Northwestern’s effort to unionize college football players will cause major changes to college football should it succeed. Unionizing will result in the scholarship players becoming employees and will cause financial issues to arise for the NCAA and colleges associated with it.
Many of the changes to college football will stem from the financial issues associated with the new employee status of the players. With the hundreds of football players in the NCAA, there will be a lot of extra money being spent if they become employees; however, it is still unclear how these financial issues will impact college football for the NCAA.
If student-athletes become employees, then the schools will have to pay extra expenses for them. These schools that are going to maintain Division I football teams are going to have to pay 20% in excess of the student’s tuition because of health care, pensions, disability insurance, and unemployment insurance. This is going to lead to a decrease in the amount of money that can be spent to maintain football teams across all divisions in the NCAA.
For the student-athletes, the status change from player to employee will also have its own effects. Colleges can offer its own financial backing plan for each athlete and players can choose which plan is best for them. As a result of that, colleges that have more of a financial backbone can pay for better players than those that do not.
“If you're USC or even Rice, you could say to a recruit, 'I know you're talking to these other two schools, but if you come here we'll pay your medical insurance for five years, plus you can collectively bargain for other things you want, plus if you graduate early you'll get extra dough in a trust fund, and perhaps you can capitalize off marketing value if you become our star quarterback,'” SMU athletic director, Rick Hart, said in a 2014 CbsSports.com article.
Taxes are also another problem that has to be considered. An athlete receives a scholarship to play for a team and study at school as a student. If they are going be employees of the school, the scholarship and wages that they will receive is taxable by the IRS. It would make it increasingly difficult for college football players to pay for and attend college because of the taxes they will be responsible for on both accounts.
"The fact that the players were not considered employees in the past is essentially the reason why their scholarship or parts of it weren't taxed before,” Garret Higgins, a partner of the Exempt Organization Tax and Advisory Services group, said in an ESPN article. ”The IRS may be able to make the argument that the scholarship is really payment for services, and therefore compensation, and is now taxable to the athlete.”
Financial issues are only part of the reason as to why the changes are coming to college football in the NCAA, but its impact is going to be felt immediately. Smaller universities may not be able to pay as much as larger ones, widening the skill difference across Division 1 athletics. Some student-athletes may find it harder to attend college because of the taxes they are required to pay. If this lawsuit passes, the NCAA will find their profits cut by a large margin if they want to continue college athletics.
Written by Allan Lee and Sean Santiago
Showing posts with label College football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College football. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
What if college athletes get paid?
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| Northwestern University/Michael Barera-Wikimedia.commons |
If the football players get a salary and added benefits, there will be cutbacks in the resources in colleges that are not on the top of the NCAA. Title IX will play a role in this because all students will need to receive equal benefits from the unionization.
“How will schools pay for pay and benefits to scholarship student-athletes, Title IX considerations, workers’ compensation insurance and increased taxes due to loss of tax-exempt status,” Glenn Wong, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, said in a 2014 NYTimes.com article. “For 23 schools in Division I, it will be easy.”
All other Division I schools will have trouble financing pay for their athletes. These schools will have to reduce the coaches’ and administrators’ salaries, and remove programs for other students just to pay the players.
The NCAA spends less than ten percent of its resources on both Division II and III colleges, but this will fall lower if student-athletes get paid. Even if Division II or III athletes don’t get paid, budgets could still be decreased. If Division I athletes receive a salary, then more of the NCAA’s resources must be spent to compensate for everyone’s salary.
“If that changed, our budgets would change,” Kris Diaz, the athletic director at Division III Baldwin Wallace, said in a 2014 dispatch.com article.
The best of the best athletes will receive higher salaries and more benefits, including better medical care for injuries and compensation. These added perks will only go to scholarship players not the walk-on players.
“There is no question but that the presence of a union would add tension in terms of creating an ‘us' versus ‘them' feeling between the players it would represent and those it would not," Fox News quoted Northwestern’s 21 page document in a 2014 article.
Contributed by: Nicholas Bohan and Velid Mulic
Monday, June 4, 2012
Should college football be banned?
Many people in the United States love to watch college football in their free time. The thrill of the marching bands, cheerleaders, and best of all the brute force of the dedicated athletes are factors in why the fans love the sport. College football has been around for more than 100 years and since the late 1900's the players have grown stronger and faster. The intensity of the game has increased and the safety of the players is a concern we can't ignore.
A big reason to ban college football is because of the constant blows to the head. Examples of players that go through the repetitive brutal hits are linemen and running backs. The short term affects of these rapid hits are concussion, memory loss and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, but the long term affects are still unknown. The long term damages can be severe and there is no way to find out until after the player's death. CTE is so severe that Malcolm Gladwell said in an Intelligence Squared debate at New York University, “I’ve seen pictures of the brain scans of people with CTE and it looks like someone drove a truck across their brain.”
While the student-athletes are at risk of getting injured every day during practice, their education is being ignored. Football requires dedication so the students are spending the majority of their time at practice or at the gym for improvement. The student-athletes' education was primarily their main focus going into college, but once they engage in the sport they sacrifice the time they could have used learning for a football scholarship.
College football is an exciting sport, but changes are a necessity. The games are more intense than ever and players are violently tackling each other. Safety of the players is a problem and banning it is a solution. There are other alternatives such as giving the student-athletes a reasonable salary or better schedules to reduce play time, but the sport will still be unsafe for the young athletes.
A big reason to ban college football is because of the constant blows to the head. Examples of players that go through the repetitive brutal hits are linemen and running backs. The short term affects of these rapid hits are concussion, memory loss and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, but the long term affects are still unknown. The long term damages can be severe and there is no way to find out until after the player's death. CTE is so severe that Malcolm Gladwell said in an Intelligence Squared debate at New York University, “I’ve seen pictures of the brain scans of people with CTE and it looks like someone drove a truck across their brain.”
While the student-athletes are at risk of getting injured every day during practice, their education is being ignored. Football requires dedication so the students are spending the majority of their time at practice or at the gym for improvement. The student-athletes' education was primarily their main focus going into college, but once they engage in the sport they sacrifice the time they could have used learning for a football scholarship.
College football is an exciting sport, but changes are a necessity. The games are more intense than ever and players are violently tackling each other. Safety of the players is a problem and banning it is a solution. There are other alternatives such as giving the student-athletes a reasonable salary or better schedules to reduce play time, but the sport will still be unsafe for the young athletes.
Should college football be banned?
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| Santa Monica College VS. Cerritos College - flickr.com-Parker Michael Knight |
College football is just a distraction that adds on to student's college life. It has no academic purpose and that's a reason why people want it to be banned. Student athletes are spending a lot of their time in college playing football instead of studying. Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger argued for banning college footbal during the Intelligence Squared debate, he said, "As a school’s football team wins more games, grades drop and drinking rises among male students."
Another issue with college football is money. During the Intelligence Squared debate Bissinger said, "In the Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision, schools spend an average of $13,471 per student. When you hone in specifically on athletes, that number jumps to $91,053. Coaches, for their part, receive an average salary of $1.47 million a year, far more than college presidents and 500 percent more than coaches earned in the mid ‘80s." A lot of college students are paying these extra fees that they are not going to use during the school year. A lot of the money is being spent on football instead of other equipment in school that everyone can use.
Football is dangerous for players. Over the course of one football season, a college football player will take about 1,000 hits to the head. Each hit damages the brain. This leads to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that causes memory loss, confusion, and depression. CTE can only be diagnosed when the person has a autopsy, so there is no way to find out if the person has CTE until the person dies. One example would be University of Pennsylvania's offensive lineman, Owen Thomas, a 21-year-old junior. He committed suicide by hanging himself in his apartment on April of 2010. After his death he was diagnosed with CTE.
Banning college football might not be a good idea, but what other solutions can there be? By banning college football, colleges and universities can save a lot of money. The money can go towards education instead of football. If students really want to play football they should join programs that pay them, instead of playing for free and at the same time worrying about school work.
Football has no place on a college campus
Football does not belong in college. It hurts players physically, and is highly detrimental to their studies. Many college players suffer traumatic injuries that ruin their lives. Others fail to compete in professional level sports and enter the world deprived of any skills gained from college.
Despite objections from proponents of college football, it is quite obvious that most players do not learn much from their classes. The high level of stress from their commitment to the team and the hours of play and training required for such an intense sport simply do not leave much room for academics.
Tim Green, former NFL player and lawyer, said in an Intelligence Squared debate that college football players are graduating at a higher rate than other college students, but as recent studies by the University of North Carolina reveal, college players are actually graduating at a lesser rate than non-athlete male full-time students. Evidently, football takes away from students' academics.
Aside from the harm done to the players’ studies, there is the undeniable physical pain players suffer. Repeated contact injuries and concussions during games cause irreversible damage to players. An increasing number of players suffer from CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), a terrible brain disease that leads to early Alzheimer’s disease, loss of memory, and dementia.
Because CTE can only be diagnosed with a postmortem autopsy, the statistics for its occurrence are rare. But it is hard to believe events like the suicide of University of Pennsylvania football player Owen Thomas were not influenced by CTE. The 21-year old, who never showed signs of depression, hanged himself in April 2010. Brain tests showed definite signs of CTE, making him the youngest player to be diagnosed with the condition. Numerous NFL players have been diagnosed with CTE also.
Football may produce money for colleges, but it hurts athletes far too much to justify its benefits. After all, colleges are not-for-profit organizations created to educate students, not recruiting centers for the NFL that exploit students by overuse and compensation of little value.
Despite objections from proponents of college football, it is quite obvious that most players do not learn much from their classes. The high level of stress from their commitment to the team and the hours of play and training required for such an intense sport simply do not leave much room for academics.
Tim Green, former NFL player and lawyer, said in an Intelligence Squared debate that college football players are graduating at a higher rate than other college students, but as recent studies by the University of North Carolina reveal, college players are actually graduating at a lesser rate than non-athlete male full-time students. Evidently, football takes away from students' academics.
Aside from the harm done to the players’ studies, there is the undeniable physical pain players suffer. Repeated contact injuries and concussions during games cause irreversible damage to players. An increasing number of players suffer from CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), a terrible brain disease that leads to early Alzheimer’s disease, loss of memory, and dementia.
Because CTE can only be diagnosed with a postmortem autopsy, the statistics for its occurrence are rare. But it is hard to believe events like the suicide of University of Pennsylvania football player Owen Thomas were not influenced by CTE. The 21-year old, who never showed signs of depression, hanged himself in April 2010. Brain tests showed definite signs of CTE, making him the youngest player to be diagnosed with the condition. Numerous NFL players have been diagnosed with CTE also.
Football may produce money for colleges, but it hurts athletes far too much to justify its benefits. After all, colleges are not-for-profit organizations created to educate students, not recruiting centers for the NFL that exploit students by overuse and compensation of little value.
Ban college football
Whether or not college football should be banned is a very controversial topic. Although college football does provide universities with great revenue and allows many companies to advertise, it destroys the players. Everyone knows that football is one of the most brutal and harmful sports. In an eight year period, study by sagepub.com, it was discovered that a total of 175 head and neck injuries were found in 100 players not to mention all the abnormalities found amongst freshmen on the team. These football players should dedicate the time they spend playing to studying and maybe enjoy the sport during their free-time.
The reason colleges encourage students to play sports is because it generates a huge amount of profit. Not only do universities receive money from the sale of tickets, but they also get it from advertisements and merchandise. Companies, such as Dish Network, Ford, Coca-Cola, etc, pay thousands of dollars to colleges as endorsements. The University of Tennessee’s football team receives 750,000 dollars from corporate sponsors. Most of the top universities pay their coaches about one million dollars, but the people who are performing out there cannot get paid?
Football is renowned for having injuries to the head. Many football players suffer from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE, which is a degenerative disease of the brain. It causes the person who is suffering to lose memory, concentration, and attention. CTE is a result of many traumas to the head. Furthermore, hints of brain damage or injuries to the head can only be found our after death.
In football, players receive beatings to the head and even with helmets they get concussions. Mike Borich, former college wide receiver and later football coach for the Chicago Bears, died of a drug overdose at the age of 42. After his death an autopsy was performed and it was found that he suffered from CTE. Borich was the first college wide receiver to ever be diagnosed with CTE.
With college football there is a slight chance that the player might get into the NFL, but that is going to require sacrifices. They may not receive a good education, therefore if they do not get drafted, there is no other option. Furthermore, with college football there is a huge probability that the player may get a head injury. Knowing that the head is one of the most crucial parts to a person, a blow to it may cause problems throughout the body. Now the only thing that is left to do is ban college football.
The reason colleges encourage students to play sports is because it generates a huge amount of profit. Not only do universities receive money from the sale of tickets, but they also get it from advertisements and merchandise. Companies, such as Dish Network, Ford, Coca-Cola, etc, pay thousands of dollars to colleges as endorsements. The University of Tennessee’s football team receives 750,000 dollars from corporate sponsors. Most of the top universities pay their coaches about one million dollars, but the people who are performing out there cannot get paid?
Football is renowned for having injuries to the head. Many football players suffer from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE, which is a degenerative disease of the brain. It causes the person who is suffering to lose memory, concentration, and attention. CTE is a result of many traumas to the head. Furthermore, hints of brain damage or injuries to the head can only be found our after death.
In football, players receive beatings to the head and even with helmets they get concussions. Mike Borich, former college wide receiver and later football coach for the Chicago Bears, died of a drug overdose at the age of 42. After his death an autopsy was performed and it was found that he suffered from CTE. Borich was the first college wide receiver to ever be diagnosed with CTE.
With college football there is a slight chance that the player might get into the NFL, but that is going to require sacrifices. They may not receive a good education, therefore if they do not get drafted, there is no other option. Furthermore, with college football there is a huge probability that the player may get a head injury. Knowing that the head is one of the most crucial parts to a person, a blow to it may cause problems throughout the body. Now the only thing that is left to do is ban college football.
Banning college football or burning money?
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| College Football game- flickr.com- Parker Michael Knight |
College football’s biggest flaw is the fact that kids seem to not have enough time to do work if they have football practice. In a 2004 report by the NCAA, graduation rate was looked at according to race, athletes or non-athletes. The results showed that athletes graduated at a 65% rate and the non-athletes graduated at a 63% rate. This shows that whether or not the athletes study, they do well enough in school to get an education and graduate.
Another major problem is money distribution. People feel as if college football takes most of the college’s earned money and spends it on equipment and the salaries of the coaches. This can be argued by saying that the football team makes all the big income. Other sports like swimming and baseball cannot generate as much money as football can. "According to financial filings made to the Department of Education, all of Maryland’s non-football-or-basketball athletic programs operated at a combined loss of $7.3 million last year," said Chris Smith in a Forbes article. Football is in high demand and it even brings in money to local businesses. If Ohio State plays Louisiana State University in an away game, then all the Ohio State students will travel to Louisiana. This will bring up money to local hotels and diners.
Division one head coaches have been averaged to get paid $1.47 million dollars, almost 500 percent more than a college football coach in the 1980’s were paid. This shows that the coach is obviously being overpaid, but it’s for a better reason. The coach has to deal with a lot of pressure from the school. Without the coach and his football team, once again, the revenue will not be there.
Without college football, schools would not be able to have large scale building projects. The thought of removing college football is absurd, but reform may be the answer. "The argument to ban college football seems rash and tends to understate just how valuable a successful college football program can be to university initiatives," said Smith.
College football down the drain?
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| College Football Game / Fabien Martinez / Flickr |
On May 8th this question was debated. Buzz Bissinger and Malcom Gladwell supported the motion of banning college football while Tim Green and Jason Whitlock defended college football.
And yes, college football should be banned. Football is a very dangerous sport and players constantly take hard hits to the head, which has a bad impact on them after they retire. Many players have had cases of dementia at very young ages. Gladwell and Bissinger also argue that it is morally wrong. Football encourages young men to hit each other very hard. A study conducted in 2000 showed, that of 1090 former NFL players, 60 percent had at at least one concussion in their career. The brutality in the NFL is no different than in college.
Bissinger argues that sports are distracting students from their education and are taking away their possible intellectual ideas. He called it, “the distracted university,” in his argument. Not only are players concentrated on football, but so are thousands of college fans.
“A great country changes,” Bissinger said in the debate. College football has had many bad effects on players and colleges in general. It is time for a change. Continuing to play college football with rule changes to prevent injuries is not enough. The injury rate will still be high. Why don’t we just get rid of the whole thing?
Banning college football
College football has become a major part of college campus life. For some colleges it is the major focus, even more than actual education. That is a problem. It is a distraction for the players, where only a small percentage of them actually get to play professional football, colleges spend insane amounts of money on the football program, and finally it causes the unpaid players to get hurt. Banning college football might be the only solution.
College football is a major distraction for the players themselves, but also the students that don’t even play football. Journalist Buzz Bissinger said during an Intelligence Squared debate, “It sucks all the air out of the room.” The player themselves spend nearly all their time on playing, not only during the season but also in the off-season to train, instead of doing what they really should at a college; learn.
College football costs a lot of money. The money goes to coaches, stadiums, gear, and so on. Urban Meyer, head coach for The Ohio State University, earned $24 million over six seasons. The University of Maryland spent $50.8 million to modernize their stadium. "These
schools travel enormous distances to play games. So that means you're missing
class, you're spending money," Bissinger said to Gothamist.com. This is a college. Colleges are for education, so shouldn’t all these millions be spent on better education than sports programs?
Playing football causes major brain injuries. Professional football players know the risks, and get compensated for it by earning a lot of money. College football players get a scholarship to the school, but does this really make up for the brain injury they may suffer? “I have no problem whatsoever with grown men choosing to participate in a potentially lethal profession. But college is a different matter,” journalist Malcolm Gladwell said to Sportsillustrated.com.
Banning it does seem like a very drastic solution, but maybe the only one. Make a minor league paid by the NFL instead of having players play at college. That way it won’t be a distraction for college students, while football players playing in the minor league will be able to focus their full attention on playing, instead of also trying to pass their classes. Also the focus of colleges and universities, and thereby money, will turn back to education.
College football is a major distraction for the players themselves, but also the students that don’t even play football. Journalist Buzz Bissinger said during an Intelligence Squared debate, “It sucks all the air out of the room.” The player themselves spend nearly all their time on playing, not only during the season but also in the off-season to train, instead of doing what they really should at a college; learn.
Playing football causes major brain injuries. Professional football players know the risks, and get compensated for it by earning a lot of money. College football players get a scholarship to the school, but does this really make up for the brain injury they may suffer? “I have no problem whatsoever with grown men choosing to participate in a potentially lethal profession. But college is a different matter,” journalist Malcolm Gladwell said to Sportsillustrated.com.
Banning it does seem like a very drastic solution, but maybe the only one. Make a minor league paid by the NFL instead of having players play at college. That way it won’t be a distraction for college students, while football players playing in the minor league will be able to focus their full attention on playing, instead of also trying to pass their classes. Also the focus of colleges and universities, and thereby money, will turn back to education.
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