As I am sitting here watching the NCAA Tourney I am thinking about all the student-athletes on all these teams and how hard it is to juggle being a student and being an athlete with all the time that these guys are away from campus. These networks (particularly CBS) are paying an absurd amount of money to the NCAA to televise these games.
For many of the players at the high major level they are traveling all the time and it takes it's toll. Let's take a look at the Big 12 and their conference tournament. Iowa State and Kansas both played in the championship game on Saturday, March 14 after playing on the 12th and the 13th. They probably arrived on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning for the tournament. Unless they were on spring break they've missed class Wednesday through Friday. All because their games need to be on TV.
The above is typical for most high major teams. If they make the NCAA tourney then there is more missed classes because the NCAA mandates that teams arrive two days before games start. An example is that teams that play in the Thursday/Saturday set have to arrive on Tuesday all for the TV and media. Friday/Sunday games will miss Thursday and Friday class but will have another dilemma because they'll probably miss class on Monday depending on where they travel to/from.
With all of that being said, these student-athletes don't have a lot of opportunities to be students and whose fault is it? I will go with TV and college presidents. TV does what they want because all the college presidents want more money. The more the games are on tv, the bottom line looks A LOT better for college presidents. That is why you'll see football games on all throughout the week during the fall.
Hang with me here:
I've sent out some feelers to a bunch of different college coaches at a bunch of different levels and this is what I've gathered. Student-athletes that are on a full scholarship will get various levels of scholarships based off of what level school each coach is at.
High Major Mid Major
*Roughly $1200 check every month *$840 check every month
Unlimited meals meals/snacks 30 meals per semester in dining hall + snacks
Free Tutoring Free Tutoring
Potential free iPads Postseason gifts (budget won't allow $500, but get something)
Postseason gifts (up to $500)
Free printing for papers, etc
*If student-athletes live off campus they'll get that amount. Not sure what the amount they are given if they live on campus.
A Pell Grant is available for all students if their family qualifies financially. A full Pell Grant for the year is $5,500. If the athlete is on full scholarship they'll get a $5,500 every year without having to pay it back. Yes, that's potentially $22,000 over the course of four years. That number could be a lot less or nothing at all depending on the finances of the family.
On top of all of that the student-athletes get major exposure through TV and everything that potentially goes with it. Looking at a high major "non-revenue" sport the school spent roughly $32,000 per year per athlete (walk-ons included) on top of any athletic scholarship. This money includes athletic training, medical costs, sport psychologists, tutoring/advising, massage/chiropractic, travel, gear, meals, and coaching. If you want to look at some "revenue" sports, that number is WAY higher because of charter flights, nicer hotels, more (and nicer) gear, and more meals.
If you look in the closets of these same student-athletes you'll see about two weeks of wardrobes given to them EVERY year through the contract the school has with an apparel company. Let's take a look at Oregon (I know they are different than everyone else but it's fun). Every one of their players have received four pairs of Kevin Durant's signature shoes (retail $150, customized $195) in different colors. Here is a link showing their different jersey combos as well as some of the shoes that are available to them. I could show you a bunch of pictures from all the gear my wife's team gets but I don't want to be a creeper through their Twitter and Instagram.
Did I mention that these same student-athletes get their education paid for as well? Tuition at these schools range anywhere from $6,000 to $50,000 (just tuition, not tuition & room and board). With that being said, athletic department probably are spending over $100,000 per athlete per year in certain sports.
I'll ask this question to my four regular readers, Would you be willing to "be exploited" by the NCAA and college presidents to get all the things that you get by being a student-athlete? I would say an extreme majority would say, "Where do I sign?"
No comments:
Post a Comment