Although universities can earn millions from merchandising and endorsements, student athletes are expressing frustration that they are not allowed to receive compensation under National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations.

In August 2002, Jeremy Bloom, then a freshman at the University of Colorado, was forced to make a tough decision: either abandon his Olympic skiing career or lose the opportunity to play football at Boulder.

The NCAA does not allow student athletes to receive any endorsements or salaries. Bloom went to court, arguing that skiing and football were separate. He also criticized the hypocrisy of the NCAA, which allows universities to sell the sponsorship on their football uniforms to athletic-apparel companies while preventing athletes, like himself, from getting paid to wear their own gear.

The NCAA was adamant in Bloom’s case: No endorsements and no salaries, or no football. The court ruling sided with the NCAA.

Student athletes have been clamoring for pay for some time, and the issue is becoming more hotly debated in recent months, with a bill to allow college athletes to receive pay passing the California State Senate. While athletes such as football players receive a free education, the hours they spend working out and practicing may keep them from spending much time studying to achieve the education they have been promised. An estimated 50 percent of American college football players do not graduate from college. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the University of Wisconsin earned $12.3 million from football in 2002. Ohio State University topped the list of the Big Ten with $35.2 million.

College football players make time commitments during the year and over the summer.

“We have to lift in the morning, then go to class, then come back from about 2:30 p.m. till 6 p.m. for more practice. It’s very time-consuming,” UW football player Travann Hayes said. “In the summer, it’s a lot of lifting weights and staying in shape, but it’s more us together without the coaches.”

Many athletes feel that they should get a piece of the booming business that they help create. Universities use the success of their athletic teams to make themselves more marketable.

“I personally do think we should get paid,” UW player Matt Bernstein said. “We put in so many hours on top of going to school. It makes it hard to keep athletics and school on the same pedestal.”

“We should get paid,” Badgers football player Levonne Rowan said. “It’s like a full-time job, Monday through Friday, all summer, and we have to go to school, too. We should definitely be getting paid.”

Many schools sell jerseys with the star football and basketball players’ numbers on them, but without the name.
Last year the University of Illinois’s star basketball player Brian Cook wore number 34. His jersey number was everywhere, but he made no money from the jersey. UI did.

In Colorado, Bloom proposed a Student Athlete’s Bill of Rights, which would permit athletes to have other employment and to get royalties from apparel sales. While the court ruled against Bloom’s proposal, some athletes support the idea.

“I don’t know why we’re not allowed to get paid. All I know is that there are very strict rules,” Bernstein said.

“I agree with the idea of a Bill of Rights ? but it’s not going to happen, is it?” Rowan said. “What bothers me is that most of the money for our scholarships comes from private owners, so it’s not even really the university giving us money. They just make money off us.”

Other players, however, do not see the need to receive royalties in addition to their athletic scholarship.

“It would be nice, but I really don’t see it. We have it all paid for. If you’re coming from out of state, that’s thousands and thousands of dollars,” Hayes said. “Yeah, we put in the time, but we get an education. There are players here who couldn’t come to Wisconsin without the scholarship.”

Hayes added that during his freshman year, he and the other players were required to spend a certain amount of time at the study tables.

“People are there to help you if you need it, so education really does come first,” Hayes said.

Athletic Conferences are another recent source of conflict. Traditionally conferences such as the Big Ten Conference were based on geography and academic standards. But lately, teams have left conferences to go to other conferences, because their sports teams generate more revenue. More national TV exposure or a Conference Bowl Championship all generate the university athletic programs more money.

Some players feel that while the NCAA tries, it cannot please everyone.

“I think they try to do things right, but a lot of them never played,” Rowan said. “They have no idea how the time we spend practicing makes it so hard to spend time on school work. I think we should have a union.”

“A union is a good idea,” Hayes said. “It couldn’t hurt.”