NCAA's Billion Dollar Question

Recently there was an article published in the Los Angeles Times by reporter Chris Dufresne which he titled “College sports' billion-dollar issue: Who pays freight on pay-to-play?”. In this article Dufresne addresses many issues concerning the payment of college athletes that the NCAA has come to face recently. Some of these complications include the unionization of Northwestern football players, Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit, and the possible establishment of a salary for upper level football players. Dufresne explains how these problems will affect not only the big colleges but the smaller ones as well and seems to take a stand against paying collegiate athletes a salary. According to the article, the original amount mentioned to be paid out was “$2,000 per athlete, regardless of the school” but with the amount of money being funneled into the athletic programs of schools in the power conferences, these big schools are able to up the ante which weakens the athletic programs of smaller schools. While many people believe these players deserve to be paid for the time they dedicate to their sport, people also fail to see the difficulties this would bring about which is what Dufresne tries to point out. Though the article states that most colleges are willing to award student-athletes with truly full scholarships, the article also shows that it does not seem to be enough for the players when the NCAA pockets billions and pays coaches millions.

Although Chris Dufresne makes many valid points throughout his article, I maintain my position and believe the NCAA should be paying college athletes.  Although I do not agree with Dufresne’s opinion he does voice it very well through his references to people of authority from various fields throughout the NCAA. This article aims to expose the predicaments that would occur by taking the point of view of the little guy, the staff and coaches from the schools that are not part of the conferences that bring in major money. I particularly appreciate how Dufresne explains that with the amount of money that the some universities bring in through big TV deals, it is nearly impossible for lower division programs to compete. Throughout the article Chris expresses his message to the readers through a multitude of ways so his audience is able to grasp it more easily. Though he is able to shed light on many difficulties that may be faced if college athletes are to be paid, he does not answer how it can be done fairly.