Reflecting on the Shame of College Sports: Should NCAA Division I Basketball and Football Players Get Paid?

Over the years, the debate on whether or not college athletes should get paid has increased dramatically.  From my personal experience, including different speeches from classmate athletes, I believe that collegiate athletes have every right to be paid for their services to the university.  These athletes make sacrifices not just for themselves, but for the pride of their schools.  Laura Pappano (2012) writes,  "Classes are cancelled to accommodate broadcasts schedules, and new research suggests that fandom can affect academic performance" (2).  The growing broadcasts of games have affected the reputations of universities by attracting students strictly for their sporting events as well as the crowds they attract from the general public.  Students and the general public are coming to see their favorite collegiate athletes perform and these athletes deserve to be rewarded for the sacrifice and performances.

I have often thought about this topic because sporting events here at CU as well as any university brings the students together more than any other event of their college careers, other than commencement and welcome week.  These events are affecting me and the University I attend and the athletes my friends and I are going to see deserve all the credit for making that happen.