Black College Football Research Paper

In the book, Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports, written by Martin H. Charles. Charles H. Martin is an associate professor of history at the University of Texas at El Paso. The book, is divided into different eras that range from 1890 to 1980. Charles’ reveals how southern colleges implemented their racially exclusive programs and then integrated to a diverse competition. The first section of the book is called “Gentlemen’s Agreement” which occurred from 1890 to 1929.

There is the belief that college football is a business, and not an amateur sport. This statement can be followed up with the fact that football players are being played to play football. I personally know people who are on Division 1 teams that are get paid monthly for being on a full scholarship at their school. Their tuition and everything else is paid for, the school is literally paying them to play football for their university. They want the athletes to bring in as much revenue as possible.

Beginning with an incredible high school career in 2003, Adrian Peterson was eventually labeled “the best football player on the planet” and he still holds that title today. Playing for the Sooners, Peterson finished 3rd in school history with 4,045 rushing yards (Hoover). Brian “The Boz” Bosworth was said to be “one of the best linebackers to ever play college football”, and he was definitely one of the most memorable. Bosworth led the team in tackles from 1984 to 1986 and was named all conference each of those three years. Another player honored with the term “greatest” was Billy Sims.

Madison Team Becomes National Champs at African-American History Challenge Bowl Madison’s Wright Middle School took home the first place at the 2017 National African-American History Challenge Bowl. The team is a veteran when it comes to joining the quiz bowl competition. In fact, they have participated in the competition for 19 years and has been sponsored by the organization of 100 Black Men of America. They won five times already and became a runner-up several times according to the founding president of 100 Black Men of Madison, Enis Ragland.

A large amount of the student athletes did spend a lot of money to make it where they are though. Most of these athletes had to go to exposure camps where they paid big bucks to be found by college coaches

College coaches for football make twice as much as the rest of the team; however basketball coaches make seven times as much as their team. College coaches do everything in their power to convince the best athletes to join their team. They have gone as far as to according to Dave Zirin, “Michigan sent a letter to the girlfriend of a player to try to convince her to try to convince him to come to Michigan.” This is just one of many instances wear coaches have crossed the line. Yet would it not have been easier to just tell the player you would offer them free school and money to play for them.

At an NCAA convention in January, a panel of 15 student-athletes and 65 schools in football-driven leagues passed a resolution adding stipends to athlete scholarships to cover all other expenses a full scholarship doesn’t cover (Sherman). Many disagree with this, while others believe we are taking a step in the right direction. The debate on paying college athletes has been ongoing since the early 1900’s (“Point/Counterpoint”). There are many people who say we shouldn’t give student-athletes extra money because a free ride to college is more than enough payment. They say that the universities offer more than an educations: concerts, lecture series by prominent people, on-stage productions, movies, intramural sports, and fitness facilities

I wanted to first say that these are strictly my own opinions and I would appreciate your thoughts and feedback. First, there is a perception in sports that I heard numerous of times that African Americans do not make the best coaches. I would definitely argue that notion. I believe that African Americans in most cases do not receive the same treatment as any white coach in college and major sports. I do believe there needs to be a Rooney Rule, especially in collegiate sports.

Another reason that it would be bad for college athletes to be paid is because the colleges would build a bad reputation for being all about the money and not about education. Already, some colleges are accused of using money to influence players into going to their school. "If a high-school football prodigy reported that he chose Michigan not for its academic quality, tradition, or beautiful campus but because it outbid all other suitors, a connection to the university’s values would be lost." (Yankah). Ever since the first college institutions were founded, they were either known for their academics or athletics.

Pressure to create a successful team runs high in the world of NCAA Football, often leading to immoral and illegal behavior by school programs. SMU fell victim to the pressures leading to illegal payments towards players. When discovered, the NCAA placed the "death penalty" on SMU and changed recruitment policies in an effort to cut down on abuses by colleges. SMU has forever been affected by the 1 year suspension having only 2 winning seasons since 1986-1988 (SMU Death Penalty). There actions have surely changed recruiting at the college level tremendously.

Mike says”Students all over the world work hard at the sport that true love and don’t get a lot in return for it”. While college athletes may not exactly be employees, they are more than just students. Consider the life of a student-athlete, though. The average Division I football player dedicates over 43hours per week to his sport, meaning that he spends more than a typical American work-week training and playing football, in addition to his class work. Their work, which generates exorbitant amounts of money year in and year out, deserves Compensation.

Although college athletes may be on a scholarship that is paying for their education, they also work countless hours on their craft and make millions for their

Are they students or employees? They spend more time with the sport than in school. Student athletes should be acknowledged for their performances. College athletes should be paid to play because they bring money into the school, advertisement, and they perform the same tasks of pros. College kids bring in thousands of dollars every game day.

What college athletes don’t understand is that they are getting exposure to getting a professional contract. If that doesn’t work they will always have a college education to lean back on. They give generous scholarships to top student athletes receive, covering their tuition and most

One of the biggest issues with NCAA sports is should college athletes be able to unionize and play. According to their website, The NCAA is an organization that represents over 1,100 colleges and universities from the Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 Level (ncaa.org). In addition, The NCAA doled out more than $2.7 billion in athletic scholarships along with other resources, student-athletes can utilize (ncaa.org). Although the NCAA generates mass revenue, only the top programs are usually profitable while most schools operate at the institution cost (Mitchell & Edelman, 2013). I believe college athletes should not be unionized or paid to play college sports.