Play could Pay

Play Could Pay

College sports, generates many profits, through popular players, teams, and games, where does the money go? Many debates have recently been occurring regarding the money in college athletics, specifically football and men’s basketball. About two weeks ago, Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman trophy, an annual award given to the best player in college football that year. Days before this occurrence, Manziel and his agent, trademarked the nickname, “Johnny Football.” This has caused much controversy because, Texas A&M and  Manziel are not allowed to profit using the name Jonny football or using his name on shirts or jerseys. Often times in college sports, this type of situation occurs. These household names like Johnny Manziel, Tim Tebow, and Anthony Davis, cannot make a profit. These players are making money for the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) but excepting scholarships are not making money for being so famous and good. Recently in the past couple of years, college basketball and football alone have made up to 6 billion dollars a year, meaning that in ten year, they are worth the amount of Bill Gates! If so much money is being made, where is it all going; because it’s not going to the people who work hard to play, its going to companies.  Many people say that college is for learning and money should be focused on after college. or instance Peter Higgins, a lacrosse coach at Princeton Day School and a former NCAA athlete, agrees saying that college is for school, athletes should do there school work and play the sorts, money shouldn’t be a question. Another topic of concern is how much money single programs at a school makes in revenue. In the 2010 season the Tennessee University football team made a grand total of 56.8 million dollars. So are these athletes being USED? Taylor Branch, a civil rights researcher says that College athletes are not slaves and that using these words like slaves is inappropriate. As you can see, many important people are involved in this topic, and everyone is wondering what will happen next.

One and Done

                                               One and Done

               

In college sports there are many five star athletes that breakout in their first year of playing at a collegiate level.  Those athletes often leave college and pursue the pros, the reasons are infinite, but the main reason is money.  For instance, recently number one player in the country, Anthony Davis of the University of Kentucky chose to forgo his last three seasons in college and go straight to the NBA. But, don’t start thinking that this is unique, believe it or not, it is a common trend. There are many stars in the NBA who get paid millions of dollars that didn’t even go to college. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and Lebron James had the physical skills as a high school player that allowed them to not only play in the NBA, but to excel in the NBA. The NBA commissioner David Stern has made a rule that all players in the United States must attend college for one year before going to the NBA. Stern created this rule to give players more time to mature physically, mentally, and emotionally. He also was helping the NCAA by allowing some of the best basketball talent a one year showcase. As a result of this rule, many players choose to go to school for their freshman year and then leave for the NBA. For instance, last year three freshman and two sophomores left Kentucky’s championship team for the NBA draft. This has caused outrage among true basketball fans because they miss an earlier time when the best players would graduate and stay in school for their four years. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney says, “If they want a living wage, let them go to the NBA.”  What you can pull away from all of this is that we live in a money driven world. Many of these kids want to make the big bucks, may it be for family or for their own purposes, money is the key. So, why do colleges want the one and done players if they will just leave after the first year? CBS recently paid the NCAA six billion over an eleven year span to broadcast the championship tournament , also known as March Madness. Legendary coach Rick Pitino of Louisville once stated, “People Pay to see greatness… If you don’t have marquee names, you don’t have yourself a great product.” Colleges are also interested in money and it is evident throughout all of the NCAA sports. Great players mean money, and apparently, that’s what everyone is looking for.

 

    Lance speaks Out On Conference Changes, Boosters, and More

College sports have many issues at the moment including conference changes, players pay, and booster; but why is it like this. I spoke with my uncle Lance Buford (passionate sports fan and proud graduate of Florida State University) about the problems. In college division 1 sports , many schools have been switching to different conferences from their old conferences. The reason for that is, when a school wins a championship , the money from winning that championship is divided among st the colleges in that conference. Lance commented saying that from a financial standpoint, this is good for business in college. He also adds that conference changes destroy some conferences like the Big East and Big 12, but helps “super conferences” like the ACC and the Pac-12. Another problem with college sports is the revenue being made off of players. Lance commented saying that he thinks players should not be paid, yet there is no chance for them to get paid. The reason is because of Title Nine (a rule set by the NCAA deeming that all colleges must have an equal amount of sports for men and women.) Meaning no harm, lance stated that women’s sports do not make money, therefore, it puts colleges in a hard situation. He agrees that women should have equal oppurtunities, but it doesn’t help money-wise. With regards to boosters, or fans/graduates of a school that pay players to go to their alma mater, Lance states, “Money can’t be controlled.” He also made and interesting quote comparing boosters to cancer. Once we arrived at the Topic of Johnny “Football” Manziel, Lance added that it is a tremendous accomplishment.