Research Prospectus

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has been debating for several years whether student athletes should be compensated or not. Many people believe athletes should not be paid, probably because they only see the glamorous side of collegiate competitors. One must understand that student athletes dedicate a large amount of time, risk the health of their bodies, and forfeit almost all aspects of being a typical college student.

My thesis question is the following: “Should student athletes get paid?” Since I am arguing affirmatively that athletes deserve compensation, I will need to include how beneficial athletes are to a university. For example, I would like to research the profits athletes bring into the university alone, which could potentially cause others to think that student athletes should receive compensation because they are responsible for the majority of it. In addition, I would like to add how many student athletes are from low income households. Through my research, I hope to gain a deeper understanding to why some people feel student athletes should not be paid.

In order to provide strong support for my paper, I have found several credible sources to use. Some of my sources include the following: “The NCAA in Its Second Century: Defender of Amateurism or Antitrust Recidivist” by Daniel E. Lazaroff, “Forward Progress? An Analysis of Whether Student-Athletes Should Be Paid” by Christopher M. Parent, and “Sports and Antitrust: Should College Students Be Paid to Play?” by Lee Goldman. Each of these texts discuss how the NCAA finds every way possible to prevent student athletes from receiving any type of compensation, and why athletes deserve to be paid.

There could be several counterarguments presented against my thesis. For example, opponents could claim that student athletes are already compensated because they are receiving a “free” education. However, I would rebut by asking the difference between a regular college student on scholarship and a student athlete on scholarship. By providing examples, expert testimony, and statistics, many people could possibly rethink whether an education is even enough to compensate an athlete.               

Deciding whether student athletes deserve compensation remains a controversial issue. However with this paper, I hope to inspire others to think deeper into the hidden aspects associated with being a student athlete. We tend to only see the glamorous side of collegiate athletics; therefore, along with extensive research, I would like to firmly argue that student athletes should be compensated. In my paper, I hope to explore where schools would be without our student athletes.