Shabazz Napier, a former University of Connecticut basketball star and national champion, is just one of many college athletes that feel it is necessary that they receive compensation for their athletic efforts. In an article titled, “National Champ U-Conn’s Napier Says He Goes To Bed Starving” Napier states,
Sometimes I go to bed starving because I can’t afford food. We as student athletes get utilized for what we do so well, and we're definitely blessed to get a scholarship to our universities," Napier said. "But at the end of the day, that doesn't cover everything. We do have hungry nights that we don't have enough money to get food in. Sometimes money is needed.
Many former and current college athletes feel the same way. Every year the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) brings in millions of dollars from inter collegiate athletes. Just last year, the NCAA reported a $59 million dollar profit (Futterman 1). The main reason for this profit is the athletes’ hard work, which largely comes from a tremendous amount of practice hours. Playing a college sport can be like working a full time job, college athletes sometimes put in 40 to 60 hours each week for…show more content… Together, these athletes alone keep many of their athletic programs afloat (Sack 2). Unfortunately, scholarship shortfalls are a common occurrence among college athletes. Despite receiving what is called a “full scholarship, the average amount an athlete has to pay out of their pocket amounts to $2,763 per year for items such as school supplies and clothing (“Study of Scholarship Shortfall Numbers Reveal College Athletes Pay to Play”). Based on these
