My thought was just let the kids do whatever with their likeness, like getting paid for T-Shirts and stuff, since some teams can't pay for said players?

Here is the problem with paying them, who gets the most? All equal or does football get the most? Most college sports lose money except for football and some basketball programs even at schools like Kentucky their shiatty football team brings in more revenue. So if we pay, does that mean we can ignore title 9 and eliminate some of the girls sports? If so then pay those that make money and cut those that lose money.

Tuition scholarships are a form of payment.

They are getting paid, just not in cash.

Education
Training
Skill Development
High visibility for professional recruiters
etc.....etc...etc......

Think of it as an unpaid internship, and it looks much more reasonable.

If an unpaid medical research student helps develop a new vaccine that earns the university millions in patents, they don't get paid either. But like the athlete, it will lead to excellent employment later.

How about we separate athletics from the schools altogether, like every other civilized county in the world? You can still have your Chapel Hill or Austin or Columbus Athletic Club, and then they can decide what sports they want to administer, and how much they want to pay their players.

Tax the NCAA!

gsiofa: Tuition scholarships are a form of payment.

Well I have a job I'd like you to do for me. Instead of paying you in cash, I'm going to teach you how to make widgets, and when you've worked for me for 4 years or so and made me a lot of money making widgets, I'm going to give you a piece of paper that says you are a Master of Widget making. I have decided that piece of paper is worth $35,000 a year. When can I expect you to start?

Let's go back 50 or 75 years and make it less important than it is.

Minor league football.

I would go the opposite way. In my ideal world, all college students would offered 100% need based aid -- if you can't go to college without a scholarship, you get a scholarship, whether you're a football player or a violinist or a research-focused academic or whatever. If you can pay, you pay, no matter who you are.

I'd also like to see a major junior system for other sports, as in hockey. If you're an athlete that doesn't want to go to college, don't go to college.

Finally, I do not think colleges should charge students for tickets to see their teams -- they're already paying enough in tuition, and getting to see your own team should not be a privilege only for those who can afford to buy $300 season tickets. My undergrad managed fine just requiring students to flash their ID to get in -- they still made money selling tickets to community members. My grad school charges a significant amount for student tickets.

Playing a sport (you presumably enjoy) in college is a privilege, but it is not the point of college -- the point of college is education. College athletes are already being given free training and coaching (perhaps this is not as obvious in a team sport like football, but take for example NCAA skiing. If a skier didn't go to college and wanted to train competitively on his own, he would be spending a significant amount of money to do so).

Of course, this is all ideal-world stuff, and I'm coming at this from an Ivy/Patriot/equivalent league perspective, and a hockey fan perspective. I don't actually think much of this is feasible to implement in the world of college sports -- it would require universities to make less money, which I'm sure they would never do (and many schools simply do not have the money to meet 100% student need).

How to fix kill college athletics

FTFY

I'd have NO problem with players NOT being paid IF the schools were held more accountable for they're education.

But, if the system is to continue as-is, then PAY them.

js34603: gsiofa: Tuition scholarships are a form of payment.

Well I have a job I'd like you to do for me. Instead of paying you in cash, I'm going to teach you how to make widgets, and when you've worked for me for 4 years or so and made me a lot of money making widgets, I'm going to give you a piece of paper that says you are a Master of Widget making. I have decided that piece of paper is worth $35,000 a year. When can I expect you to start?

Hate on it all you want, those kids are still getting something of value in exchange for their work, just like every other student worker on campus.

And nothing is stopping a kid from going to the Arena league, or any of the multitude of semi-pro leagues that will pay him real money for his time to develop in the hopes of making the NFL.

Same goes with baseball. There are thousands of players between 18-21 working through the minor leagues as we speak, all of whom get paid.

Regardless of your "fairness" and well-meaning, Title IX insures that this will never, ever, ever happen.

This idea is so poorly thought out. No era has had a stick up his butt about college football for a while. He suggested Penn State should disband their team after the scandal came out this year.

First title IX would stop this idea from even being implemented. Second it's not the schools making so much money, because they spend the money they make from football and basketball on other sports. It's the bowls and networks who are making huge profits. That's why they can pay the NCAA hundreds of millions to broadcast the basketball tournament. And billions for long term contracts with football conferences.

downstairs: steamingpile: Here is the problem with paying them, who gets the most?

Same as professional sports. Pro football players make more than professional curlers. NFL players make more than CFL and Arena League players. And so on.

What's the "problem" you're seeing? You get paid based on the budget, which is determined by each school... and most likely the popularity ($$$) of the sport.

Ok when all the women biatch because they don't get paid what will you do? Do you not see that coming shiatstorm or are you an idiot?

Shut the farking enterprise down.

js34603: gsiofa: Tuition scholarships are a form of payment.

Well I have a job I'd like you to do for me. Instead of paying you in cash, I'm going to teach you how to make widgets, and when you've worked for me for 4 years or so and made me a lot of money making widgets, I'm going to give you a piece of paper that says you are a Master of Widget making. I have decided that piece of paper is worth $35,000 a year. When can I expect you to start?

Are you giving me all the food I can eat, supplementary, individualized training after work, and a free place to stay?

Then tomorrow.

downstairs: Ryan2065: downstairs: The whole point (regarding athletics) of Title IX is to make sure women's sports aren't given nothing in lieu of men's high-profit sports.

...you should probably read up on this before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.

Link
Link

Then change the law. Schools make tens of millions on the backs of unpaid athletes. That's not fair. That's my only point. You do realize laws can be changed?

A few schools make millions... And if u start paying the players they will lose those millions.

We pay to watch our fellow students. Not semipro, crappy football.

The rest of schools write athletics off as a loss leader.

downstairs: Then change the law. Schools make tens of millions on the backs of unpaid athletes. That's not fair. That's my only point. You do realize laws can be changed?

A few do most don't. Mississippi Valley State for example this year played TEN nonconference men's basketball games on the road against Power 6 teams to get the payouts to support their entire athletic program, despite the fact that all those losses take their toll on the ability of the team to perform well the rest of the season.