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Health & Fitness

Should Collegiate Athletes Be Paid?

The answer to this question could change the landscape of sports as well as the college experience.

Certainly this is a controversial and emotional issue; something for all of us to think about. A low-profile discussion is continuing at the NCAA. Here are a few perspectives:

Try not to just scratch the surface on this issue. Dig deeper into educational values, consequences, fairness, equality, cause and effects.

Don't just take the easy generalizations of NCAA greed and profit and the players are already being paid. Think about the true meanings of the words amateur and professional and how they might change.

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I have not made up my mind on this issue.

* College towns and universities make tens of millions of dollars off of the extraordinary talents and efforts of student athletes. Large percentages of small college-town business revenue and municipal budgets generated by intercollegiate athletes.

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* However, not all athletes participate in sports that generate money. In some cases like baseball some schools generate money in baseball. However,  other schools that compete have extremely poor attendance. Sports are offered to attract a broad-base student enrollment. They considered baseball and many other sports, non-revenue generating teams.

* When competing in college, some players receive injuries that eliminate them from a professional career.

* Many college athletes receive 100 percent of their college expenses, others only 25 percent and still others nothing at all.

* Currently players receive no income for the sale of their image, or memorabilia.

* Would only the men receive money, since the prime sources of revenue are men’s basketball and football?

* If they were paid, should every varsity participant be paid an equal amount?Or should they be paid as a professional, according to value and productivity as an athlete or their ability to generate money?

* NCAA Division I coaches are paid hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

* Currently, a college athlete consumes more time per week in athletics, than in class. Would/should a professional collegiate athlete's academic eligibility to play need to be re-evaluated? Is there a need for a new category and definition? Should we renew the term Semi-Pro?

Having considered the above, there are two remaining and somewhat overwhelming factors:

A) Are pro fans essentially different from collegiate fans, or is it just the   venue? And if players were paid, would that change the fan experience?

B) If players were paid would the game itself change; would the players play differently?

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