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Athletics News
Mar. 10, 1997 College Athletes Already Are Fairly Compensated
By Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C. On the SportsTalk page of the Feb. 16 Chicago Tribune the question was posed: "Should college athletes be paid for helping to generate millions of dollars of revenue for universities?" Despite the loaded nature of the question (or, perhaps, because of it), I would like to make a couple of points that often are overlooked when discussing this issue. In brief, proponents of the play-for-pay concept believe that since major college athletic programs produce large sums of money through television rights fees, bowl games, ticket sales and other means, student-athletes deserve more than just a grant-in-aid for their efforts. This perspective would have us believe the financial arrangement between universities and student-athletes is unfairly balanced in favor of the institution. A university realizes millions in revenue and all the athlete gets is a measly scholarship - or so the argument goes. What gets lost in this equation is that those scholarships add up. At Notre Dame, for example, grants-in-aid to student-athletes are worth about $5 million annually. Add to that the millions spent on travel, housing, equipment, health care and other costs and pretty soon, in the words of Everett Dirksen, you're talking real money. So yes, while athletics does generate millions of dollars in revenue for universities, there also are millions of dollars in expenses, most of which directly or indirectly assist our student-athletes. It's a two-way street. Is more money generated than distributed? Every university is different. We are fortunate at Notre Dame to have one of the few athletic programs that generates more than it spends. The athletic departments of other - in fact, most other - universities operate in the red. That isn't a boast, it's just reality. Current dollars and cents, however, are just a part of the pay-for-play issue. Consider also the fact that the free education a scholarship student-athlete acquires typically generates an extra $500,000 or more in that person's future. According to the Bureau of Census, the lifetime earnings of college graduates average at least that much more than earnings of those with no college background. And as for the oft-heard refrain that student-athletes need some "pizza money," answers are available that do not include direct payment for performance. The recent NCAA legislation allowing student-athletes to work year-round is a step in that direction. In addition, Pell Grants are available to the truly needy, and general student loans are another alternative. Of course, many more than just financial considerations are involved in the college experience. While it often is ignored, the knowledge student-athletes gain in our classrooms is something that never will depreciate. An education is priceless, and student-athletes at American colleges and universities reap the benefits of the finest higher education system in the world. Do colleges and universities have responsibilities in this regard? Certainly we do. We owe our student-athletes an education in real and substantive fields of study, not fabricated "jock curricula," and we owe it to them to do everything in our power to enable them to leave our institutions with degrees to show for their study. If we do that, then I believe we've upheld our part of the bargain. If you are inclined to dismiss the preceding as the esoteric ramblings of an academic, then read the words of Paul Daugherty, a columnist for the Cincinnati Inquirer, who recently wrote: "What's awful about the persistent whine for (pay-for-play) money is, it's saying a college education is worthless. It's suggesting that the value of learning can only be measured by the almighty buck." So, in the end, the pay-for-play issue comes to this: Student-athletes entertain us with their special skills and, in compensation, receive, 1) All expenses paid competition in the sports they love; 2) Educations that are worth tens of thousands of real dollars with the promise of hundreds of thousands more in future earnings; and 3) the lifetime benefits of wisdom and character that come with being educated men and women. That's a fair deal. Father Beauchamp is Notre Dame's executive vice president and chair of the university's Faculty Board on Athletics. |
    
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