Essay On Why College Athletes Should Be Paid

College tuition is a big expense, as many people know, but for some people this expense may be covered by receiving a scholarship for academics and/or athletics. As a grade 12 student athlete I have been paying more attention to tuition and scholarships lately, one thing I have come to realize is; not every college or university athlete receives compensation for playing. College and university athletes typically struggle in their programs and deal with a lot of stress because of how demanding their sports and studies are, it's also extremely hard to effectively time manage and get everything done. Another thing to highlight is how difficult it is to become an athlete in a post secondary setting. An additional thought that comes to mind is what

This is a struggle for many athletes since their school and team schedules are very demanding. For example a typical college volleyball player will be expected to practice for two hours four times a week and complete a mandatory workout twice a week, these workouts typically take about an hour, possibly longer. College athletes are also expected to travel for games which causes them to give up more of their time for the team. Imagine trying to meet all the expectations of your coach while also trying to meet the expectations of your professors, it seems almost impossible; so why would you want to have the additional worry of paying for your entire education, which is typically upwards of $10,000, on top of everything

These athletes barely play but still dedicate a lot of their time to the team and are given nothing in return. “Walk-on athletes cannot receive scholarships until their second season, and even then, nothing is guaranteed.” (ncsasports.org). “In the NCAA alone, 49% of the athletes that play are walk ons” (Smith, 2021). Another fact I would like to mention is that the average ncaa scholarship is about $7,500 and the average tuition is about $25,000. This shows that the average scholarship is about 30% of the average tuition, this doesnt mean it cant be more or less than that. Looking at these facts it makes you wonder; why cant these scholarships besplit between athletes so everyone gets a fair amount. Speaking from experience, I have recently been to a college who gives everyone on their varsity teams a scholarship based on their academics, it doesnt matter to them whether the athletes were walk ons or not, they still get a scholarship: $3,000 is available per year, if you have over and 85% average in a semester you get $1,500, if you have between a 75% and 84% average in a semester you receive a $1,200 scholarship, if you have a 65% to a 74% average in a semester youll receive $900. Personally I believe every college and university should implement this to give every athlete what they