1. The Commercialization of College Athletics
Management 120
Application 7

2. The Truth
“Nine out of 10 teams in college basketball are cheating and the 10th one is in last place.”
-Jerry Tarkanian University of Nevada Basketball Coach
The graduation for NCAA men’s basketball and football for the class entering in 2004 was only 68.5%, while the average student body rate was 80%. (NCAA.com)

3. Area’s In Question Exploitation of student-athletes Athlete corruption
Using athletes as marketing pieces
Pay-for-play scandals
False jobs from boosters
Broken dreams

4. Who’s at risk?
While college coaches make millions to lead athletic teams, the players of the team are the ones making the coach and the university millions of dollars per year at their own risk.
Athletes education rely on a year to year scholarship, nothing is guaranteed. If injured they run the risk of losing a scholarship.
ATHLETES LOSE!

5. Obvious Situations BCS Bowl Games
Bowl games are often chosen based on who can bring the biggest fan base or raise the most money from ticket and memorabilia sales
College athletic departments selling uniform rights to specific sporting goods companies such as Nike or Under Armor for millions of dollars

6. Uniform Examples
Oregon and many other schools have been criticized in recent years for an abundance of different uniform combinations

7. Other Exploitation Examples
In 2011 Ohio State Players were penalized and forced to sit out for trading personal property in exchange for tattoos
It is okay for schools to sell this memorabilia for profit, but they outlaw and prohibit players from doing so
Recently corporations have offered players advertising fees for tattooing the companies name or logo onto their bodies

8. Turning the Tide
In order to take all of the scandals and news headlines our of college sports drastic changes must be made to the way college athletes are handled and treated
While some feel it is wrong to pay college athletes to play, looking at the amount of revenue they generate the NCAA and universities could more then afford to reimburse the students for the physical toll they put on their bodies

9. Proposed Changes
Give players a yearly salary on top of their current scholarship
Put a salary cap on teams per sport, for example a $3 million dollar cap on a football team with a minimum salary of $25,000 per player
This is just a small portion of the revenue that college sports brings in for the school and it can help to motivate college athletes to stay in longer for a degree

10. Changes Contd.
On top of annual salaries offer athletes extended scholarships and not just a year by year contract
Not only guarantees the students education for themselves, but it also makes them promise to stay in college for the entire four years and not just use college as a stepping stone into professional sports

11. Impact of Change
Proposed changes would take away the underworld of secret payments and fake jobs from boosters while encouraging athletes to stay in school and finish their educations
It would also level the playing field for recruiting for coaches and universities by giving each university the same amount for player salaries

12. Works Cited
Nocera, Joe. "Lets Start Paying College Athletes." Nytimes.com. New York Times, 30 Dec Web. 12 Feb
"Commercialism In Sports." Leagueoffans.org. Ralph Nadar. Web. 12 Feb
"NCAA Grad Rates Hit All-time High - NCAA.com." NCAA.com – The Official Website of NCAA Championships. 25 Oct Web. 12 Feb
Ross, Sherwood. "College Athletes Suffer Most From Today’s Commercialism." Veterans Today | Military Veterans and Foreign Affairs Journal – VA – Veterans Administration. Veterans Today, 6 Feb Web. 12 Feb