News — According to a 2010 study by Ithaca College researchers and the National College Players Association, an athlete advocacy group, the average Division I athlete on a 鈥渇ull scholarship鈥� ends up annually paying $2,951 worth of school-related expenses not covered by grants-in-aid. Earlier this week, more than 300 Division I football and men鈥檚 basketball players signed a petition urging the NCAA to set aside an unspecified amount from an estimated $775 million in recently acquired television revenues to create a fund that would cover the athletes鈥� educational costs. Should any of the allocated funds not be spent during the athlete鈥檚 eligibility, the remainder would be given to the athlete upon graduation, no strings attached.
Though he told the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics he would recommend increases of up to $2,000 to cover the scholarship shortfall, NCAA President Mark Emmert balked at the players鈥� proposal, stating it was a step down the slippery slope of paying college athletes for their services. The ideal of amateurism, Emmert said, is the backbone of college sport鈥攁 claim Stephen Mosher, an Ithaca College professor of sport management and media, calls 鈥減reposterous.鈥�
鈥淚 would find it refreshing if colleges and universities would get out of the business of being minor leagues for the NFL and the NBA, because there鈥檚 no way they can be both academic centers of learning and training grounds for professional athletes,鈥� said Mosher, a colleague of the faculty researcher who undertook the 2010 shortfall study. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not possible to be a student-athlete when you鈥檙e spending 40 to 45 hours a week doing your sport. That鈥檚 a full-time job. How can you be expected to go to school on top of that and succeed academically? You can鈥檛. A look at Division I graduation rates tells you that.鈥�
Not only is an enterprise that generates millions of dollars of annual revenue preposterous now, Mosher said, it鈥檚 been that way before the big bucks started rolling in.鈥淗istorically, 鈥榓mateurism鈥� was always intentional, and its purpose was to maintain a separation of the classes,鈥� Mosher said. 鈥淓ven in the United States, who borrowed the idea from Britain, amateurism has always been about disempowering the poor and working classes鈥攆rom which most athletes spring.鈥滶ven the International Olympic Committee, Mosher added, recognized the foolishness of maintaining the 鈥榓mateur鈥� ideal and eliminated the concept from the Olympic Games almost 40 years ago.
鈥淓ligibility for participation in the Olympics is governed by international federations for each sport, and the rules vary from sport to sport and are quite fluid. Emmert鈥檚 position is, in the 21st century, logically indefensible; but since the power of the NCAA rests with the presidents, no grass roots movement can reasonably be expected to succeed.鈥漁ne reason: there鈥檚 simply too much money to be made from Division I sport. Another reason lies with the fans.鈥淕iven the current power structure of the NCAA, the tilting-at-windmills approach is the best way to raise public awareness,鈥� Mosher said. 鈥淏ut public awareness won鈥檛 mean much as long as fans care more about their teams winning games than about student-athletes winning labor disputes.鈥�
Stephen Mosher is the author of several articles and books on sport ethics and moral development, including 鈥淲here Have All the Heroes Gone?鈥� He has also authored a series of columns for ESPN.com on the Little League World Series scandal involving pitcher Danny Almonte, who played despite being two years over the age limit.
Mosher can be contacted at [email protected] or (607) 274-3162.
RSS