The Great Debate: Should College Football Athletes Be Paid?

Ever since the unpleasantness in Miami exploded, the big debate in college football has been “should athletes get paid”. Most analysts use the term “stipend”, but it is essentially paying kids to play football. There are even coaches like Steve Spurrier coming out and offering to pay athletes out of his salary. So, is this a good idea? I’ll take a look at both sides of the debate.

Argument for Paying College Football Athletes:

With the recent issues at Ohio State and Miami coming to light, it seems like now is the best time to visit the issue of paying football athletes at stipend to cover expenses. A large number of these athletes come from inner city areas where money is tight and times are tough. By providing players with some money, it lowers the chance that the player or their extended family will take money from other outside sources (agents, boosters, etc).

Since athletes would be less apt to take money, it lowers the cost to the NCAA to investigate these issues. The NCAA could then turn around and use that money to pay off commentators to stop saying the word “playoff”. But seriously, fewer investigations would lead to less off-field distractions for team. It would also mean fewer abrupt firings of ADs and coaches, as well as fewer suspensions for athletes.

While most detractors would hide behind the “they get an education” defense, top tier players almost always leave college early before finishing their degree. The main reason is money. They want to be able to start providing for their family and are tired of living like a pauper even though they are stars. By paying a stipend, athletes may be more willing to stay an extra year to complete their education and have a marketable skill that doesn’t include throwing a ball.

The NCAA and colleges make billions from college football. It seems only fair that the athletes get a small piece of the pie. Players should be able to go out with friends or companions without having to worry about being able to pay for the experience. A player should be able to go to McDonald’s if they want to grab a quick bite to eat. It is easy for resentment to grow if the college is making money on an athlete’s hard work while the athlete in question can’t even buy a Big Mac.

Argument against Paying College Football Athletes:

With the recent issues at Ohio State and Miami, now, more than ever, it is important for the NCAA to stick to their guns and reinforce the rules that college athletes are not to be paid for their services. Life is about rules and regulations and the sooner kids in their late teens learn this, the better.

The argument that by giving athletes some money will deter them from taking more money is flimsy. If a town has a problem with murder, the town doesn’t say “well, murder is still illegal, but you can beat the crap out of someone and be fine.” No, you draw the line in the sand. If it gets crossed, you call down the thunder; you don’t redraw the line further back.

I would postulate that NCAA investigations would be tougher, more expensive, and more time consuming if athletes were paid than if not. Right now, a college athlete walking down the street with gold chains jumping into his new car is going peak some interest and lead to tough questions. If athletes start getting paid, then instead of stammering, they can say that they saved up their stipend money to buy the chains and car. Then it becomes a game of follow the money.

While not trying to hide behind the “they get an education” defense, education is not cheap. The average undergraduate tuition and fees for Ohio State University for 2011-2012 is $19,926 for Ohio residents and $34,974 for out of state residents (with the disclaimer that students should expect a 5 to 10 percent increase yearly). So, that means that for 4 year, and out of state student would pay around $150,739 (figuring a 5 percent annual increase).

That means that an 18 year old athlete would be given $150,000 worth of services for in exchange for his services on the football field. Seems like a fair deal when you consider he has a four year audition for the NFL while classmates graduating are faced with a tough job market and the specter of college loan payments.

I think the biggest argument against paying college athletes is the logistical nightmare it creates for the NCAA and the furor it will create from the schools. In order to be fair, all colleges have to pay all players the same amount of money. Meaning the redshirt freshman punter gets the same as the star quarterback. Not only that, but the third string running back at Baylor has to be paid the same as the starting wide receiver at USC. You need to sit each and every college down and figure out a price that works for all of them; otherwise it just becomes a lower level professional league with teams trying to outbid each other.

Now, if by some miracle, every college agreed upon a price to pay each college football athlete, and this was instituted, then a whole other fight would begin. College basketball, baseball, and hockey players would be demand equal treatment. It would then trickle down to sports like lacrosse, swimming, and any other sport you can think of. Plus, let’s not forget the inevitable Title IX lawsuit that would come with women’s sports demanding equal treatment as well. It would be an absolute disaster.

Conclusion:

Both sides have valid arguments. Personally, I feel that the NCAA will stand pat and come down hard on all offenders. They have a monopoly on amateur football and they know it. They are going to make rules that benefit the most number of people. Cutting checks to every student athlete does not benefit the most number of people. So, while this was a fun debate, it’s all moot since the NCAA isn’t going to reward offenders.

Seven Things You Need to Know for the 2011 College Football Season

The college football season is nearly upon us and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Since I was a Boy Scout in my younger days, I believe in the credo “Be Prepared”. As such, I have prepared a list of the top seven things you need to know for the upcoming season. Let the fun begin.

1) Rules are NOT meant to be broken

I don’t think I have ever seen an off-season like this one. It seems like every program is being investigated or sanctioned in one way or another. You have teams vacating wins, vacating championships, firing coaches, firing ADs, facing post-season bans, facing scholarship loses, and even one team (Miami) facing the “death penalty”.

As much as I hate to give ESPN credit for anything, that 30 for 30 on SMU showed the stark realities of what the “death penalty” means to a college football program. That said, the NCAA needs to take a hard line here. They need to show that rule breaking of any kind will not be tolerated and will be dealt with extreme prejudice.

The time to talk about stipends or payments for players can be dealt with later. The culture of corruption needs to be dealt with now.

2) Andrew Luck and then everyone else

I was listening to a radio interview with Todd McShay the other day. I don’t think there is any talent assessor that I respect more than McShay (Mel Kiper Jr. and Mel Kiper Jr’s hair are a close 2 and 3). He spent a good chuck of the interview extolling the virtues of Andrew Luck.

Anyone who watched college football last year knows the kid is the real deal. He’s durable, has a strong, accurate arm, and is a good leader. The Heisman Trophy is his to lose. There is no one else in college football right now who is at his talent level.

I do question how the loss of his coach and the increased pressure will effect his game. Did Harbaugh build a system for his quarterback or is Luck really that talented? Will the season long pressure of being “the man” weigh on him? Time will tell, but I think he’ll be just fine.

3) The Top 5: parity or pathetic

Let’s take a look at the Top 5 in the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll. In order, Oklahoma, Alabama, Oregon, LSU, and Florida State. I thought it was a joke at first. Then, after I thought about it, it sort of made sense. The reason I thought it was a joke is because there is no clear cut dominant team here.

Any water carrier for any of those five teams knows that they have flaws. I don’t trust the quarterbacks of any of those teams. The only team that is moderately balanced is Oklahoma. Alabama and LSU will rely on defense, Oregon will rely on offense, and FSU will rely on luck.

I think this is more of a statement that there is parity in college football now. I don’t think there will be two teams that make it though the season undefeated. It is going to come down to who is the best one loss team. And of course, that leads to my favorite subject: bashing the BCS.

4) Conference realignment rocks

I’ll be the first to admit I was a little skittish about conference realignment. Keeping track of all the moves and potential moves is dizzying at times. All you need to know is that the Pac 10 is now the Pac 12, the Big 10 has twelve teams, and the Big 12 has ten teams.

We finally get Pac 12 and Big 10 Championship Games. Finally we will get a definitive champion for two of the tougher conferences in college football. I was getting tired of having to watch Oklahoma or Texas beat up on whatever cream puff the Big 12 North put into the Big 12 Championship Game.

Next year, TCU will be moving to the Big East, which will give them a springboard to an automatic BCS Bowl without having to go undefeated. Though, on a talent level, it almost seems like a step down.

Also, the SEC seems to be looking to poach Big 12 and ACC teams to make some sort of super-conference. I love the suspense and intrigue. Also, makes for fun speculation.

5) Era of BCS busters TCU and Boise State not quite over

Now, I’m not saying that Boise State or TCU will run the table and end up in a BCS Bowl. Truth be told I don’t think either team will do it this year. However, both are still dangerous and need to be taken seriously. TCU has the easier schedule, but have to go to Boise State late in the year. Plus, TCU will be breaking in a new quarterback to replace Andy Dalton.

Boise State, on the other hand, goes on the road and opens up against an unrated Georgia team. That game and the aforementioned showdown with TCU will not be easy. Boise State is the better team with a lot of returning starters (including Kellen Moore), but TCU will still be dangerous. Don’t sleep on either of these teams.

6) We don’t have Christian Ponder to kick around anymore.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of seasons was everyone trying to sell me on Christian Ponder. You knew the season was close when you got the obligatory “This is his year!” article. Yet, every time I watched him play, I came away thinking everyone was crazy. He had all the skills, he just wasn’t that good.

So, now that Ponder is gone, the “experts” need a new quarterback to tout as being great but is actually just mediocre. This leads me back to the McShay interview I mentioned earlier. After playing cheerleader for Luck, he was asked who else was good, beside Luck. He named Matt Barkley and Landry Jones.

After I picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, I realized he was serious. I know for a fact both of these quarterbacks will be pushed on us as type tier quarterbacks. While Barkley has made improves from his freshman year, he still lacks the ability to lead his team. As for Jones, he throws bad interceptions at bad times and pads his stats against lousy teams.

Of course, there is also the possibility we will get a few weeks of hype on E.J. Manuel and Denard Robinson. Both are poor man versions of Tyrod Taylor (and that’s not a compliment).

Now to the most controversial portion, which are my top 5 quarterbacks (after Andrew Luck). In only the order I remember them in: Dayne Crist (Notre Dame), Kellen Moore (Boise State), Nick Foles (Arizona), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State), and Zack Collaros (Cincinnati). I’d take these five over Jones or Barkley any day.

7) Remember one thing: anything is possible

If college football has taught me anything, it’s that you need to expect the unexpected because anything can happen. My advice is to just sit back and enjoy. It’s going to be a great season.