paying d1 athletes
There has been major discussion recently if college athletes should or shouldn't be paid while they are in school. The first thing opponents say is, "They're already getting a scholarship! That's more than anybody else! Don't be greedy!"
Fine, let's not be greedy and look at how much a scholarship is actually worth. On average, a full Division 1 scholarship is $25,000 per year.
"That's $100,000 over four years!"
Yes it is, but most athletes don't last at a school for the whole four years. Once you get a sport involved, there are politics, injuries, and a call to the office to tell the player, "Thanks, but we don't need you on this team anymore." Many players will get a scholarship for a year or two, then transfer to a different school which turns out to be a better situation.
A $25,000 scholarship may seem like a lot of money, but it really only covers the basics. It covers thousands of dollars in mysterious, unknown university fees, tuition, housing, a meal-plan and multiple hundred-dollar textbooks. Some players, if they come from a low-income household, get a few hundred dollars each semester from Pell Grants which enables them to buy chicken soup instead of chicken-flavored ramen.
Contrary to what all the opponents believe, being an athlete is a full-time job. On a typical day, a player will wake up before classes, get a lift or conditioning session in, go to class until 3 or 4 p.m., go to practice, go to mandatory study hall, and then finish homework or study for a test.
For a little extra money to see a movie or go out to dinner once a week, my freshman roommate worked a job at the university, earning about $7/hour. He would work his butt off all day, with two or sometimes three basketball training sessions, plus classes and homework, and go to that job for a few hours late at night. He would come back exhausted, but he needed whatever money they would pay him.
However, once the season started up, he couldn't work that job anymore. We
Fine, let's not be greedy and look at how much a scholarship is actually worth. On average, a full Division 1 scholarship is $25,000 per year.
"That's $100,000 over four years!"
Yes it is, but most athletes don't last at a school for the whole four years. Once you get a sport involved, there are politics, injuries, and a call to the office to tell the player, "Thanks, but we don't need you on this team anymore." Many players will get a scholarship for a year or two, then transfer to a different school which turns out to be a better situation.
A $25,000 scholarship may seem like a lot of money, but it really only covers the basics. It covers thousands of dollars in mysterious, unknown university fees, tuition, housing, a meal-plan and multiple hundred-dollar textbooks. Some players, if they come from a low-income household, get a few hundred dollars each semester from Pell Grants which enables them to buy chicken soup instead of chicken-flavored ramen.
Contrary to what all the opponents believe, being an athlete is a full-time job. On a typical day, a player will wake up before classes, get a lift or conditioning session in, go to class until 3 or 4 p.m., go to practice, go to mandatory study hall, and then finish homework or study for a test.
For a little extra money to see a movie or go out to dinner once a week, my freshman roommate worked a job at the university, earning about $7/hour. He would work his butt off all day, with two or sometimes three basketball training sessions, plus classes and homework, and go to that job for a few hours late at night. He would come back exhausted, but he needed whatever money they would pay him.
However, once the season started up, he couldn't work that job anymore. We