My Festivus Grievance – Amateurism

As millions…okay, not millions…

As hundreds of people around the world gather around the shiny aluminum pole to celebrate Frank Costanza’s made up holiday, sharing their Festivus grievances with one another before joining in a good old fashioned family wrestling match (it’s not over till you pin Uncle Barney!), I’d like to share with all of you my Festivus grievance.

I’m fed up with the concept of amateurism in college athletics.

Or shamateurism, as some call it.  Shout out to Jason Whitlock.

The college athlete experience is supposed to be built around amateurism, the seemingly noble ideal that young men and women leave their homes to go to schools in exotic places like Starkville, Mississippi to battle on their field or court of choice and receive a free education for their labors.  Whoop de doo!  All the who’s down in whoville now join together and sing that song about welcoming Christmas or whatever!

But we now know that while in name, student athletes receive free education, their scholarships actually fall, on average, $3000 short of the full cost of attendance estimate made by many of the schools.   The NCAA agreed to increase the package of student athletes by $2000 (awesome, right?) but then a plethora of schools, 125 at last notice, decided that they didn’t want to close the scholarship gap and the $2000 increase was put on hold.

The NCAA also passed an opportunity for athletes to get multiyear scholarships from the schools, because under the current system, athletes are only allowed to receive 1 year scholarships, renewable at the end of each year.  If an athlete is injured, or a new coach comes in and decides to go a different way with athletes they CAN cut them.  Cutting someone who got hurt sounds like a situation where schools are definitely looking out for these guys, no?  The grinches at Boise State hated this rule so much because “”For a prospective student-athlete, the decision as to where to attend college and participate in athletics is most likely the biggest decision they will make at that point in their lives. That tough decision becomes more complicated when the student and his/her family have to factor in what school ‘offers the best deal…’”  You’re right, that sounds terrible!  I would hate for a school to prioritize an athlete’s education over whether the player was, in Indiana State’s words “athletically useful”.  Can’t you feel the holiday cheer?  Multiyear scholarships will soon be put on hold, as 72 schools have decided they want this rule overturned as well.

We have UCLA withholding player’s bowl stipend, the check that was used to pay for food while the athletes were on campus during the weeks after classes were let out because they were practicing for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.  The reason they withheld the check?  The players missed voluntary workouts during exams.  Yeah.

And about those “voluntary” workouts?  And the education these athletes are supposed to be receiving?  The NCAA legislation claims that athletes are only allowed to spend 20 hours per week on athletic activities.  Well, about that.  Those 20 hours don’t include voluntary workouts, often mandatory to maintain one’s spot on the team, most of game day (only counts for 3 hours regardless) and travel days (not counted at all).  Top level NCAA Division I athletes report spending 43.3 hours per week on athletic activities.  Sounds like a full-time job to me.

What of those travel days you ask?  Boise State and San Diego State just signed on to a conference that features numerous opponents 2500 miles away.  I’m sure they did because they care so much about the student athlete experience.  Won’t 7 hours on a plane help them get caught up on their studies?

Here’s the truth – amateurism is a sham.  College athletics is big business for everyone involved, even the schools who claim to be losing money on it.  Colleges believe athletic spending drives applications (at least anecdotally, this is true), even if it hurts students when they get there.  The players are paid employees, albeit poorly paid employees, paid in an education that they don’t have time (and often the skills) to take advantage of.  Have you tried to study with a 40 hour per week job?  C’mon, it’s ridiculously difficult for those of us with desk jobs.

Let’s end this sham.  You have two choices – change the system to a just system where you compensate these young people fairly or if you can’t afford that, shut down the athletic program.  In every other walk of life, if you don’t have enough money to play, you can’t play, so why wouldn’t that be here?  Regardless of some people’s addiction to this mess of a system, we don’t need college sports.

I’m praying for a Festivus miracle.  Help us, Frank Costanza!

Now who’s going to pin Uncle Barney?