An athletic scholarship at Wake Forest University includes books, tuition and thousands of dollars per semester to rent an apartment, pay utilities and purchase food and other personal items.
Gary Clark, a senior who was expected to this month with a degree in mathematics, says athletes deserve a little more.
“Let’s say you have $10 a ticket and 10,000 people at every game. The school is definitely making more than what your scholarship costs. Football and basketball bring in a lot of revenue,” says the 21-year-old, who plays guard on the men’s basketball team.
“At a lot of schools, players come from underprivileged families. I know we are getting a scholarship, but some folks don’t have cash to get something to eat when the school cafeteria is closed, or money to buy a used car,” he continues. “I am not saying we should get paid with a full-time salary, but a stipend would be nice.”
The National Collegiate Athletic Association governs intercollegiate sports under the premise of amateurism. NCAA President Mark Emmert says that premise is incompatible with the idea of paying players. But “amateur” in no way means “nonprofit.” The NCAA signed a 14-year, $10.8 billion contract last year with CBS and Turner Sports to air March Madness, the men’s Division I basketball tournament. College football’s Bowl Championship Series is in the midst of a $125 million television deal with ESPN. A deep run during March Madness or a victory in a high-profile BCS bowl game can mean millions of dollars both to the university and to its conference. The monetary award for the athletes themselves? Zero.
The long-running debate about whether to pay players for their athletic accomplishments has garnered renewed attention recently due to a rash of scandals involving some of the nation’s highest profile players and programs. In a story that aired in March on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” several former Auburn University football players recounted receiving cash from boosters during recruiting trips and after games.
Auburn quarterback Cam Newton won the 2010 Heisman Trophy while leading the Tigers to the BCS national title but spent much of the season dogged by an NCAA investigation into allegations Newton’s father demanded $180,000 from Mississippi State University in exchange for his son’s commitment to play there. Mississippi State refused the offer, and Newton enrolled at Auburn, although there is no indication a “pay-for-play” demand was made or accepted by the school.
