Issues Paper 1

Issues Paper: Exploitation of Student Athletes

Lisset Vega

Higher Education Administration and Leadership Graduate Program

HEAL 227 - Fall 2023

California State University, Fresno

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National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the organization that governs

collegiate sports. Currently they provide the ethical framework for members in the NCAA to

provide, what currently is, the 16 principles for conduct of intercollegiate sports (n.d.). They

were founded in 1910 following directives from President T. Roosevelt to protect student athletes

from participating in harmful and violent practices (Sanderson & Siegfield, 2015). Establishing

the organization for collegiate sports brought attention to the ethical practices institutions,

coaches, and students could engage in. After World War II, the NCAA established the “Sanity

Code” which limited the compensations to players and set limits on recruitment costs. According

to their website, the “Sanity Code” were principles created in detail to explain how they would

cover “financial aid, recruitment, and academic standards and were intended to ensure

amateurism in college sports (2023).” In 1953, the organization began utilizing and

implementing the use of the term “student athlete” to not qualify them as athletes or players

eligible for monetary compensation (McCormick & McCormick, 2006). As time progressed,

there were divisions created to ensure institutions participated in the level of competition they

chose: Division I, II, and III. In 1973, division I and II members of the NCAA were granted the

opportunity to provide financial aid grants to their student athletes (Sanderson & Siegfield,

2015). As we dive deeper into the ethical issue of compensating student athletes, please note the

NCAA is granted the power to dictate compensation and hours of work.

Financial Health of Collegiate Sports

According to Sanderson and Siegfield (2015) there are four elements that contribute to

the financial health of athletic departments; In order for their departments to continue growing,
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they depend on the television broadcast rights for live programming, game attendance, alumni

connection, and cartel agreements with universities to stage names.

The demand for broadcasting rights brings in more attention to the university. Television

is a powerful tool in the sports world as it brings attention to the game and displays the capacity

a team can play at. With broadcasting, universities are able to enhance their image by providing

exposure and simultaneously attracting prospective players to see their future there and beyond

(Dixon et. al, 2003). Prospective players are able to track the progress of universities’ athletes

and imagine how they could see their future play out especially since collegiate sports can

sometimes offer a path to the professional leagues. Broadcasting also provided a glance at the

attendance of the games amplifying the glory players are receiving from the public. In games you

can identify various groups attending such as students, alumni, community members, and

television or media broadcasting expands the audience to those at home.

Student Athletes

“A person who provides services to another on a contractual basis in return for a benefit

is either an employee or independent contractor” (Wood, 2008). Through this definition, student

athletes would classify as employees since they are providing their athletic skills and time to

assist with benefitting the university they play for. Based on the research, student athletes have

been heavily impacted by the clauses and stipulations put on them in order to participate in the

sports they engage in.

As previously stated, the NCAA is the governing organization overseeing its members

with dictating how collegiate sports run. They have policies and ethics listed to set the precedent

collegiate sports must abide by to ensure all constituents have the same terms to engage in. It is

important to note the NCAA defines the relationships between universities and student athletes.
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Once the NCAA was able to offer grants-in-aid (GIA) as a form of compensation for student

athletes for Division I and II members, there was a benefit provided to participants. The

organization is also in control of setting student athlete’s wages and hours. This however has

caused debate over the exploitation of student athletes as not everyone gets compensated

accordingly as universities hold different statuses based on their standing. This has also brought

attention to validate whether the GIA is sufficient to provide compensation to student athletes for

their commitment to their sports. Student athletes are expected to practice, travel, pass their

classes, and remain in good standing with the university academically and athletically in order to

continue playing. Since they are also classified as students, the clauses that apply to employees

such as workers compensation or labor laws don’t apply to them.

When recruiting student athletes to play for universities, they are not only being

examined for their own capabilities to play the game but are considered on the compatibility they

will offer the team to obtain success. According to Sanderson and Siegfried (2015), the

prospective players are analyzed to fall under the “player skill unit” where they can see them

fulfill a certain role on the team and highlight their skill to add onto the entertainment value they

can bring. There is the underlying assumption that the university can continue investing in their

current players to get them to expand on their skills and enhance their capabilities but this does

not often happen due to the costs they may accrue. Why would they continue investing in their

current players that will be set to graduate when they could harbor and foster the skill new

players bring to the team compensating them with GIAs.

Being a part of a team means you are a part of a community where you must be on

similar or the same routine as everyone else to increase the sense of cohesiveness with one

another. According to the NCAA, student athletes are limited to practice for 20 hours a week, but
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this does not limit the time responsibility they must commit to their teams. “Voluntary athletic

related activity in which a student-athlete participates and which is not required or supervised by

coaches is also not counted against the totals (Sanderson and Siegfired, 2015).” This stipulation

means student athletes' time commitment is not accounted for in the 20 hours of practice outlined

by the organization. This provides an unfair advantage to the universities and campus culture to

add additional time players must complete in order to remain on good terms with their

institution. As mentioned, there has been a debate of how GIA as payment are not equal since the

monetary amount student athletes are receiving are set by the institution and vary through their

prestige, size, and location. They also all hold different values they prioritize for their students

making it difficult to ensure all members are abiding by the time limit.

Student athletes are expected to devote their time to practices and games in order to

validate their presence at the university and if they are in division I or II institutions, take

advantage of their GIA. According to Karcher (2017) the scholarships can be viewed as contracts

since it states how they will be compensated throughout the duration of their commitment to the

team. This limits them to find additional opportunities to fund their ways of living or explore

opportunities beyond their contracts. Depending on the voluntary athletic related activities,

student athletes may not be able to obtain employment to fund their own expenses or interests as

they must prioritize their commitment to the games and continue representing their university.

Although it is not a formal contract stating students cannot transfer schools if they are unhappy

with their academic programs without the risk of losing their scholarships to obtain a degree and

play. Their scholarships, since they are given by the universities, cannot be transferred to other

institutions in the same package as they do not dictate the scholarships they can provide the

student athlete, limiting their capacity of advocating for themselves as students.

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Recommendations

I recognize it is impossible to change a culture that has been established since 1910 and is

constantly changing given news, state legislatures, and discoveries of how humans interact with

one another. The importance is focused on the abilities student athletes can bring to the

university instead of focusing on the impact the responsibilities student athletes complete can be

considered as exploitation.

Although the NCAA has begun to recognize student athletes are able to monetize on their

likeness as individuals through the “Name, Image, and Likeliness Policy” they are far from

compensating student athletes accordingly (2021). This policy provides student athletes the

opportunity to gain money for their individualism in accordance with their state. The state of

California currently has Assembly Bill 252: The College Athlete Protection Act, to ensure

student athletes receive compensation beyond the GIA and are able to complete their degree

despite their ability to complete their athletic obligations. This bill requires CA universities to

create a degree completion fund for their student athletes so they can obtain their degree,

protecting their right to a quality education.

These procedures are moving towards the humanity of intercollegiate sports and

prioritizing the needs of student athletes. The information reviewed in this article highlights the

requirements and expectations placed on student athletes leaning my opinion towards the

exploitation of them. By utilizing the term “student,” these athletes have been limited with their

capacity of being able to live the full college experience and explore their labor rights given the

policies the NCAA has placed to “protect” and set a standard for all participating members to

abide by.
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References

AB-252 The College Athlete Protection Act, Cal Assemb. B. 252 (2023-2024), Chapter 3 (Cal.

Stat. 2023)

Dixon, M.A., Turner, B.A., Pastore, D.L. et al. Rule Violations in Intercollegiate Athletics: A

Qualitative Investigation Utilizing an Organizational Justice Framework. Journal of

Academic Ethics 1, 59–90 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025477824078

Hosick, M. (2021, June 30). NCAA adopts interim name, image and likeness policy. NCAA.org;

NCAA.

https://www.ncaa.org/news/2021/6/30/ncaa-adopts-interim-name-image-and-likeness-poli

cy.aspx

Karcher, R. T. (2017). Big-Time College Athletes’ Status as Employees. ABA Journal of Labor

& Employment Law, 33(1), 31–54. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26842200

McCormick, A., Karkos, P., & McCormick, M. (2006). The Sensitivity and Specificity of an

Epiphora Score at Predicting a Blocked Sac Washout Following Dacryocystorhinostomy.

Orbit, 25(2), 127–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/01676830500526638

NCAA. (n.d.). The 16 Principles for Conduct of Intercollegiate Athletics. NCAA.org.

https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2016/7/6/the-16-principles-for-conduct-of-intercollegiate-ath

letics.aspx

NCAA. (2023). History. NCAA.org. https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/5/4/history.aspx

Sanderson, A. R., & Siegfried, J. J. (2015). The Case for Paying College Athletes. The Journal of

Economic Perspectives, 29(1), 115–137. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43194698