The National Collegiate Athletic Association - 1455 Words

Andrew Koh Prof. White ENG 111 19 November 2015 Ever since its formation in 1910, the National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA, has provided student athletes the ability to attend colleges through scholarships while playing for their schools. However, the ideology of inter-collegiate athletics, amateurism, and sportsmanship masks the troubling problem for many of the players; the ban on paying student athletes. The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a 6 billion dollar a year institution that is a so-called, â€Å"non-profit organization.† While they claim to provide athletes a gateway to a higher education, their inability to provide any compensation for their hard work and sacrifices make them incredibly exploitative. It is†¦show more content†¦The NCAA later penalized the university forcing them to suspend Rick Majerus’ salary for two years (Norwood). The NCAA’s argument was that a coach could not give an athlete something he does not give to a regular student. Such actions seem incredibly arbitrary and at times heartless only to justify the ideals of â€Å"amateurism†. The NCAA and the universities themselves, make millions off of merchandise, corporate advertisements, television distribution, etc. The CEO of the NCAA, Mark Emmert, has an annual salary of $1.8 million. Conversely, student athletes are prohibited from â€Å"doing commercials, receiving meals, clothing, transportation, or other gifts by individuals other than family members† (Eitzen). Former NBA superstar, Patrick Ewing made approximately $12 million for his alma mater of Georgetown University during his four years in attendance. This came from â€Å"a tripling of attendance, increased television revenues, and qualifying for the NCAA tournament each year† (Eitzen). Ewing on the other hand, never made a penny until getting drafted to the NBA. The NCAA and its supporters would argue that Ewing had the ability to learn and achieve a degree through scholarships. Supporters of the NCAA believe that student athletes have already been given an opportunity of a lifetime. The ability to learn and the â€Å"educational opportunity they ve been afforded is more valuable than the pocket money (Whitlock). Some supporters believe that if the