Paying College Athletes

The multibillion-dollar industry that college sports has become has richly rewarded the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), university athletic programs and top football and basketball coaches. Athletes, however, continue to play under a decades-old system in which scholarships pay for tuition and room and board but fall short of covering the full cost of attending school. In return, players are expected to maintain a rigorous training and playing schedule while keeping up their studies. A recent ruling that Northwestern University football players are school employees and thus have the right to unionize, along with class-action lawsuits demanding more compensation and better treatment for college athletes, has amplified debate over whether they should be paid. Supporters of the system say the education and training athletes receive are adequate compensation; critics say college athletes are being exploited. Observers also differ over whether colleges could afford salaries for players, and whether schools should pay more attention to athletes’ academic experience.