What do you know about the NCAA?

This past week in Sports Communication we talked about the NCAA and the commodification of sports. I grew up watching sports and playing volleyball in middle and high school. It wasn’t until my sister, Paige, decided to play college golf that I took a deeper look at the sports industry.

Once Paige hit high school that was when my parents started to look at the NCAA rulebook and guidelines for what she needed to do to play in college. I am pretty sure that my mom read most if not the entire rulebook. Have you seen this rulebook? It is huge! We found out that Paige needed to be considered an amateur, which means that she could not accept money as a prize for winning golf tournaments. This rule is true for all sports and all athletes.

College athletes are not allowed to make profit off their performance for the collegiate team that they represent. There are two sides to this argument in whether or not they deserve to be paid. Some say no, that they should not be paid. They receive a superior education and have access to the best tools such as professors and material that they would not receive without their scholarship.

The other side of this argument is also complicated. Former players, current players, outsiders, and insiders believe that yes, college athletes should get paid. The college and NCAA profit off their performance. This includes athletic wear, pictures, and video games. Some athletes believe that they should make money off the video games that use their likeness. They can’t collect this money because of the contract they signed binding them to their school and the NCAA.

This is a very controversial topic in the sports world right now. If you’re interested in sports become informed and develop a stance to this issue.