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Let’s Not Pay College Athletes
March 28, 2016 / Wall Street Journal
Whenever March Madness rolls around, evidence of the obvious riches involved in the spectacle of the men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament—the lavish television coverage, the advertising and the big crowds—prompt cries that college athletes ought to be paid. The NCAA, coaches, schools and the TV networks all benefit handsomely from big-time college sports, say the critics, but the players who make it all possible are stiffed. A recent book called the players “indentured.”
I say not so fast. These athletes are already treated like campus royalty, enjoying far more perks, and richer ones, than their classmates could dream of.
For a start, take an online tour of the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes at the University of Oregon. Inside this edifice of sparkling glass and stainless steel are 40,000 square feet of spaces to facilitate college education. These include an auditorium with 114 leather seats, 35 tutor rooms, 25 academic and life-skills advising offices, a conference room, a computer lab, a graphics lab, library, study carrels, lounge with a wide flat-screen TV and plush sofas, full kitchenette and cafe, all outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment.
Though some university administrators tout the building as the Taj Mahal of academic centers, students have nicknamed it the jock box, because virtually all of its rooms, technology and staff are the exclusive reserve of varsity athletes. These privileged few—about 2.5% of the undergraduate population—can enjoy more than their own private academic rooms. The center furnishes each student athlete with a laptop encased, like the auditorium seats, in Maserati leather.
The main floor sports a screen resembling an airport’s flight-information board that informs individual athletes when and where their private tutoring appointments—1,700 a week—are scheduled. As if to punctuate the exclusiveness, the building, constructed with $41.7 million bestowed by Phil Knight, a University of Oregon alumnus and the founder and chairman of Nike, is surrounded by a moat.
The Jaqua Center may be extreme in extravagance but it is representative of similar centers at elite sports schools—check out Paul W. Bryant Hall at the University of Alabama; the Stephen M. Ross Academic Center at the University of Michigan; or the Dick and Peg Herman Family Student Life Complex at the University of Nebraska. They demonstrate why those who advocate that college athletes be paid are missing a vital point. On top of their $40,000-$50,000 scholarships and presumably debt-free education, these athletes enjoy luxury and academic services that ordinary students cannot access, much less afford.
Athletes in big-time “revenue” college sports—mainly football and men’s basketball—garner benefits that compare favorably with those of their professional counterparts. They can take advantage of the best coaching; the best medical care; the best trainers; the most modern weight and conditioning equipment, hydrotherapy pools, and devices to speed recovery from injury. They walk the campus in high-price athletic and leisure attire, often provided free by Nike, Under Armour, Adidas and the like; and they are fed specialized, nutritious diets.
Football players get top treatment. Almost all schools in the richest Power Five conferences boast an upscale football performance (training) center. At Oregon, the 145,000-square-foot football center (about half the size of the average Wal-Mart) houses three indoor practice fields, a two-story weight room, multiple whirlpools and trainers’ tables, lockers the size of a crypt, several plush lounges with flat-screen TVs and gaming stations, a cafeteria, conference and classrooms, a pool table and barber shop. The Anderson Training Center at the University of Tennessee also spans 145,000 square feet, and includes an indoor practice field, multilevel weight and cardio area, nutrition bar, a 7,000-square-foot locker room (well-ventilated) with connections for mobile devices at each locker, five hydrotherapy pools, a physician clinic, X-ray room, pharmacy, amphitheater, lounge with videogame consoles and dining hall.
The Paul W. Bryant Hall at the University of Alabama offers all these features plus arcade games and a climate-controlled room that fumigates players’ shoes.
It may be difficult to calculate the dollar value of all these facilities and services, but it is likely that membership in many posh country clubs costs less. Yes, surveys show that most big-time athletes devote 40-60 hours a week practicing, playing and traveling for their sport, and some do help earn millions for their school. College athletes do deserve to be compensated when their images are used for commercial purposes.
But it is a little hard to accept claims about athletes being exploited when they live so opulently. And once a university constructs an expensive Jaqua Center or lavish football training center, its rivals feel pressure to keep pace or outdo. The resulting perks are the costliest and most outlandish feature of the college sports “arms race,” and athletes are the beneficiaries. So perhaps the next best thing to being a millionaire is living like one—all while getting a free college education.
Mr. Chudacoff is a history professor at Brown University and the author of “Changing the Playbook: How Power, Profit, and Politics Transformed College Sports” (University of Illinois Press, 2015).
March 28, 2016 / Wall Street Journal
Whenever March Madness rolls around, evidence of the obvious riches involved in the spectacle of the men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament—the lavish television coverage, the advertising and the big crowds—prompt cries that college athletes ought to be paid. The NCAA, coaches, schools and the TV networks all benefit handsomely from big-time college sports, say the critics, but the players who make it all possible are stiffed. A recent book called the players “indentured.”
I say not so fast. These athletes are already treated like campus royalty, enjoying far more perks, and richer ones, than their classmates could dream of.
For a start, take an online tour of the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes at the University of Oregon. Inside this edifice of sparkling glass and stainless steel are 40,000 square feet of spaces to facilitate college education. These include an auditorium with 114 leather seats, 35 tutor rooms, 25 academic and life-skills advising offices, a conference room, a computer lab, a graphics lab, library, study carrels, lounge with a wide flat-screen TV and plush sofas, full kitchenette and cafe, all outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment.
Though some university administrators tout the building as the Taj Mahal of academic centers, students have nicknamed it the jock box, because virtually all of its rooms, technology and staff are the exclusive reserve of varsity athletes. These privileged few—about 2.5% of the undergraduate population—can enjoy more than their own private academic rooms. The center furnishes each student athlete with a laptop encased, like the auditorium seats, in Maserati leather.
The main floor sports a screen resembling an airport’s flight-information board that informs individual athletes when and where their private tutoring appointments—1,700 a week—are scheduled. As if to punctuate the exclusiveness, the building, constructed with $41.7 million bestowed by Phil Knight, a University of Oregon alumnus and the founder and chairman of Nike, is surrounded by a moat.
The Jaqua Center may be extreme in extravagance but it is representative of similar centers at elite sports schools—check out Paul W. Bryant Hall at the University of Alabama; the Stephen M. Ross Academic Center at the University of Michigan; or the Dick and Peg Herman Family Student Life Complex at the University of Nebraska. They demonstrate why those who advocate that college athletes be paid are missing a vital point. On top of their $40,000-$50,000 scholarships and presumably debt-free education, these athletes enjoy luxury and academic services that ordinary students cannot access, much less afford.
Athletes in big-time “revenue” college sports—mainly football and men’s basketball—garner benefits that compare favorably with those of their professional counterparts. They can take advantage of the best coaching; the best medical care; the best trainers; the most modern weight and conditioning equipment, hydrotherapy pools, and devices to speed recovery from injury. They walk the campus in high-price athletic and leisure attire, often provided free by Nike, Under Armour, Adidas and the like; and they are fed specialized, nutritious diets.
Football players get top treatment. Almost all schools in the richest Power Five conferences boast an upscale football performance (training) center. At Oregon, the 145,000-square-foot football center (about half the size of the average Wal-Mart) houses three indoor practice fields, a two-story weight room, multiple whirlpools and trainers’ tables, lockers the size of a crypt, several plush lounges with flat-screen TVs and gaming stations, a cafeteria, conference and classrooms, a pool table and barber shop. The Anderson Training Center at the University of Tennessee also spans 145,000 square feet, and includes an indoor practice field, multilevel weight and cardio area, nutrition bar, a 7,000-square-foot locker room (well-ventilated) with connections for mobile devices at each locker, five hydrotherapy pools, a physician clinic, X-ray room, pharmacy, amphitheater, lounge with videogame consoles and dining hall.
The Paul W. Bryant Hall at the University of Alabama offers all these features plus arcade games and a climate-controlled room that fumigates players’ shoes.
It may be difficult to calculate the dollar value of all these facilities and services, but it is likely that membership in many posh country clubs costs less. Yes, surveys show that most big-time athletes devote 40-60 hours a week practicing, playing and traveling for their sport, and some do help earn millions for their school. College athletes do deserve to be compensated when their images are used for commercial purposes.
But it is a little hard to accept claims about athletes being exploited when they live so opulently. And once a university constructs an expensive Jaqua Center or lavish football training center, its rivals feel pressure to keep pace or outdo. The resulting perks are the costliest and most outlandish feature of the college sports “arms race,” and athletes are the beneficiaries. So perhaps the next best thing to being a millionaire is living like one—all while getting a free college education.
Mr. Chudacoff is a history professor at Brown University and the author of “Changing the Playbook: How Power, Profit, and Politics Transformed College Sports” (University of Illinois Press, 2015).
I'm just a little sensitive to that subject with a kid in college where a lot of students come from a lot of money. Often D1 athletes in marquee sports come from the opposite end of the spectrum, and I think it affects some kids ability to feel comfortable in those environments and assimilate as students.
