Student Participation In Intercollegiate Athletics

Within the last two decades, collegiate athletics has experienced enormous financial profits lighting the debate that the student-athletes’ in the larger revenue generating sports should be entitled to a share of the revenue their sport creates for their school program, the NCAA, and any other commercial purposes. As a result of the economic prosperity commercial enterprises are experiencing because of the rapid growth of college athletics within the television industry and social media, the NCAA is being forced to potentially alter what it stands for and certainly what is most valued in intercollegiate athletics being the preservation of amateur status, maintaining a healthy competitive balance, and the promotion of the educational missions

The NCAA constitution states, “Student-athletes shall be amateurs in an intercollegiate sport, and their participation should be motivated primarily by education and by the physical, mental, and social benefits to be derived. Student participation in intercollegiate athletics is an avocation, and student-athletes should be protected from exploitation by professional and commercial enterprises.” (10) Historically, courts have emphasized and noted this constitution in past cases brought forth versus the NCAA for similar accusations. In 1984, with colleges and universities lobbying for the right to control television contracts in the NCAA v. Board of Regents of University Oklahoma case, the court stated “the NCAA needs ample latitude in the maintenance of a revered tradition of amateurism in college sports.” (6) In response to the noted restraints O’Bannon and his legal team brought forth, the NCAA argues that there are also certain economic reasons to justify the preservation of amateurism, and the very concept itself is necessary to promote intercollegiate athletics as a unique product and distinguish it from other forms of entertainment. In support, the NCAA produced evidence in the form of several conducted surveys displaying that consumers are opposed to compensating student-athletes. (6) Most college football and basketball fans love the game because of the foundation of college sports, which is generally formed around the belief that the competitors are playing purely for the love of the game and not for a paycheck. Additionally, students who do not participate in sports at these universities form a bond and connection to these athletes and show unrivaled support because the recognize that these athletes walk the same halls as them and