College athletes push for union and pay

Photo by: Will Gentry

 

Athletes from Northwestern University in Illinois have partnered with the United Steelworkers union in an effort to form a college athletic union to push for paying college athletes.

This new round of debate brings up the question of whether or not college athletes should be paid. Oklahoma Christian University Director of Athletics Curtis Janz said No.

“Whether college athletes should be paid is a very controversial, passionate subject for people,” Janz said.  “I am very respectable for the time, effort and the energy that student athletes put into their sports. They receive scholarship money and that looks different from division to division.”

Janz questioned where the money would come from to pay the athletes.

“I think we would have a very hard time paying our athletes at our current level,” Janz said. “If we did pay our athletes then where would that money come from? Would it come from the school itself or the National Collegiate Athletic Association? If the money did come from the NCAA, it would be $104 million for both male and female basketball and football players only, not including the other sports.”

At Oklahoma Christian University, both athletes and the athletic department heads felt that players were fairly compensated in the form of scholarships.

“I do not think athletes should be paid,” junior Kendra Pierce, who plays shortstop for the Lady Eagles softball, said. “I think they are getting paid in a way with scholarships. There’s no reason for a college athlete to get paid because there will be more conflict brought up, like who gets paid how much. Players won’t play because they won’t like the amount of money they’re getting and so on.”

College athletes in some Division I schools feel the schools they represent are making money from their likeness, even though they do not directly see that money from their performances.

“The whole thing started from players seeing schools making money from their jerseys,” Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations Murray Evans said. “Players do not see any of that money. But the other side of the argument is they are getting scholarships for their education paid for. How much value do you put on college education? College education can take you a long way.”

Unlike some Division I schools, Oklahoma Christian does not profit directly from its athletes.

“Oklahoma Christian does not make any money from its athletes,” Evans said. “We are actually losing money, but the reason why we have athletic departments is to provide a well-rounded environment, not just for the athletes, but also for the student body as well. It is fun to come watch your fellow students compete in their respective sports.”

Although some top sports schools appear to make money from their athletes, the actual cost of paying athletes could be too great for most schools that aren’t Division I.

“I know some big Division I schools make enough money to pay their college athletes, but I don’t think they should be paid,” Kacy Cook, a senior baseball athlete said. “And if they started paying Division I schools then the other divisions would want to be paid as well.”

If a union formed requiring colleges to pay their athletes, it could affect all divisions, not only Division I. Janz said, all players, regardless of their sports, would have to be paid, and that could cause problems.

Oklahoma Christian, which is in the process of becoming a Division II school under the NCAA, like the majority of other schools, does not have enough money to pay each athlete.

“Very few athletes in Division II receive full scholarship, but very few in any athletic departments generate revenue,” Janz said. “Some divisions, especially Division I, they make profit from their athletes, which they put into schools.”

If the union should be formed, college athletes would be employees of their respective schools, and some students worry money could change the ethics of sports.

“The good thing about college athletes is that it has never been about the money,” Cook said. “And I would hate to see college players holding out and not playing until they got paid whatever they want to get paid.”

If money was involved at the college level, Pierce worried that the level of commitment from athletes would change aspects of the sports.

“The fear of getting hurt and losing that check will change a lot,” Pierce said. “A lot of athletes would choose the school that pays more money, not choose the school that they like more or enjoy playing for. Just like all the pro-sports have changed because of money, colleges will too.”

Pierce said she fears that a union could form, but hopes it won’t change how sports are played at Oklahoma Christian.

“If a union does form, I don’t think we should even consider it or let it change anything,” Pierce said. “College is supposed to be fun at a high level of competition. Adding money takes away the full enjoyment of competing. Let the union form just for the sake of the athletes that think they know it all, but I don’t think it should even matter to us.”

For those who think college athletes should be paid, Janz said to consider the price of an education.

“Yes, they are college athletes, and yes they spend a lot of time at their sport to become better,” Janz said. “Most students, especially at our level, are using the sports to get an education. That’s the way it’s supposed to work. Education in the United States has always been the American Dream. We still have that American Dream of working and being diligent to succeed. It is the other stuff that has gotten in the way.”