Defining "Student Athletes"

By Ryan Reed

To some, college football is heralded as a more exciting, passion-filled game than that of the National Football League. It has intense rivalries, trick plays and a fan base that is replenished every year by new college students bursting with school spirit. The main difference is that college players do not get paid. People often cite this as the best part about college football. It is football in its purest form: not about big contracts, but about school pride. Unfortunately, due to a tempting environment, college football has also become riddled with scandals relating to players being paid.       

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has specific rules as to what "improper benefits" a player cannot receive, such as being taken out for a free dinner by a college booster. Perhaps one of the most famous cases is that of former Heisman trophy winner and current Miami Dolphin, Reggie Bush. He is credited to have received over $100,000 from several different college boosters. Not only was Bush stripped of the Heisman trophy that he won while playing for the University of Southern California, the school was also forced to forfeit all of its wins from that season, including its victory in the national championship game against Oklahoma. The Bush scandal, along with similar ones at schools such as Ohio State University and the University of Miami over the past few years, have led people to call for a solution.

I believe that there needs to be a revival of the title "student athlete" as opposed to an athlete who happens to be connected to a school. To solve this problem, I propose that players should no longer be forced into college football. As it is set up now, a player is not eligible for the NFL until three years after high school. As of 2004, only 46 percent of NFL players had a college degree, while almost all of them had attended college. The NFL should open a viable alternative to college, such as players having the option to transfer back to college if the NFL doesn't work.

Furthermore, instead of only having to attend college for three years prior to entering the draft, players must remain in school until they earn a degree. If they attend college and end up dropping out, a penalty should be given which keeps them out of the NFL for a certain period of time. I believe that this solution gives a chance to people who want to use sports as a way to further their education. Meanwhile it serves to take players that are not serious students out of college campuses.

By doing this, colleges will be able to maintain the idea of the "student athlete," while prospective NFL players would be able to bypass college if they so desired. Most importantly, we would be able to stop hearing about scandals involving college players being paid because they were stuck waiting for the NFL.

Ryan Reed is a freshman history major and contributing writer for the Sports section.