College Sports Issues

1. College Sports Issues

2. Amateur or Professional? Amateur sport is a “leisure activity” • Free from instrumental constraints • Walk away from sport without economic loss • No material interest in sport • Sport participation does not constitute a “property right”

3. College Athletes What is the legal status of scholarship with college athletes? The Askew Test: Four factors in determining an employer – employee relationship for college athletes (next slide)

4. The Askew Test: • Employer has the right to discipline or fire the proposed employee or not • Whether the proposed employer had the right to control or dictate the activities of the proposed employee • The extent to which the proposed employee is dependent on the payment of wages or other benefits for daily living expenses • Whether the task performed by the proposed employee was an “integral part of the proposed employer’s business

5. “College Sports Inc..” (Murray Sperber-Oct. 1990) Myth #1: Sports are integral part of colleges • Reality: Sports operate separate from colleges Myth #2: College athletes are amateurs • Reality: Athletes have employee and employer relationships --- they are professionals Myth #3: Sports emphasize educational, as well as sport opportunities • Reality: Focus is on playing and achieving professional sports careers, little focus on education Myth #4: The sports system works in education student-athletes (Bradley & McMillan) • Reality: Majority of student-athletes are not receiving educations

6. Myths & Realities Cont’d Myth #5: Student-athletes are treated the same as all students • Reality: Student-athletes receive special treatment and benefits Myth #6: College sports provide social mobility opportunities for blacks and minorities (they can get out of the ghettos) • Reality: Most black/minority athletes do not graduate or receive “real” educations Myth #7: College sports are profitable • Reality: More than 90% of athletics lose money and expenditures exceed revenues

7. Myths & Realities Cont’d Myth #8: Colleges earn millions of dollars when teams play in football bowls • Reality: Money is shared by colleges in the conference and expenditures for attending bowls exceed revenues provided by bowls Myth #9: Colleges receive millions of dollars via the NCAA men’s basketball championship • Reality: Money is shared by colleges in the conference and expenditures for attending NCAA championship exceed revenue provided

8. Myths & Realities Cont’d Myth #10: Alumni demand that their alma matter have successful sports teams • Reality: Sports teams that are too successful tarnish the academic reputation of the colleges (viewed as “jock factories”) Myth #11: College sports help to raise lots of money for colleges • Reality: Alumni and corporations become skeptical of the academic reputations of colleges with successful sport teams (viewed as “jock factories”

9. Myths & Realities Cont’d Myth#12: College sports teams attract students and help increase student enrollments • Most students who apply because of sports reputation are not serious students and do not increase the pool of qualified students for admissions. Myth #13: College sports build school spirit • Reality: Athletes special treatment and scandals result in negative image of colleges which hurt school spirit and reputation

10. Myths & Realities Cont’d “When academics takes a back seat to athletics, you have a problem.” “You no longer have an institution where people with integrity want to teach, or where people with common sense and good values want to send their children to learn.” “Unless American higher education solves this problem, college sports, Inc. will continue to corrupt it and with increasing speed.”