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The National Collegiate Athletic Association: NCAA was founded in 1906 to manage intercollegiate athletics. It was named Intercollegiate Athletic Association before changing to its current name in 1910. In the beginning, NCAA only had the power to oversee students playing gridiron football and a few other collegiate games, but things changed in 1942 when it got the ability to dig deeper into college sports. While there still were problems in college sports, they were better handled either because students had no voice or were quieted.
Over the last few years, there has been unrest in those involved in the body’s running as well as the students who play college sports. Experts in sports and other stakeholders have been crying out to be heard for a while now, and it seems they are about to be lent an ear.
Most NCAA controversial issues revolve around denying the students the opportunity to unionize. Here are two reasons those who complain do so.
Even though they are athletes, students that play for colleges have to balance the game and their studies. They are primarily in school through sports scholarships that require them to retain certain scholarly performances. Taking that into consideration, you can imagine already that student athletes often concern themselves with thoughts of “I have to do my assignment” even as they practice in the field. These days, things are a little easier since they can hire an expert at a writing service company to do every assignment so they can focus on the game. Some years back when that option wasn’t there, they had no way of maintaining that balance, and it obviously took a toll on their studies and games.
Some former NCAA members complain that limiting these athletes to ‘student’ denies them agency. They are voiceless because the organization that oversees these games takes away their rights to complain by insisting they are young and lucky to have their positions. They need guidance, which means they cannot be anything other than students, even though their labor brings money to schools – to the tune of $18.9 billion annually. The argument is that they should be compensated like the laborers they are as a show of appreciation for their service. As it stands right now, enough of those involved with college sports would like the term ‘college athlete’ removed or replaced with, say, employee.
The championship is decided by polls conducted by a group of people that could be biased. Naturally, every competition should be decided out in the field, but the NCAA has managed to keep this outdated method of selection of champions that no longer makes sense to stakeholders. This is one of the issues that a change in the constitution could address.
Every problem has a solution if those in power are interested enough to make changes. There have been a few changes, with the NCAA allowing students to make money through NIL rights (Name, Image, Likeness). This will enable them to earn some income from activities outside the field, such as sales in merchandise and appearance in commercials.
These below are some of the ways the NCAA can turn things around.
There was a complaint from Sedona Prince, an Oregon women’s basketball player, that the women’s team’s training room was not nearly as well equipped as the men’s facility. That was not a surprise, as gender inequality is everywhere in the US, UK, and other parts of the world. When it was published in the papers, the noise that came with this inspired the right action, but more can be done. Without empowering women as much as schools do men, women will always lag and be blamed for not being good enough, while that is clearly not the case. There are also racial inequalities, as has been observed in almost every major sports body.
The money that schools earn from these student athletes qualifies them for compensation. This has been the main bone of contention for the longest time, and it can be addressed without writing off any party. Colleges like saying they pay these players through their scholarships and all the mentorship they get, but that is not enough.
NCAA schools earn lots of money from students, but they have been riding on the fact that some consider the term ‘student athlete’ as a badge of honor to oppress them. They also clearly have other issues that they need to address, and it would be best to go into it before it becomes too contentious. In the meantime, athletes may want to keep seeking help by typing ‘do my assignment for me' to get the attention of experts who will make it easier for them to juggle coursework and practice.