A Paradox of Progress in College Sports
Noah Kalter, MBA
MS in Sport Candidate | Small Business Consultant | Sports Blogger | Proud to be Jewish
It's November 2030, the final week of college football for the Florida State Seminoles, and tensions are running high.
As Tallahassee begins to grow busy, family, alumni, and fans make the trip from all over the country; the iconic Seminoles logo is worn proudly on their chest.
A sea of blue and orange floods in from Gainesville, with tents popping up against the backdrop of the bricks laid by Coach Bowden's legacy.
Rivalry week has arrived, and as the second-string wide receiver, you're eager for a chance to make your mark in this legendary game.
It’s a night game in Doak Campbell stadium.?
The war chant can be heard throughout the panhandle as the spear is planted at center field.
The Gators kick off the game and the Seminoles start on offense, surprisingly the coach calls on you to line up.
"Down… set," the call rings out, but your vision blurs.?
Anxiety tightens in your chest, almost making you sick with the fear of messing up.
And then it happens—again and again. The ball slips through your fingers. Three drops in a row.
Walking back to the bench you meet with the coach, “Thank you for all you’ve done. The effort you gave, the spirit and pride you’ve played with…
We need players we can rely on, and right now, your mistakes are costing us.?
You’re fired.”
I had the chance to listen to the idea behind this story while attending a panel on Compliance in Athletics once.
The point here is a world where athletes have finally won the battle for pay-for-play, and are now recognized and compensated as employees.
And by no means do I want to pose it as a sort of propaganda against the potential for that reality, but it’s an interesting one to consider.
Currently, in the aftermath of the House vs. NCAA settlement, schools are preparing to face the financial burden of compensating their student-athletes.
What’s the long term impact that similar cases could have on college sports as we know it?
Let’s discuss the good first.
Progress
For the entirety of college sports, way back to the inception of the NCAA, student athletes have been considered to be “amateurs”.
Student athletes chose to participate for the love of the game and the chance to compete.?
This is no longer the case.
March Madness rakes in a billion dollars every year, coaches at power 5 schools are compensated in the millions for each contract, and the players get zero from any portion in that pot.
On its head, that’s just not fair. And for those who can’t seem to understand why, well ask yourself,
"What college sports would be like without the athletes”?
Progress for most means fairly compensating the student athlete.?
Generally, we are greatly divided as a country when it comes to political issues.?
The majority of Democrats (78%) and Republicans (56%) agree on this one (Kraft, 2023).
Rights
In the case that student athletes should become employees, and under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), components to meet the minimum standard of living should be met.
Minimum wage, basic health insurance, and the “general well-being” of workers are reinforced.
Student athletes put their body on the line and they devote their life to their craft.
This is seemingly the bare minimum in terms of doing them justice under the law.
Opportunity
Considering the extremely challenging odds of making it to the professional sports level, obtaining a degree becomes even more crucial.
A study published by the NCAA found that about 40% of Division I athletes do not graduate within six years. You can actually calculate this Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for each University here .
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Paying the players is all about alleviating financial pressures, and without a college degree there sure are a lot.
According to the US Career Institute, the average salary with no college degree is $29,800.
For perspective, that special piece of paper could mean double that amount ($59,600)!
At the Division I level, balancing intense training with academics is tough.?
If athletes can't earn their diploma, improved compensation could at least offer better financial stability.
And now for the bad.
An Uneven Playing Field
What do Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas all have in common?
They all rank in the top 5 of the highest revenue-generating football programs.
Now how could enhancing the ability to pay players what they want, and better than that of rival or minor program schools, be good for the sport?
In this reality, there comes a huge sacrifice here for the majority of the playing field.
When discussing this issue, we need to seriously consider if schools could actually be predated out of the market.
Cutting non-revenue sports
There are a few ways that schools can manage the cost of paying student-athletes.
NIL collectives have been huge; donor money and sponsorships.
Football and men’s basketball are the primary revenue generators for most athletic programs and often fund other sports.?
If these programs face financial strain under the burden to pay student athletes, sports like track and field, golf, tennis, baseball, soccer, and swimming could be at risk of being cut.
But think about this on a greater scale.?
Imagine the Olympics without these sports or major golf events like the Masters and the PGA without their stars.?
Could the U.S. even compete in a FIFA World Cup without the necessary infrastructure??
The impact on sports goes well beyond the college level here.
Consolidation
A big topic of discussion in today’s space surrounds conference realignment and the “Power 2”.
To garner the most revenue and to command the most competitive edge is what has made the SEC and BIG 10 so dominant as of recent.
What could this mean for the overall competitive balance across collegiate sports?
In this paradoxical world, conferences are taking action in order to appropriately compensate student athletes through collective strength, yet this often means reallocating resources away from smaller programs and Universities that need them the most.
If all this sounds purely chaotic, it is. There seems to be opinions everywhere, and still there may never be a correct answer.
I’ve certainly gained new insights through my research, and it’s even shifted my perspective a bit.
Given this context, where do you stand on the issue?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Thank you for reading Volume 5 of SportShift! I hope you learned something new today. A big shout out to the 340+ people subscribed to my newsletter—y’all are amazing! Please feel free to share this free resource with others on LinkedIn or elsewhere.
Sources Cited:
Data Management Intern at Florida’s State Board of Administration | Finance and MIS | Florida State University MBA
3 个月This is great!