College football
IN-CLASS WRITING
Spring 2014
Select one of the following prompts, and write an analytical essay in which you express your ideas carefully, logically, and effectively. Provide examples from your reading, observation, and/or experience to support your ideas.
TOPIC A
The editorial entitled “College football: It’s a job” published in the Los Angeles Times on 3/28/14 says that “top-tier college football programs are run less as athletic programs than as businesses” (A14). College athletic programs often generate millions of dollars for their schools because of the student-athletes “who receive no compensation beyond scholarships” (A14). A labor administrator recently ruled that football players at Northwestern University are considered employees who have the right to form a union.
- Discuss whether student-athletes should be paid a salary by the university.
You may discuss ANY or ALL sports.
Course
Instructor
Date
College football athletes should be paid salaries by universities
Even though college athletes are not professionals and many are college sponsored, college athletics brings in a lot of money, but the students get fewer benefits. For college football and athletics as a whole, the level of sponsorships has not changed greatly over time. However, college athletics has evolved to a more lucrative industry that offers little monetary value for the athletes. The NCCA Board decision, for students to be paid recognizes the financial gains in the college athletics industry. Besides being paid, athletes would benefit from insurance schemes, and this allows them to get value for their efforts in sports and athletics.
The notion that students are employees of universities recognizes that student athletes have the chance to unionize. This also reflected the long held assumption of these athletes being merely student athletes...