College sports, at one time, was inter-mural competition between scholars from different schools. They had a body of rules established to try and guarantee fair play between colleges. Athletes could get a scholarship to the school because the school wanted to attract top achievers (who were otherwise already qualified to attend) to join their ranks and represent their school. In this environment, the exchange of scholarship money for outstanding athletic achievement is understandable… it is the same as getting a trumpet scholarship to a college- they are not paying you to play trumpet, they are giving you a free ride because you are a dedicated and accomplished trumpet player, and building a body of students with many talents and achievements is good for the school.
ENTER big dollar college sports:
Athletes get a scholarship to attend a school that they would otherwise be laughed out of academically. Colleges offer scholarships to attract the best athletes so that they can sell TV time, not so that these athletes will reflect well on the university (See my alma mater UGA’s legal trouble with recruits + athletes for the last 15 years or so). The rules are no longer really about ensuring fair rules of play, but mostly about preventing other big money interests (NFL scouts, talent agents, etc) from being able to compete in the marketplace for athletes, with a few rules about class attendance thrown in. Football players are a money-making commodity, and since they are not entitled to representation by any other interested party, nor allowed to even market themselves due to age restrictions and draft exclusions, they play for pennies on pennies on the dollar while they await NFL eligibility.
I love college football. I do not like abusive unions.
But when you look at Texas, with a revenue of over 100 million dollars last year in exchange for the league maximum 85 scholarships for D1 football, seems like the boys are being taken advantage of a bit, don’t you think? 85 scholarships even at 50k/yr