Libby, Sander. “An epidemic of injuries plagues college athletes.” Chronicle of Higher Education 58.8 (2011).

Shulman, James L. and Bowen, William G. “The game of life: college sports and educational values.” In Glenn Cheryl, Making sense-a real-world rhetorical reader (Third edition). Boston, MA: Bedford Books, 2010. Print.

Shulman, L. James and Bowen G. William. “How the playing field is encroaching on the admissions office.” In Glenn Cheryl, Making sense-a real-world rhetorical reader (Third edition). Boston, MA: Bedford Books, 2010. Print.

Simplicio, Joseph. “New ideas that are academically sound are good, those that bring in more money are even better.” Education 131.3 (2011): 533-537.

Wilkinson, Signe. “Family tree”. Cartoon. Universal Press . 2011. Web.

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College Athlete Essays (Examples)

664+ documents containing “college athlete” .

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Why college athletes should be paid.

Why College Athletes Should be Paid I. Problem a. College athletes devote a lot of time and energy to athletic competition—so much in fact that they are routinely considered athletes first and students second. b. They provide an extraordinary amount of revenue for their colleges as college sports are a big business today. c. Yet these athletes do not receive any pay for their services and entertainment. In a land that values equitability and fairness, this set-up should strike all as particularly unfair. d. College athletes should be paid: after all, they are essentially like employees of the college. II. Reasons a. Being a college athlete is a full-time job (Hartnett) i. The typical Division I college football player devotes 43.3 hours per week to his sport ii. That’s 3.3 hours more than the average 40-hour work week that most full-time job, paid Americans put in iii. Yet the college athlete receives no compensation for these hours, even though the colleges….

Pros and Cons of Paying Student Athletes

College Athletes Should be PaidPart 11.What is your topic?Should college athletes be paid.2.What is your thesis? With the words SHOULD or SHOULD NOT or MUST or MUST NOT or NEEDS TO:College athletes should be paid.3.What are the three sub-topics you will be discussing?College athletes bring in significant revenue for their universities. College athletes face high risk of injury. College athletes have limited opportunities to work and make money outside of their athletic commitments4.What is one of your counterarguments? - Remember, the counterargument or opposition is OPPOSITE from your thesis sentence.College athletes should not be paid as many of them already receive scholarships.5.What are your sources?Maryville University. Should College Athletes Be Paid? Reasons Why or Why Not.Maryville.edu. https://online.maryville.edu/blog/should-college-athletes-be-paid/ Accessed on April 20, 2023Sanderson, Allen R., and John J. Siegfried.2015."The Case for Paying CollegeAthletes."Journal of Economic Perspectives,29 (1): 115-38.Part 2: Pre-WriteCollege athletes spend a lot of time putting in work to prepare….

Works Cited

Bassam, Tom. “The NFL’s New Broadcast Rights Deal.” Sportspromedia.com.

https://www.sportspromedia.com/analysis/nfl-tv-rights-2021-2032-espn-abc-disney-nbc-cbs-fox-amazon-prime-streaming/?zephr_sso_ott=o5whQk Accessed April 20, 2023.

Caron, Emily and Anthony Crupi. “ESPN Signs $3 Billion Deal for SEC Football as CBS Era

Athletes and Crime What Situations Can You

Athletes and Crime hat situations can you think of where an amateur or professional athlete was charged with a crime, or in your opinion should have been charged with a crime, for physical conduct beyond the rules of the game? There are a number of professional athletes that have barely escaped legal prosecution for their criminal behavior. One example that illustrates this point well is Lance Armstrong. The world renowned cyclist was at the top of his profession for many years. However, during his reign as the world's top cyclist he was using performance enhancing drugs that were illegal. Not only did he take them himself, but he also pressured other cyclist that belonged to his team when he was representing the United States to take them as well. He was basically the advocate for the use of illegal drugs for team USA that competed in a number of events.….

Gibson, O. (2013, February 6). Lance Armstrong could still face criminal charges in America. Retrieved from The Guardian:  http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/feb/06/lance-armstrong-criminal-charges-america

Communication Competence Between Male and Female College

Communication Competence Between Male and Female College Athletes Survey Questions How old are you? Are you male or female? Male Female What is your ethnicity? Caucasian African-American Pacific Islander F. Native American Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior The next 8 questions are on a scale from 1 to 7, 1 being strongly disagree, 4 being no opinion, and 7 being strongly agree Do you think coaches are an important part of a team's success? Do you think females exaggerate injury symptoms? Do you think most coaches have your interest in mind? Do coaches put the needs of the team above the need of the individual? Are males are expected to be strong and invulnerable in athletics? Do you think that being honest with your coaches is important for individual and the team welfare? Can you go to your coach for guidance and help? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 12. Is a coach's level of aggression in regards to their communication style related to performance? The next 8 questions are statements. Chose the scale range to which you agree or….

College English Argument

Mandatory Drug Testing In certain professional occupations, mandatory drug testing is not only a good idea, it is very important to public safety. There are good arguments on both sides as to whether all professional athletes should be tested for drugs -- or whether high school athletes should be tested. And in the business world, one could argue that drug testing is an invasion of privacy, and unless an employee is acting irresponsibly and clearly is ineffective, there is no good reason to require regular (or even sporadic) drug testing. But this paper takes the position that employees in certain professions -- airline pilots, bus drivers and heavy equipment operators -- should accept that mandatory drug testing is part of the job. The public safety is vastly more important than concerns over personal privacy issues, hence, the need for mandatory drug testing. The Literature on Mandatory Drug Testing -- Airline Industry Does the….

Ahlers, Mike M. (2011). FAA: United Airline's drug testing protocols flawed. CNN Travel.

Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://articles.cnn.com.

Central Lakes College. (2008). Heavy Equipment Operations & Maintenance. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from  http://www.clcmn.edu .

DiMaggio, Charles, Baker, Susan, McCarthy, Melissa, and Rebok, George. (2009). Mandatory

Sex Appeal to Market our Athletes

They ae thee to play and not to show off thei bodies. Female athletes with lage body size will find discomfots in the tightly fitted unifoms. This then pesents poblem to safety. The female athletes who will not be at ease to the equied unifom could not focus on the game she is playing. She will, fom time to time, ty to eaange, pull o push some pats o the gament whee she thinks she needs to be coveed. With such attention that will be given to the gament, how can it be assued that the athlete will be safe in pefoming on he spoting event? Lastly, female athletes who have lage body size will not be motivated to join any spoting activities anymoe because of the fea fo negative judgments fom the cowd and the media. The spots aena is becoming moe of an aea fo the body image issues.….

references of college women basketball players. Master's Thesis

Ford, S., & Feather, B. (May, 1993). Women's basketball uniform analysis. Final report presented to Russell Athletic Corporation.

Gitlin Cara. (November 2000). "Male gawkers have all the fun." The John Hopkins News Letter.

Girls Skip Meals to be like Skinny Models." news.bbc.co.uk. 04 Feb. 2003. BBC Newsround. 8 Aug. 2005.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/uk/newsid_2726000/2726279.stm 

Hellmich, Nanci..usatoday.com. "Do thin models warp girls' body image?" 26 September 2006. USA Today. 30 Nov. 2006.  http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-25-thin-models_x.htm

Supplements for Athletes Ripped Fuel &Copy Is

Supplements for Athletes ipped Fuel © is a weight loss supplement used widely by individuals who are trying to improve their physical and athletic performance (Brown). These capsules are utilized as a method of rapidly burning fat, while quickly gaining muscle; they are popular among athletes because of this. The supplements work in a way that allows the burning of fat -- which is the most difficult part of body shaping -- to occur in a rapid fashion. Desired results are achieved in a limited amount of time, therefore adding to the appeal of this supplement to young athletes who are just beginning their journey through sports and are essentially attempting to make themselves stand out from the hundreds of other athletes. However, the components of these supplements have been of great concern due to their potential undesired effects (Brown). Despite the glorious results that the particular coach at hand has….

References:

Brown, E. (2011). What do ripped fuel capsules do? LIVESTRONG. Retrieved 22 April 2013 from  http://www.livestrong.com/article/401862-what-do-r  ipped-fuel-capsules-do/

OneResult. (2012). NCAA Legal and Illegal Supplements. ONERESULT: Look Like an Athlete. Retrieved 22 April 2013 from  http://www.oneresult.com/articles/supplements/ncaa  -legal-and-illegal-supplements

Financial Policy Scholarships for Athletes

Student athletes do not even necessarily 'give back' to the university with four years of attendance. Basketball players flee the ranks to 'go pro' and even those who do not go to the NBA may struggle and not emerge with a degree. hat students are likely to show greater financial long-term loyalty to their university -- a student who excels academically and remembers college as the best years of his or her life? Or a student who does not graduate and sees college a stepping-stone to a professional sports career or simply as a place that discarded him or her because a sports career did not materialize as promised? Coaches and athletic programs also receive huge salaries, because of the attention that is diverted to sports, funds that could be better spent in other areas. Lately, many prominent coaches have been drawing negative publicity for their actions, which only serves to….

"Northeastern men's basketball program is penalized." (2009, April 25). Associated Press.

Retrieved April 25, 2009 at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gH3G3UvplzEvznYa46AVkBUEWuAwD97PA4580

Marketing Strategy a College Athletic Department I

marketing strategy a college athletic department. I a couple pages discussing background research a typical college athletic program, a school marketing increasing communities involvement ticket sales. Most universities have intermural athletic programs. However, there is a wide variation in terms of the funding, success, popularity and approaches between these programs, spanning from Division I powerhouses to relatively noncompetitive Division III schools. Regardless of the nature of the program or the school, athletic programs can be powerful marketing and publicity tools for academic institutions. Alumni donations often increase after a successful season, as do applications from more competitive students. Also, success tends to breed success in athletics: the more successful and highly-promoted the program, the more top athletes will be inclined to apply to the school -- the more top athletes are drawn to the school, the greater the likelihood of athletic success in the future. For example, when Northern Iowa beat….

Logue, Andrew. March's madness gives players, program at Northern Iowa a boost. USA Today. August 22, 2010. Available November 21, 2010 at  http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/mvc/2010-08-22-northern-iowa_N.htm

Perceptions of Genders in College

Thus the concentration is not on basketball, the sport he is supposed to love, but on sex. The picture in the book is clear about the happenings when the over-sexed teenagers reach college. Within a day of her arrival in college, Charlotte is "sexiled." This means that she was compelled to leave her room when her roommate brought a young man in for sex. The contest among the freshmen in fraternities is to find out how fast they can get fresh faces for sex. The least amount of time given in that book was seven minutes. (Bonfire of the sexuality) egarding the view of women in media, one of the professors said that the American society is becoming a society of predators. The stage has come when 1.3 women are raped every minute and a large proportion of one in three women will be raped in her lifetime. This is….

Educators discuss student sexual activity. 2000. Retrieved at  http://www.uwrf.edu/thisweek/20001113.htm . Accessed on 30 July, 2005

Freeman, John. Bonfire of the sexuality. 11 November, 2004. Retrieved at  http://www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/2004-11-11/arts.asp . Accessed on 30 July, 2005

Goulet, Nicole. Gender Barriers: When Will the Ridicule Cease? Retrieved at  http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/local/scisoc/sports02/papers/ngoulet.html . Accessed on 30 July, 2005

Polk, Khary. Love and Basketball. 3 February, 2004. Retrieved at  http://www.nyunews.com/brownstone/sexuality/6825.html . Accessed on 30 July, 2005

Eating Behaviors in College Freshmen

Eating Behaviors in First Year College Students Drugs and Alcohol Eating Behaviors in the First Year College Students Eating Behaviors in First Year College Students The transition from high school to undergraduate life is perhaps of the most challenging experiences from adolescence into early adulthood. One of the common side effects of this transition is weight gain that occurs during the first or freshman year of college. The paper will discuss how behaviors related to eating habits and alcohol consumption contributes to the general weight gain of first year undergraduates. Among college students, this weight gain is fairly typical and is known as "the freshman 15," referring to the average amount of pounds undergraduates gain over the course of freshman year -- fifteen pounds. It is a requirement of most colleges and universities of the United States that students are mandated to live on campus and eat from a school meal plan for their….

Anderson, D.A., Shapiro, J.R., & Lundgren, J.D. (2003) The freshman year of college as a critical period for weight gain: An initial evaluation. Eating Behaviors, 4, 363 -- 367.

Lowe, M.R., Annunziato, R.A., Didie, E., Stice, E., Markowitz, J.T., Bellace, D.L., Riddell, L., Maille, C., & McKinney S. (2006) Multiple types of dieting prospectively predict weight gain freshman year of college. Appetite, 47, 83 -- 90.

Lowery, S.E., Robinson Kurpius, S.E., Blanks, E.H., Sollenberger, S., Nicpon, M.F., Befort, C., & Huser, L. (2005) Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Male and Female First Year College Students. Journal of College Student Development, 46(6), 612 -- 623.

Racette, PhD., S.B., Deusinger, PhD, PT, S.S., Strube, PhD, M.J., Highstein, RN, PhD, G.R., & Deusinger, PT, PhD, R.H. (2005) Weight Changes, Exercise, and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College. Journal of American College Health, 53(6), 245 -- 252.

Professional Athletes Professional Atletes We

Figure 2: Comedy and Tragedy (iStock photo) orks Cited www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108245926 Beal, Becky, and Charlene ilson. "2 'Chicks Dig Scars'." Understanding Lifestyle Sport: Consumption, Identity, and Difference. London: Routledge, 2004. 31-54. Drehs, ayne. (2007, Nov. 30).The Professional Athlete as Target: 'Am I Next?' abc NES. 4 Dec 2007 http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=3940887&page=1 Getting it rite; Athletes Maintain Personal Blogs to Break News, Express Opinions Connect with Their Loyal Fan Bases." The ashington Times 12 May 2007: C01. A iStockphoto. (2007). 4 Dec 2007.

Works Cited www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108245926

Beal, Becky, and Charlene Wilson. "2 'Chicks Dig Scars'." Understanding Lifestyle Sport: Consumption, Identity, and Difference. London: Routledge, 2004. 31-54.

Drehs, Wayne. (2007, Nov. 30).The Professional Athlete as Target: 'Am I Next?' abc NEWS. 4 Dec 2007  http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=3940887&page=1 

Getting it Write; Athletes Maintain Personal Blogs to Break News, Express Opinions Connect with Their Loyal Fan Bases." The Washington Times 12 May 2007: C01.

A iStockphoto. (2007). 4 Dec 2007

Goals Athletes Set in Training and Competition

Goals Athletes Set in Training and Competition Perhaps the biggest mistake a researcher can make it to assume that if research has been done, that means the research is good research. In actuality, there is a significant amount of bad research available and those who rely upon it can easily draw bad conclusions. While there are an infinite number of ways that research can be bad, probably the most significant risk in bad research is research that detects a relationship (correlation) between two or more different variables and, from that relationship, seeks to suggest that there is causation between two or more of those variables. This can be due to an improper conclusion, but it can also be due to faulty research design that has failed to account for all of the other variables that could impact the results. Defining Good esearch It can be difficult to define good research because research….

Denscombe, M. (2007). The good research guide for small-scale social research projects, 3rd

Ed. Poland: Open University Press.

Munroe-Chandler, K., Hall, C., Weinberg, R.S. (2004). A qualitative analysis of the types of goals athletes set in training and competition. Journal of Sport Behavior, 27(1), 58-74.

Shuttleworth, M. (2008). Validity and reliability. Retrieved March 9, 2012 from Experiment

Injury Chest Athletes to Perform

About two thirds of major chest trauma cases are associated with motor vehicle accidents. About 25% of injuries from motor vehicle accident related to chest trauma. The outcome out of the study made by the North American Major Trauma Outcome Study indicated that about 70% of trauma cases are blunt in nature. About 50% of chest trauma injuries are associated with chest wall. The initial recovery from chest trauma concentrates on the ABCs-airway, breathing, and circulation- subject to all major trauma resuscitation instances. After completion of initial resuscitation and stabilization a concurrent evaluation of a patient is done with suspected chest trauma. Normally chest injuries are diagnosed by chest radiograph alone. The recognition of treatment of chest trauma mostly relies upon a high index of suspicion mixed with the appropriate diagnostic tests. (Lesson 18: Blunt Chest Trauma) The rate of recovery varies from person to person at various rates. The….

Athletic & Sports Injury Treatment" Retrieved at  http://www.scotiachiropractic.co.uk/treatment/sporting-injury.html . Accessed 26 October, 2005

Rib injuries" Retrieved at  http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Rib_injuries-open . Accessed 26 October, 2005

Rib Injury" Retrieved from  http://www.fairview.org/healthlibrary/content/sma_ribinjur_sma.htm . Accessed 26 October, 2005

Sako, Edward Y. "Lesson 18: Blunt Chest Trauma" PCCU Update. Vol: 15.

Learning According to the University of Canberra's

Learning According to the University of Canberra's Academic Skills Centre (2008), learning is a highly complex process that "takes place at different levels of consciousness, and in different ways, in everything we do. Moreover, individual people learn in different ways and have their preferred learning styles." One of the keys to improving student learning is to understand the different types of learning styles and apply that knowledge to study habits and practices. Study skills are themselves behaviors that need to be learned like any other. Using a combination of disciplinary techniques and cognitive shifts, students can improve their capacity for learning. This will, in turn, help boost grades and test scores. However, learning in an academic context is about more than earning grades. Learning should ultimately enhance one's view of the world and increase tolerance of diversity. The theory of multiple intelligences has formed the theoretical foundation for the study of diverse….

Armstrong, T. (2010). Multiple intelligences. Retrieved online:  http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.php 

Dartmouth College Academic Skills Center (2011). Managing your time. Retrieved online:  http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/time.html 

Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons. Perseus.

Langer, J.A. (1986). Learning through writing: Study skills in the content areas. Journal of Reading. Feb 1986.

Can you help me come up with some essay topics regarding topics for toulmin argument?

1. Should social media platforms be held responsible for monitoring and removing hate speech? 2. Is the death penalty an effective deterrent for violent crime? 3. Should college athletes be paid for their performance? 4. Are stricter gun control laws necessary to reduce gun violence? 5. Should the government provide free healthcare for all citizens? 6. Is climate change a result of human activity? 7. Should the minimum wage be increased to a livable wage? 8. Is affirmative action still necessary in today's society? 9. Should standardized testing be the primary measure of student achievement? 10. Is privacy in the digital age a fundamental human right? 11. Should the use....

Need assistance developing essay topics related to Argumentative. Can you offer any guidance?

Certainly! Here are some suggestions for argumentative essay topics: 1. Should the minimum wage be raised? 2. Is climate change a real threat? 3. Should the death penalty be abolished? 4. Should college athletes be paid? 5. Is social media harmful to our society? 6. Should gun control laws be stricter? 7. Is genetically modified food safe to consume? 8. Should the government provide free healthcare for all citizens? 9. Is online education as effective as traditional classroom learning? 10. Should animals be used for scientific research? Feel free to choose a topic that interests you and develop a strong argument supported by evidence and reasoning. Good luck! If you're looking for....

Why College Athletes Should be Paid I. Problem a. College athletes devote a lot of time and energy to athletic competition—so much in fact that they are routinely considered athletes first…

College Athletes Should be PaidPart 11.What is your topic?Should college athletes be paid.2.What is your thesis? With the words SHOULD or SHOULD NOT or MUST or MUST NOT or…

Athletes and Crime hat situations can you think of where an amateur or professional athlete was charged with a crime, or in your opinion should have been charged with a…

Research Paper

Communication Competence Between Male and Female College Athletes Survey Questions How old are you? Are you male or female? Male Female What is your ethnicity? Caucasian African-American Pacific Islander F. Native American Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior The next 8 questions are on a…

Creative Writing

Sports - Drugs

Mandatory Drug Testing In certain professional occupations, mandatory drug testing is not only a good idea, it is very important to public safety. There are good arguments on both sides…

They ae thee to play and not to show off thei bodies. Female athletes with lage body size will find discomfots in the tightly fitted unifoms. This then pesents…

Supplements for Athletes ipped Fuel © is a weight loss supplement used widely by individuals who are trying to improve their physical and athletic performance (Brown). These capsules are utilized…

Sports - College

Student athletes do not even necessarily 'give back' to the university with four years of attendance. Basketball players flee the ranks to 'go pro' and even those who do…

marketing strategy a college athletic department. I a couple pages discussing background research a typical college athletic program, a school marketing increasing communities involvement ticket sales. Most universities have…

Women's Issues - Sexuality

Thus the concentration is not on basketball, the sport he is supposed to love, but on sex. The picture in the book is clear about the happenings when…

Business - Miscellaneous

Eating Behaviors in First Year College Students Drugs and Alcohol Eating Behaviors in the First Year College Students Eating Behaviors in First Year College Students The transition from high school to undergraduate life…

Figure 2: Comedy and Tragedy (iStock photo) orks Cited www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108245926 Beal, Becky, and Charlene ilson. "2 'Chicks Dig Scars'." Understanding Lifestyle Sport: Consumption, Identity, and Difference. London: Routledge, 2004. 31-54. Drehs, ayne.…

Goals Athletes Set in Training and Competition Perhaps the biggest mistake a researcher can make it to assume that if research has been done, that means the research is…

About two thirds of major chest trauma cases are associated with motor vehicle accidents. About 25% of injuries from motor vehicle accident related to chest trauma. The outcome…

Learning According to the University of Canberra's Academic Skills Centre (2008), learning is a highly complex process that "takes place at different levels of consciousness, and in different ways, in…

Student Athletes and Mental Health Essay Example

Student-athletes often are looked at as people who are “living the dream” as they are able to play a sport they love while also receiving their education. In reality, being a student-athlete comes with overwhelming responsibilities, high expectations, and countless hours devoted to being an athlete. Receiving a college education is difficult enough as young adults are adjusting to being on their own while still needing to meet obligations and fulfill responsibilities. When you add in the responsibilities that come with being an athlete, it is almost too easy for mental health to plummet. Sports are looked at as a great way to relieve stress, but many overlook the tension and stress they contribute to everyday life. While at first it may appear most student-athletes should benefit mentally from athletics, most experience a more harmful impact due to the long hours, overbearing responsibilities, and high expectations. 

At first glance, athletes are fortunate to have a sport as a stress reliever with teammates and a coaching staff there for support. What many people overlook is the amount of time put into being an athlete. Being a college student is already time consuming; an expected guideline for a student is to spend between 2 and 3 hours studying for every hour of class they attend. In other words “a student taking five 3-credit classes spends 15 hours each week in class and should be spending 30 hours on work outside of class, or 45 hours/week total” (Nelson). This is a lot of time, dedication, and stress for anyone, but now add being an athlete on top of these hours. When it comes to athletics, it is more than just showing up for practice every day. Weight-lifting, film sessions, conditioning sessions, team meetings, traveling for games, and going to the training room to maintain a healthy body as well as prevent injuries, are all activities that are included in being an athlete but many people often do not think of. A survey done by the NCAA, which is the National Collegiate Athletic Association, revealed that athletes are putting at least 30 hours and the majority of the time 40 hours a week toward their sport (Wakamo). With these numbers, student-athletes total 85 hours dedicated to both their academics and athletics. This leaves them with 83 hours left in the week, a little under 12 hours per day, for them to sleep, eat meals, have a social life, spend time with friends and family, in some cases work a job, and have free time to do what they chose. When having this much on their plate, student-athletes can quickly feel overwhelmed since they have so much to do and so little time to do it. As soon as someone feels overwhelmed, feelings of stress, anxiety, and worry pour in, all of which contribute to a decline in mental health. Being a student-athlete can be very tedious and time consuming, so athletes have to quickly learn how to prioritize and manage their time. Time management is a difficult strategy to learn for anybody, but it is especially difficult to learn for a young adult who is adjusting to living on their own and learning how to be independent. 

While student-athletes are feeling overwhelmed with their time, they also bear the burden of the responsibilities and expectations that come with being an athlete. Athletes are put under a microscope; they are being watched by their coaches, the NCAA, and the general public. They have to be conscious of their actions at all times, particularly when wearing their college name. Aside from attending practice, athletes are responsible for maintaining a certain GPA in order to be eligible to play, and they must show respect to coaches, their teammates, their opponents, and referees during games, practices, and even on social media (Imm).  Social media is a very common and easy way for athletes to get into trouble. Athletes need to be careful of what they post because posts that include foul language, inappropriate posts on school property or in school clothes, trash talking other teams, complaining about their coach or team, and any posts with inappropriate content such as nudity or partial nudity and alcohol or drugs can get them in trouble (Fore). Another major responsibility and expectation of being a student-athlete is avoiding alcohol and drug use. The NCAA has no tolerance for possession of any illegal drugs, tobacco use, and minors in possession of or drinking alcohol. Athletes over the age of 21 are allowed to drink alcohol, but in moderation and only in their off-season (Alcohol, Tobacco, and drug policy). In order to enforce these rules, the NCAA conducts drug tests at least once a year per team. A failure to pass the drug test or refusal to take the drug test results in consequences which include “community service (on or off campus), reflective paper, game suspension(s), counseling, expulsion from the team and/or department” (Alcohol, Tobacco, and drug policy). The responsibilities alone are enough for a college athlete to worry about, but the fear of the consequences is even more overbearing. Athletes are penalized for these actions, while a regular college student is not subject to the same consequences or any consequences at all. If an athlete fails to fulfill any of their responsibilities and they suffer the consequences, their mental health will be affected. The consequences of an expulsion or suspension could lead to an athlete feeling depressed and disappointed in themselves, ruining their mental health. Depression is a serious mental disorder that many people struggle from, but “student-athletes suffer from depression more often than their non-student-athlete peers” (Gill, 85). Athletes struggle more than others realize, which is why it is important to bring attention to their mental health. 

Athletes are not only held to high expectations from the NCAA, but they are also held to high expectations from their coaches, their teammates, their families, their supporters, and themselves. The pressure of being a student-athlete is difficult and it is often not talked about. Recently, a 22-year-old Women’s Soccer player, Katie Meyer, from Stanford University, tragically committed suicide. Her mother told the press “There is anxiety and there is stress to be perfect, to be the best, to be number one” (Sulek and Lin). Athletes hold themselves to a higher standard because of what is expected of them. When adding up their responsibilities, what they are expected of, and the time they spend on athletics, tragedies such as suicide are more prone to occur. According to the American College of Sports Medicine “Approximately 30% of women and 25% of men who are student-athletes report having anxiety, and only 10% of all college athletes with known mental health conditions seek care from a mental health professional ” (The American College of Sports Medicine Statement on Mental Health Challenges for Athletes). Athletes are suffering from depression due to their activity, and they are unlikely to seek help for their mental health. Mental health is a critical issue that must be addressed in athletics or else the number of people suffering from depression will continue to rise, resulting in more tragedies like Katie Meyer.

Despite its initial glance, the life of a student-athlete entails many more responsibilities, expectations, and dedicated hours than most people imagine. Due to their overloading schedules and overwhelming responsibilities, it is very simple for the mental health of student-athletes to plummet. Once mental health decreases it leads to feelings of depression and in extreme cases, suicide. It is important to encourage better mental health in student-athletes to prevent tragedies from occurring. There are a number of ways to help student-athletes have better mental health, starting with coaches dedicating time that benefits mental health. This could be as simple as a 5-minute meditation session or breathing exercise after practice to allow athletes to decompress. Coaches should have check-ins biweekly with their athletes to ensure they are handling the balance of academics and athletics well. Also, many schools have resources on campus that athletes can utilize when they need to talk to someone about all of their concerns. These are small steps that can make a big difference in student-athletes’ mental health. Mental health should never be overlooked, and should always be a top priority to avoid the tragedies that might result from poor mental health.

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